DOCSLIB.ORG

YOM KIPPUR: LOOKING FORWARD by Rabbi D

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
YOM KIPPUR: LOOKING FORWARD by Rabbi D YOM KIPPUR: LOOKING FORWARD by Rabbi D. Friedman, Jerusalem Yom Kippur has a solemnity that is strong. The entire Jewish world halts for 25 hours or more, and is engaged in either our prayers and readings in synagogue, or for the more secular, staying at home and ceasing regular activity. Everyone abstains from eating. Only when the shofar sounds to seal Israel’s prayers for the day, does the heavy solemnity lift itself off and away. Many people feel a profound sense of relief then, as keeping away from food and focusing all day on petitions to Heaven feels incredibly intense, both physically and emotionally. In history, during the late 2nd Temple period, Yom Kippur also entailed some anxious moments, as the public crowds that gathered in Jerusalem at the Temple courts waited word on whether the goat’s thread had turned to white (from red), indicating that God had accepted Israel’s petitions for that day, and had forgiven their sins. Our people have carried, and still do, a sense of heaviness and solemnity into Yom Kippur. This may not be the theological ideal, but it is my observation and it is our experience. I imagine most of you can relate with my point here. I want to look for just a second into the future. What will Yom Kippur be like when Messiah ben David returns home to Jerusalem? I imagine we don’t think of this question very often. Yet the answer can both surprise us, and perhaps lend some light to part Yom Kippur that we miss. So declares Adonai of the Heavenly Armies: “The fast of the fourth (month), and the fast of the fifth (month), and the fast of the seventh (month), and the fast of the tenth (month) will be for rejoicing and joy, and for good appointed times; so love truth and peace.” (Zechariah 8:19, my translation) Torah interpretation usually looks at the fast of the fourth month as the fast of the 17th of Tammuz; the fast of the fifth month is the ninth of Av; the fast of the seventh month can either be the Fast of Gedaliah or Yom Kippur. And the fast of the tenth month is the tenth of Tevet. Typically, the idea is that when the Temple is rebuilt, these days of mourning and fasting shall become days of joy and celebrating. The Rambam (d. 1204), the renowned and prolific Bible commentator, wrote that these fast days will be days of celebration in the days of the Messiah. Certainly Zechariah 8:19 would have been understood to refer to the future, since in Zechariah’s day, no changes were conferred to these times. Additionally, may I bring out that the Hebrew word mo’ed is used here to identify these times? According to Leviticus 23, Yom Kippur is indeed a mo’ed, and it is in the seventh month (today’s month of Tishrei). Additionally, Isaiah chapter 58 appears to be addressing Yom Kippur, when we read: Why should we fast, if you don’t see? Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’ “Here is my answer: when you fast, you go about doing whatever you like, while keeping your laborers hard at work. Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting, to lashing out with violent blows. On a day like today, fasting like yours will not make your voice heard on high. “Is this the sort of fast I want, a day when a person mortifies himself? Is the object to hang your head like a reed and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself? Is this what you call a fast, a day that pleases ADONAI? “Here is the sort of fast I want—releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke, sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!” Then your light will burst forth like the morning, your new skin will quickly grow over your wound; your righteousness will precede you, and ADONAI’s glory will follow you. Then you will call, and ADONAI will answer; you will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.” If you will remove the yoke from among you, stop false accusation and slander, generously offer food to the hungry and meet the needs of the person in trouble; then your light will rise in the darkness, and your gloom become like noon. (Isa. 58:3–10, CJB) Why does Isaiah 58 appear to address Yom Kippur activities? This chapter centers on fasting and our ancestors’ behavior during fasting, and is punctuated with what God expects our fast day(s) to entail. Indeed, Isaiah 58:3–7 is included in our Yom Kippur liturgy! Thus, we do have a strong connection here. One contemporary rabbi stated: “I think the speech (Isa. 58:3–7) was actually given as an interruption of a Yom Kippur service, or at minimum is deliberately written as if it were.” Given the ideal that Isaiah teaches us regarding days of fasting, I wonder if, in the days of Messiah’s return, Yom Kippur will change. Instead of being a day of total solemnity and supplication, will it become a day of serving those in a position of need, and a day of joy . even if we fast? On the other hand, Messiah Yeshua taught “when the bridegroom is present, there is no need for fasting” (cf. Mt. 9:15). Perhaps the fasting element of Yom Kippur will not exist in future days. On the other hand, we are instructed in the Torah l’anot to “afflict our souls” on Yom Kippur (Lev. 16:20), meaning to make the day difficult, which we’ve always interpreted as fasting. This is Torah from Mt. Sinai, which Messiah will not cancel, but will demonstrate and establish, as he did in the 1st century. May we enter this Yom Kippur and experience what it was created to be; may we not be overwhelmed by solemnity, but may we able to reach out to others on this very day, as Isaiah wrote. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Ji Calendar Educator Guide
