Yom Kippur Greetings

Yom Kippur Greetings From Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

September 13-14, 2013 / 10 Tishrei 5774

Shabbat v’Yom HaKippurim

Torah Portion:  Deuteronomy 29:9-12, 30:11-20 and Leviticus 19:1-18

Haftarah Portion:  Jeremiah 57:14-58:14

Dear Friends,

This Friday evening, when we gather to begin our Yom Kippur worship, we will rise to sing Kol Nidrei together as a community.  Even though we might feel some safety in numbers, our tradition teaches that each one of us is standing alone before God.  This has led some to interpret that Yom Kippur is both the Day of Atonement and the Day of At-One-ment.

We will be singing Kol Nidrei together as a community so that each and every person present will have the chance to sing the words and offer the prayer from the depths of the heart.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers the following meditation preparing us for standing in God’s presence on Yom Kippur.

Bold, Humble Daring

Today we stand before the Mirror of All

to see ourselves as we are.

We come with no gifts, no bribes, no illusions, no excuses.

We stand without defense and wait to be filled.

What will fill us?

Remorse, certainly.  So much error and needless pain.

And Joy; remembered moments of love and right doing.

We are too complex for single-sided emotions.

And we are too simple to be excused by our complexity.

Let us be bold enough to see,

humble enough to feel,

daring enough to turn and

embrace the way of justice, mercy, and simplicity.

G’mar Hatimah Tovah - May you be sealed in the Book of Life for a good year.

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow