It was wonderful to see so many familiar and new faces on Rosh Hashanah last week, and I look forward to seeing all of you again for Yom Kippur this weekend. We are in the period of the 10 Days of Repentance, Aseret Y’mei Teshuvah, and we are collectively preparing for Yom Kippur. I wanted to share a few notes about what to expect and how to prepare to be together on Friday night and throughout the day on Saturday.
What to wear? We have a few customs around our attire for Yom Kippur. Along with the command to fast comes a practice to refrain from wearing leather, along with refraining from bathing and using lotions or oils. You might choose to try out one of these practices this year – I’ll be wearing my special Yom Kippur Crocs! Some choose to wear a kittel, a traditional simple white garment worn at one’s wedding, Pesach seder, on Yom Kippur, and for burial, or other white clothing. On Yom Kippur, we deny our physical bodies to focus on our spiritual needs, and in doing so, we become more like the angels, striving for spiritual purity. Lastly, Yom Kippur is the only time of year when we wear a tallit, a prayer shawl, at night, from Kol Nidre through to the conclusion of Yom Kippur at the Neilah service.
Do I need to fast if I…? However you might complete that sentence – if I’m sick, if I take medicine that must be accompanied with food, if I am in recovery from an eating disorder, if I am pregnant or nursing – the answer is a very strong NO, you do not need to fast. Our tradition tells us that we are to live by the mitzvot, not die by them. In fact, there’s an incredible organization called A Mitzvah to Eat that provides resources and rituals for those for whom fasting on Yom Kippur is not permitted. If you will need to eat or drink while at services for Yom Kippur, please take care of yourself, and feel free to use my office if you need some privacy.
What should I bring? Yourself and your open heart, of course! And, if you’re coming for Neilah – bring a shofar! We will close out Yom Kippur with a communal shofar blast.
G’mar chatimah tovah – may we all be inscribed for blessing in the Book of Life.