    xxx Contents The Jewish Day ............................................................................................................................... 6 A. What is a day? ..................................................................................................................... 6 B. Jewish Days As ‘Natural’ Days ........................................................................................... 7 C. When does a Jewish day start and end? ........................................................................... 8 D. The values we can learn from the Jewish day ................................................................... 9 Appendix: Additional Information About the Jewish Day ..................................................... 10 The Jewish Week .......................................................................................................................... 13 A. An Accompaniment to Shabbat ....................................................................................... 13 B. The Days of the Week are all Connected to Shabbat ...................................................... 14 C. The Days of the Week are all Connected to the First Week of Creation ........................ 17 D. The Structure of the Jewish Week .................................................................................... 18 E. Deeper Lessons About the Jewish Week ......................................................................... 18 F. Did You Know? .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Exactly One Week After Chanukah Ends, Jews Around the World Observe the Fast of Tevet
    2 Exactly one week after Chanukah ends, Jews around the world observe the Fast of Tevet. On the 10th day of the month of Tevet in the year 588 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Bablyonia, laid siege on Jerusalem, which ultimately led to the destruction of Solomon’s temple, 18 months later, on the 9th day of Av. Since the Rabbinic period, the 10th of Tevet has been a fast day. Like all minor fast days, the fast begins just before dawn and is observed until nightfall. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate additionally selected this day as the day for the recitation of Kaddish for all those who perished in the Holocaust and whose date of death remains unknown. Interestingly, yet not surprisingly, this date assignment became a matter of controversy and debate. When the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, discussed official recognition of a day to remember the victims and heroes of the Holocaust, the 10th of Tevet was considered and rejected. Instead, the Knesset chose the 27th of Nissan, one week after Passover to mark this tragedy and to honor and remember its victims. While official sources insist that there was no effort to link either date with the holiday that preceeded it, the temporal relationship between each of the proposed dates and the preceding festival cannot be ignored. Chanukah celebrates a period of Jewish self- rule during the Hasmonean era. Passover celebrates the broad concept of freedom and specifically freedom from tyrannical rule and oppression. When I think about the differences between the underlying relevance of each of these holidays, I see a greater connection between Yom HaShoah and Passover than I do with the Tenth of Tevet.
    [Show full text]
  • Significant Times and Dates
    Significant Times and Dates Festivals The Jewish Calendar Jewish holidays or festivals (yamim tovim) are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar and include religious, cultural, and national aspects. Some are derived from Biblical mitzvot (commandments), others from rabbinic mandates, while others commemorate Jewish history and the history of the State of Israel. All Jewish holidays begin the evening before the date specified. This is because a Jewish day begins and ends at sunset, rather than at midnight. (It is inferred from the story of creation in Genesis, where it says, “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day”.) Jewish holidays occur on the same dates every year in the Hebrew calendar, but the dates vary in the Gregorian calendar. This is because the Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar (based on the cycles of both the moon and sun), whereas the Gregorian calendar is only a solar calendar. The Jewish calendar is primarily lunar, with each month beginning on the new moon. There are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year, so a 12- month lunar calendar loses about 11 days every year. To prevent the “drifting” of months and holy days, Hillel II, in the fourth century, established a fixed calendar based on mathematical and astronomical calculations. This calendar, still in use today, realigned the lunar calendar with the solar years. Holidays of biblical and rabbinic (Talmudic) origin include Q The Sabbath Q Rosh Chodesh—The New Month Q Rosh Hashanah—The Jewish New Year Q Aseret Yemei Teshuva—Ten
    [Show full text]
  • Theseeds Ofdoom
    The Jewish Year Seen Through Its Months TheSeasonsSeasons Month of Tevet ofof thetheTevet / 5757 DecemberMoonMoon 11,1996 - January 8, 1997 THIS MONTHS SIGN GDEE / CAPRICORN THE SEEDS OFDOOM he Philistines are the nation associated with the nly one fast in the Jewish year can ever fall on sign of the Goat (gdee). As the books of Joshua Friday. That fast is the Tenth of Tevet. When the and Judges remind us, the Philistines were Jewish calendar was fixed by Hillel II in 4110 CE, always a problem for the Jewish People. When OheO set down a rule that none of the five Rabbinic fasts could TIsrael forgot Who pro- ever fall on a Friday or T Shabbat. The reason tects them, they were delivered into the hands was that the pleasure of the Philistines. of Shabbat would be Samson gave his compromised if people Philistine wife a goat as a were to enter Shabbat gift, symbolically in a state of hunger, attempting to purify the and all the more if negative influence of the they were to fast on Philistine at its root. Shabbat itself. Even though Tevet However the has always seen events of exception to that rule hardship and evil for the is the Tenth of Tevet. People of Israel (Joseph In rare circumstances, Stalin was born in Tevet), such as this year, we nevertheless the planet fast all day Friday and that influences Tevet, break our fasts with Shabbtai (Saturn), sym- the wine of Kiddush bolizes the power of con- on Friday night. templation which characterizes the Shabbat experience: Why, of all the fasts, did our sages allow only the Tenth Refraining from the mundane, the world of the transcendent of Tevet to fall on a Friday? is revealed..
