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yom kippur days of awe

bh | 22.09.2001 08:15

jewish holidays

The name \"Yom Kippur\" means \"Day of Atonement,\" and that pretty much explains what the holiday
is. It is a day set aside to \"afflict the soul,\" to atone for the sins of the past year.

On Yom Kippur, the judgment
entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change
the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.
The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the
Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a
time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur.

One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that G-d has \"books\" that he writes
our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will
have a bad life, for the next year. These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions
during the Days of Awe can alter G-d\'s decree. The actions that change the decree are \"teshuvah,
tefilah and tzedakah,\" repentance, prayer, good deeds (usually, charity). These \"books\" are sealed
on Yom Kippur.

Another custom observed during this time is kapparot. This is rarely practiced today, and is
observed in its true form only by Chasidic and occasionally Orthodox Jews. Basically, you purchase
a live fowl, and on the morning before Yom Kippur you waive it over your head reciting a prayer
asking that the fowl be considered atonement for sins. The fowl is then slaughtered and given to the
poor.

It is customary to wear white on the holiday, which symbolizes purity and calls to mind the promise
that our sins shall be made as white as snow (Is. 1:18). Some people wear a kittel, the white robe in
which the dead are buried (under the altar)

Note that all sins are confessed in the plural (we
have done this, we have done that), emphasizing communal responsibility for sins.

There are two basic parts of this confession: Ashamnu, a shorter, more general list (we have been
treasonable, we have been aggressive, we have been slanderous...), and Al Chet, a longer and more
specific list (for the sin we sinned before you forcibly or willingly, and for the sin we sinned before
you by acting callously...) Frequent petitions for forgiveness are interspersed in these prayers.
There\'s also a catch-all confession: \"Forgive us the breach of positive commands and negative
commands, whether or not they involve an act, whether or not they are known to us.\"
The vast majority of the sins
enumerated involve mistreatment of other people, most of them by speech (offensive speech,
scoffing, slander, talebearing, and swearing falsely, to name a few). These all come into the category
of sin known as \"lashon ha-ra\" (lit: the evil tongue), which is considered a very serious sin in Judaism.

The concluding service of Yom Kippur, known as Ne\'ilah, is one unique to the day. It usually runs
about 1 hour long. The ark (a cabinet where the scrolls of the Torah are kept) is kept open
throughout this service, thus you must stand throughout the service. There is a tone of desperation in
the prayers of this service. The service is sometimes referred to as the closing of the gates; think of it
as the \"last chance\" to get in a good word before the holiday ends. The service ends with a very long
blast of the shofar.

 http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm

The Festival of Sukkot begins on Tishri 15, the fifth day after Yom Kippur. It is quite a drastic
transition, from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous.
This festival is sometimes referred to as Zeman Simkhateinu, the Season of our Rejoicing. Sukkot
lasts for seven days. Sukkot is also a harvest festival, and is sometimes referred to as
Chag Ha-Asif, the Festival of Ingathering.

bh
- Homepage: http://www.awitness.org/

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

So this is like

22.09.2001 21:56

so are you saying this is like catholic confession that basically you can do whatever you like all year and then make up for it in the eyes of god, get redeamed and have an un blemished soul
so thats how you can drive tanks thru someone's house and not be damned and go to hell for doing it
just like most religions A GETOUT CLAUSE its ok do what you like to anybody you like, GOD will forgive you if you repent at a certain time or just before you die or every once in a while
rings of if i die a martyr then ill go to paradise
hey all religions are there to keep people in line different strokes for different folks

t'is a pitty none of them preach tollerance & respect if they did they wouldnt need the getout clauses

imagine that,
the respectful and tolerant fundamentalists
from the 'lets be fucking nice to each other church'

aAa


AaA (Arrogant arrogant Arrogant)

23.09.2001 13:42

AaA, I don't get your point.
You comments are pretty much arrogant, aggressive and pompous. You yet again twist comments and only see one blinkered view and you use banal reductionist principles to make judgements.
It is you who needs re-educating.

