All Aboard! Yom Kippur

Ten days ago, "Alice" purchased a ticket to ride an Amtrak train; she is running late but can still make it. If the door to the train car shuts, she is left behind. Tick, tock, tick, tock. The way recent days and hours were planned and scheduled included making that train. 

Like bookends or praying hands, the shofar
is blown on Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (At-one-ment), is the holiest day of the year in the Jewish calendar. To participate fully in its rituals is a ticket for blessing in the next year. Like we make resolutions at the New Year, catching that scheduled train and the journey it will take makes all the difference for blessings that are available Jews in their new year.  

Yom Kippur marks the ending of 10 days into the new year and a new beginning for those of the Jewish faith, with the belief that facing and throwing out the dirty bath water (sin) will flavor the entire next year with good. The awareness of relationships and sin weighs heavily.

"Before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem [way back in 63 BC], the high priest performed an elaborate sacrificial ceremony in the Temple, successively confessing his own sins, the sins of the priests, and the sins of all Israel. Clothed in white linen, he then entered the Holy of Holies--allowed only at Yom Kippur--to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice and to offer incense. The ceremony concluded when a goat (the scapegoat), symbolically carrying the sins of Israel, was driven to its death in the wilderness." "Encyclopedia Britannica"

"Azazel, in Jewish legends, a demon or evil spirit to whom, in the ancient rite of Yom Kippur, a scapegoat was sent bearing the sins of the Jewish people. Two male goats were chosen for the ritual, one designated by lots 'for the Lord,' the other 'for Azazel' " (Leviticus 16:8). "Encyclopedia Britannica"

The Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur is first presented in Leviticus 16, in great detail. On Yom Kippur the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the nation of Israel. It is written in the Torah that it is a day to "afflict your souls." A day of prayer and fasting and the most solemn day of the year, it lasts 25 hours and draws the 10 Days of Penitence (or the 10 Days of Awe, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) to a close. From sunset to the next evening's sundown, modern day observing Jews follow the example of God's angels who, according to traditional belief, do not eat or drink. Some fast from everything that brings pleasure to the flesh. Jews spend the time in prayer and confession asking God's forgiveness and seeking the forgiveness of their friends and relations.  "Religions of the World: Judaism," p. 32.

Yom Kippur is known as the Sabbath of Sabbaths, recognized as the most awesome day of the year. Keep in mind that the following idea comes from the mystical Kabbalah, but the description helps me understand Yom Kippur better: "...a time when the Jews have God's ear, so to speak, and can change their destiny... The practice through the day is to imagine that the heavenly court is in the process of determining what one's coming year has in store, based on previous actions, speech, and thoughts."  "The Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook" p. 188.

A ram's horn or shofar, in the Complete Jewish Bible, is mentioned 83 times, in reference to its ceremonial use in the Temple and to its function as a signal-horn of war. Like bookends--or praying hands--Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are tied together blowing the Shofar. It is blown 100 notes at the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and 10 days later it is blown at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. 

The proverbial train horn is blowing as "Alice" climbs the steps. Like train tracks have two rails, the new year balances good with bad, happy with sad; but overall, it is a ride with God's hands on the Nation of Israel and each Jew that observes Yom Kippur.

And Aaron shall lay both is hands on the head of the live goat,

and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel,

and all their transgressions, all their sins...
And he who lets the goat go to Azazel shall wash his clothes
and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp

(Leviticus 16:21, 26)

Return: Rosh Hashanah

Blowing the shofar

Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world. It is like a combined birthday, anniversary, and New Year's celebration all in one. Like the National Anthem being sung prior to a World Series game or a bugle blown prior to the Kentucky Derby to "take note!"... Rosh Hashanah is a time to take note, to celebrate, but it also proclaims a time of quiet introspection and repentance. 

Jews are preparing for an important event to come (the upcoming holiday Yom Kippur, the Jewish Holiest Day of the year). During the 2-day observance and celebration of Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets/a day of awakening/the Jewish New Year-- (Jewish holidays many times have more than one name and more than one spelling), a horn called a shofar (a cleaned-out ram's horn) is sounded, blown a total of 100 notes each day in the synagogue which calls the people to repent of their sins. (If the holiday of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, the shofar is sounded in the Holy Temple, but not in the land. Current Jewish law forbids the blowing of the shofar on the Sabbath, for fear of violating the prohibition against carrying objects in public). 

Three basic sounds blown on the shofar are: 1) a long, drawn-out note or blast, which is a grand sound used for proclamation and coronation; 2) briefer notes; 3) and very short notes. The sound of the shofar reminds many Jews of a person crying and helps them to reflect on their own sins and shortcomings. "Religions of the World: Judaism," p. 32.

Teshua is a term used regarding Rosh Hashanah. According to "Jewish Spirituality for Christians" p. 88-89 "Teshua is usually translated as 'repentance,'... it is a dominant theme during the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur..." One statement about Teshua is, "[It] means the world's salvation: to fully return to God would repair all creation and bring the Messiah."

"Jewish Lights" explains, "Rosh Hashana... falls in September or early October. Its main theme is 'remembrance' and 'return' to the Source of Creation... it is required for all Jews to hear a shofar on this day. The esoteric teaching is that the shofar confuses the 'accuser,' the negative energy left behind by our unskillful behavior" p. 187.

Rosh Hashanah facts:

• In contrast to the ecclesiastical lunar new year on the first day of the first month Nissan (the spring Passover months), Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the civil year
• It is a 2-day celebration. In 2023, the holiday started at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Sunday
• The traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting is, L'shana Tovah (have a good, sweet year)
• A custom is to eat apples dipped in honey and honey cake, representing God's provision and sweetness that He will manifest in the coming year
• It is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve
• Rosh Hashanah is one of the four early rain Holy Days
• It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (Leviticus 23:23-25)
• High Holy Days include both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
• Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the holiest period on the Jewish calendar
• Some wear white on Rosh Hashanah, which symbolizes working on purifying ethically and morally during the High Holy Days. In the synagogue, the Torah is covered with a white cloth and rabbis wear white robes (Kittels)
• Like exclamation points (or trumpet sounds) Rosh Hashanah begins a time for Jews to reflect on their behavior in the past and to try to right any wrongs they may have done
• It begins the Ten Days of Penitence (the Days of Awe or Judgment), a time of deep introspection, that ends on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Prior to Rosh Hashanah, we give a special offering. Sometimes it is given to the Red Cross, or Convoy of Hope, sometimes to our house of worship. It is a faith statement that whatever happens during the coming year, good or bad, happy or sad, we want our finances and our lives to be in God's hands.

Many Jews perform a ritual called tashlikh, throwing breadcrumbs into a body of water. The ritual symbolically casts sins away, from the Old Testament verse, "You shall cast out our sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19).

"The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices" p. 274 has tongue-in-cheek suggestions for the choice of breadcrumbs:

Ordinary sins   White bread
Exotic sins    French or Italian bread
Dark sins    Pumpernickel
Complex sins    Multigrain
Truly Warped sins    Pretzels  😖
Sins of indecision    Waffles
Being ill-tempered    Sourdough   😡
Excessive use of irony    Rye bread
Continual bad jokes    Corn bread  😂
Hardening our heart    Jelly doughnuts

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 
"Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, 
on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest,
 a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation..."

Leviticus 23:23-24