    [Show full text]
  • Mandated Jewish Festivals There Are Two Major Jewish Festivals That Were Instituted by Rabbinic Decree: Chanukah and Purim
    7. Rabbinically­ Mandated Jewish Festivals There are two major Jewish festivals that were instituted by Rabbinic decree: Chanukah and Purim. Unlike festivals mandated by the Bible, there is no absolute work proscription similar to the Sabbath on these two holidays . ,. """""' THE ALEPH }:-;"STITl"TE 7-1 • Institutional Handbook of Jewish Practice and Procedure {9/98) Chanukah-Eight Days (beginning Kislev 25) Special Ritual Items: "Chanukiah" Also referred to as the "menorah," a candelabrum to hold oil or candles. Supply of oil and wicks or 44 candles (1 for first night, 2 for second, 3 for third, etc. plus one extra for each night to light the others.) This holiday marks the defeat of Assyrian forces who had tried to prevent Israel from practicing Judaism during the existence of the second Temple (approximately 160 B.C.E.). Judah Maccabee and his brothers destroyed the overwhelming forces, and rededicated the Temple. C.J .L. ch. 139 § 1. After the Jews prevailed over their enemies, they entered the Temple on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, and found only a small cruse of pure oil bearing the seal of the High Priest. The oil was sufficient for only one day, but when they lit the Menorah (candelabrum) with it, the Menorah burned for eight days. For this THE ALEPH ]:\'STITl'TE 7-2 Institutional Handbook of Jewish Practice and Procedure (9/98) reason, the Sages of that generation decreed that eight days, which begin on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, be set aside as days of rejoicing and thanksgiving. · Every night during these eight days, lights (oil or candles) are lit towards .
    [Show full text]
  • Light Unto the Nations: Chanukah, the Tenth of Tevet and the Judaism of the Future1 Part 2
    BSD Light Unto the Nations: Chanukah, the Tenth of Tevet and the Judaism of the Future1 Part 2 Universal Clipping of Wings The fast of the Tenth of Tevet commemorates the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, which led to the destruction of the First Temple. This day is the first – in terms of the event that it commemorates – of four fast days that denote the stages of the destruction of the First Temple, as follows: • 10 Tevet: Beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem • 17 Tamuz: The walls of Jerusalem are breached two and a half years later • 9 Av (Tisha Ba’v): The destruction of the Temple itself; many years later, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple on the very same date. • 3 Tishrei: (the Fast of Gedalyah). The murder of Gedalyah ben Achikam, who was the governor of the survivors who remained in the land of Israel after the exile to Babylon. His murder symbolized the completion of the destruction and the beginning of the exile. Of these four fast days, Tisha Ba’v is the most painful , for that is the day of the actual destruction. We can ask, however, what is so significant about the first 3 stages—the beginning of the siege, the breach of the walls that preceded the destruction and the murder of the Jewish governor, Gedalyah ben Achikam? Why did they warrant a unique fast day for themselves? While the Ninth of Av has much stricter laws than the other three fasts, the question remains. Is it not enough to memorialize the destruction itself? Why are the intermediary losses in the war and a single murder that took place after the end of the war worthy of entering our collective memory at all? Here is a thought-provoking way to understand the contiuum of the four fast days.