You sound to me like youv'e got some mental problem, and I hav'nt heard much 'tolerance and respect' coming from your comments.

jibjob


he has a point

23.09.2001 16:48

I reckon aAa has a point there,all religions try and keep their people under control where is the arrogant, aggressive and pompous comments ? its not so long since the church and state were one and the same if that aint control i dont know what. is at least it was comment and not just slagging off
u got anything positive to add jibjob the attitude you've got sounds like your the intolerant one

curious orange


jibjob spy

23.09.2001 17:24

hey ive seen jibjobs comments b4 it sounds like s/he is a member of Mosad or whatever they are called the isreali secret service seems like anything contradictory of isreal will get a derogotory comment from him or hes the one with the mental problem

Mouse


bigot jibjob

23.09.2001 18:57

so jib job rears its ugly head again
sounds like its just an isreali bigot
its not as glamourous as being a spy
just a simpleton who beleives the hype he is fed
.
there are jews,christians and muslims
who are genuinely good people then
there are jews, christians and muslims
who are complete assholes
jibjob is in the latter catogory
who puts in false a email address see-
 http://uk.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=11912
.
thanks to the two peps for your comments above
i look forward to jibs uninteligible reply

aAa


pratts

24.09.2001 13:39

Actually
Its just aAa I don't like, I don't care for any religion, but then again, I'm not arrogant enough to make sweeping comments and generalisations. AaA obviousely feels a need to band his prejudice about.
I'v been active at every major anti-globalisation demo, and found many ill informed activists sharing the same kind of prejudice and reductionism that AaA makes. At least in his last reply, he at last admitted that good people can be found whether Jew, Christian or Muslim. I would think that goes for most of humanity. We all have different opinions.
In none of my posts have I slagged of any one group of people, so the Mossad stuff is sheer crap, where have I expressed an opinion against Palestinians. This is the sort of reaction you might expect from reactionary people, who hate any view apart from their own.
Grow up aAa. In an earlier post you claimed an American Jew to give an Israeli opinion, sorry, its just don't add up, an American Jew is not an Israeli, and although his opinion was flawed, you were also flawed in your reply, one which has mainly been informed by TV I would imagine. Actually, the real blame of the conflict lies initially with Britain (pre 1948), and America (since 1948). I have worked on and off in Israel and Palestine, on eco projects and seen Israeli and palestinian cooperation, goodwill and friendship at all levels. Unless you accept that people can and will get on and prosper, if given the chance, then you are just a misguided product of a sick society that sees only news coverage of conflict as being the whole story.
Get in the real world, if you keep throwing 'throw away' comments into the arena, expect to get some reaction

jibjob
mail e-mail: somewhere@large.com


reply to jibjob

24.09.2001 14:07

actually i dont own a tv
why put a false e mail address??
i grew up in N Ireland so know about
useless divides in society and how
bigotted people can get when fed
disinformation
your right about 'Actually, the real blame of the conflict lies initially with Britain (pre 1948), and America (since 1948).'but alot of people want to see a war there
war = money=power so wont address the real
problem of education which is that we should
all get along with each other irrespective of
religion race sex sexual orientation etc
im not a middle class prat and dont have a particually soft life 1/2 my time is taken up with vollentry/comunity projects
dont just make assumptions that you dont know are true
you fall into your own catogory of sweeping comments and generalisations


aAa


ok, peace restored

24.09.2001 23:16

ok, fair comment, apologies and all that.
I'm wasting effort arguing on this forum, but i just felt comments were getting negative in here. Sorry if I added to the negativity.
In 91/92 I lived in my vehicle in Belfast, in a mixed area. My relatives live in a hardline republican area, and the space between what they believe, and what me and my friends from both 'sides' believed was huge. Anyway, I got sick of the military, the rhetoric, the bigotry (from my own family as well as others). People always look back, citing this reason or that for justification of some cause.
I think its important we don't fall into that trap here.

In 93 I spent time at Twyford Down, and later at Bath. At Bath I encountered my first eco facists, not many, but mostly kids (aged 14-18) whose views, although well meaning verged on hysteria, and were totally ill informed about the consequences of their own views, and their effect on others.
I'v seen views like these posted here, using emotive language to justify hatred rather than love. Apologies for joining in on the negative.

Someday people will move forward, I believe that.

I like my false email address. As my 7 year old uses the same email address I don't want crap from spammers/bad language from those I may have offended/and other rubbish going through. simple as that.
 Somewhere@large.com suits me

jibjob
mail e-mail: somewhere@large.com


cool

25.09.2001 21:08

ok apoligies excepted and extended i think we are coming from the same place really ,mentally and geograficaly (mid armagh tho i got out in '78 to dublin and brixton)if we had come face to face with this little argument it would have come to this conclution but in alot less time one of the hassles of the internet! also how do you do sarcasim on here i aint figured that one out yet
cheers good luck
may your god go with you

aAa