2020 Vision for Yom Kippur

Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. 

A liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement seeking to overthrow the forces that destroy the promise, the hope, the vision.

                          - Abraham Joshua Heschel

 Recently I wrote about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and the challenges of observance in the midst of a pandemic. Last evening marked the beginning of Yom Kippur, which will conclude later today. This is a solemn, reflective day on which Jews seek God's forgiveness and make amends with those they have hurt or offended. While Yom Kippur is observed around the world, in Israel there is a stringent lock-down which will make this a very different day. 

For some Jews there is a broader sense of societal and ecological responsibility. Tikkun Magazine describes these high, holy days in this way: 

The central message of Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur: 

We can heal and transform ourselves, our society, and the life support system of planet earth.We do this in our tradition by focusing on three components: Teshuva (repentance), Tzedakah (social justice), and T’fillah (prayer). 

We will create sacred high holy day experiences that allow us to do the deep inner work and reparation needed to return to our highest selves as well as a deep dive into exploring what changes and reparations are needed in our society and make commitments to participate in efforts to manifest those changes so we are partners in the ongoing evolution of the universe towards love. 

All of this will be held in the container of meaningful prayer experiences which will touch our hearts and souls.

I really appreciate this three-fold approach and we can take it to heart, whatever our spiritual background might be. 

Yom Tov is all those observing Yom Kippur today.