    [Show full text]
  • Religious Holidays 2021-2022
    Religious Holidays 2021-2022 Below are many of the religious holidays observed by members of the Washington University in St. Louis community. Please note that individual practices may vary. Fall 2021 August 19: Ashura – Commemoration of martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and when Moses fasted in gratitude for the liberation of the Israelites (Islam) *Begins at sundown August 18, fasting August 30: Krishna Janmashtami (Hinduism) – Commemoration of the birth of Krishna *Fasting September 3: Paryushana Parva – Eight-day festival of forgiveness and self-discipline (Jainism) *Fasting September 7-8: Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year and beginning of High Holy Days (Judaism) *Begins at sundown September 6, work restriction starts sundown September 6 and continues through both days September 9: Tzom Gedaliah – Fast of the Seventh Month (Judaism) *Minor fasting September 16: Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement (Judaism) *Begins sundown September 15, fasting and work restriction start September 15 and continue through September 16 September 21-27: Sukkot – Feast of Tabernacles (Judaism) *Begins at sundown September 20, work restriction starts sundown September 20 and continues through first two days (September 21-22) September 28: Shmini Atzeret – Eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Judaism) *Begins at sundown September 27, work restriction starts sundown September 27 and continues through September 28 September 29: Simchat Torah – Celebration the Beginning of the Annual Torah reading cycle (Judaism) *Begins at sundown September
    [Show full text]
  • Parshat Vayechi 5771
    Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi Volume 2 Number 38 Brought to you by Naaleh.com Tomer Devora: Examples of G-dliness Class #5 Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen The sefer, Tomer Devora, is based on a the foundation of all mussar and against another, the level of love and verse in Micha, “Mi Kel komocha..”-Who is machasava. It is a prerequisite for emunah respect for the other person can never be like you Hashem. It describes how man and avodat Hashem. Chesed is a form of the same. In contrast, when a person does should adopt Hashem’s Thirteen Attributes giving. When a person gives of himself, he teshuva, he becomes even closer to of Mercy, transforming himself from a mere indicates that he is investing in something Hashem. This is the level we should strive to human to a G-dly individual. This class spiritual and eternal. The Jewish nation achieve with those who wrong us. While a focuses on the middah of chesed as distinguish themselves as being merciful, tzaddik can have a relationship with expounded further in the verse, “Ki chofetz modest, and kind. We do not pride ourselves Hashem, a baal teshuva is in the category of chesed hu..”-Hashem desires chesed. on our physical prowess or intelligence. The a servant who is even closer to his Master. In the heavens above, there are angels Torah tells us “Vahavata l’reicha The Midrash asks, why is Magen Avraham whose sole purpose is to receive and komocha…” Ahava comes from the root called Avraham’s bracha? Does it not say present the chesed of the Jewish people to word “hav”-to give.
    [Show full text]
  • Facing Jerusalem January 6, 2017 ~ 9 Tevet 5777 Parashat Vayiggash Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg
    Facing Jerusalem January 6, 2017 ~ 9 Tevet 5777 Parashat Vayiggash Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg Today is Tisha b’Tevet, the 9th of Tevet – which means nothing. There’s another “tisha,” Tisha B’Av) that matters a great deal, but not this one. Tomorrow, though, is a date worth mentioning: Asarah B’Tevet. The tenth of Tevet is the first in a cycle of minor fasts which include shiva asar b’Tamuz, when the walls to Jerusalem were breached by Nebuchadnezzar and T’zom Gedaliah, occurring between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which marks the assassination by a fellow Jew of Gedaliah ben Achikam, Jewish governor but vassal of the ruling Babylonian Empire. Asarah b’Tevet, then, commemorates the beginning of the siege on Jerusalem, a siege that would last a full 18 months and culminate, on Tisha B’Av, with the razing and burning of the Temple. (By the way, there is one other minor fast – Ta’anit Esther, but it is ahistorical and not connected in any explicit way with the story of Jerusalem). Jerusalem is in the news a lot, which led journalist Matti Friedman to tweet last week “Sometimes it feels necessary to point out that the state of Israel is one one-hundredth of one percent of the world’s surface.” Why so much of the world is so obsessed with Israel is a conversation for another time. Why Jews mention Jerusalem three times a day in our prayers, read about the land of Israel in our parasha and haftarah today, and – if you’re like me compulsively read the Times of Israel, Ha’aretz, the NY Times of Wall Street Journal to see what’s going on over there or how Israel is being portrayed – the answer to Jewish focus on Jerusalem begins with King David 3000 years ago, it continues with King Hezekiah and Josiah after him, it was a rallying cry for the prophets of old, a promise of return to Jewish sovereignty and represented the hopes and dreams of Jewish communities in diaspora for nearly two thousand years.
