Yom Kippur

The link to the handout for this session can be found here. 

We will spend some time at the start of our session discussing the similarities and differences between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.

We'll then do a close reading of several passages from the Torah that outline the Biblical observance of the Day, and discuss how they establish the basic thematic components of our contemporary observance.

We'll discuss the (little practiced) observance of kapparot.  Check out the article about it here.

We'll touch on the whole "no leather thing."  Check out the amusing blog posting about it here.

We'll talk about theology and the Book of Jonah.  Jonah is super-short.  You can read the whole thing here.

We'll conclude with a discussion of the Kol Nidre prayer and its potential conflict with modern Jewish Thought.

For our question of the week, I would invite you to consider the notion of fasting.  Have you ever fasted before?  For spiritual reasons?  Political reasons?  What was the experience like for you?  I am a fan of fasting on Yom Kippur because it internalizes what might otherwise be a passive Yom Kippur experience.  How might we take the ritual of Yom Kippur fasting and apply it to other aspects of Jewish observance?  I'm not advocating here for more fasting - but for making our Jewish observance more passionate...more personal.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on ways we might be able to do that.