    [Show full text]
  • My Jewish Year
    6.125 × 9.25 SPINE: 1.125 $22.95 MY JEWISH JEWISH MY Praise for MY JEWISH YEAR: “With wit, warmth, and the fierce, searching 18 HOLIDAYS, ONE WONDERING JEW curiosity that is her trademark, Abigail Pogrebin takes us on an intimate, powerful journey as she WISH Y reckons with her faith and commitment, and in so “To understand the Jewish calendar, Abigail Pogrebin immersed herself in its JE E doing, gives us the gift of exploring our own. rhythms and rituals for a full 12 months. Her riveting account of this experience A This book will speak to everyone who wonders why serves as a lively introduction to Judaism’s holidays and fast days and opens a Y R we do what we do, and isn’t content with window on how Judaism is actually lived in 21st-century America.” the answer that our fathers and mothers did JONATHAN D. SARNA M — , Professor of American Jewish History, it before us. I absolutely loved it.” laris K Brandeis University; author of American Judaism: A History —DANI SHAPIRO, author of Devotion Y O L RIN “A superb point-of-entry volume for anyone who wants to bring Jewish holidays E A BIGAIL POGREBIN A SPIRITED CHRONICLE OF , a former into their lives, and a great refresher course for veterans who need their holidays AR THE AUTHOR’S DEEP DIVE INTO 60 Minutes producer, is the author of Stars of re-energized. Pogrebin’s style is engaging, and her insights are deep.” David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish —RABBI JOSEPH TELUSHKIN, author of Rebbe and Jewish Literacy THE HEART OF JUDAISM.
    [Show full text]
  • Young Israel of New Rochelle
    Young Israel of New Rochelle The Laws of the Three Weeks The prophet Zechariah (8:19) tells us that the four fasts; of the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month and the tenth month of the Jewish calendar will all, one day be a source of joy and gladness to the Jewish people. These four fast days mentioned by the prophet are: The fast of the fourth month is the seventeenth day of Tammuz. The fast of the fifth month is the ninth day of Av. The fast of the seventh month is Tzom Gedaliah. The fast of the tenth month is the tenth day of Tevet. The fast of 17 Tammuz begins what is known as the “Three Weeks” of mourning for the destruction of both Temples. Why fast? Rambam (Hilchot Taanit 5:1) explains that a fast accomplishes two things. It awakens our hearts and urges us on the path of Repentance (Teshuvah). The purpose of the fasting is to focus on the areas where personal improvement and change would be beneficial. Just refraining from eating and nothing else loses the essential theme of the fast day. All four of these fasts mourn the loss of the Beit Hamikdash. Each one is a date that commemorates a calamitous development for the Jewish nation that culminates with the actual destruction of the second Temple and the subsequent exile and murder of the Jewish people. The tenth of Tevet is when a three-year siege around the city of Jerusalem began. The walls of the city were breached on the 17th of Tammuz and the Roman legions invaded Jerusalem with murder and mayhem on their minds.
    [Show full text]
  • The Power of Disbelief: on Asarah Be-Tevet
    The Power of Disbelief: On Asarah be-Tevet לעי"נ אמי מורתי פעשא בת יוסף ע"ה נלב"ע ט' טבת תשנ"א לפ"ק As is well known, unique occasions were set aside to memorialize the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Bet HaMiqdash, by the Babylonians. Thus, after the return to Zion and the rebuilding of the Temple, the question was posed whether these remained in force. As the prophet Zekhariah recounts:[1] And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zekhariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, that is Kislev; When Bet-el- sarezer, and Regem-melech and his men, had sent a message to beg the God’s favour, and to speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying: ‘Should I weep in the fifth month, abstaining, as I have done these so many years?’ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: ‘Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, for all these seventy years, did you fast for Me, even to Me? According to Hazal, days of fasting and prayer had been established in the months of Tevet, Tammuz, Av and Tishre in memory of disasters that had befallen the Jewish People. [2] As the Tosefta states:[3] Rabbi expounded:[4] It states, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness for the house of Judah, and cheerful seasons; therefore love truth and peace.’[5] ‘The fast of the fourth month,’ refers to to the Seventeenth of Tammuz, when the city was breached…The ‘fast of the fifth’ is Tisha B’Av, the day upon which the Bet ha-Miqdash was burned… The ‘fast of the seventh’ is the day upon which Gedalyah b.
    [Show full text]