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yom Kippur . . .
to learn true worth
by RABBI M. ARTHUR OLES
Many years ago there appeared
in an American magazine a car
toon captioned “Yom Kippur,” that
depicted a New York street empty
of people or traffic. Whether it was
meant to be funny or serious,
whether its intent was friendly or
adverse, it succeeded in showing
only the negative side of this sol
emn day in the Jewish calendar. It
showed Yom Kippur as a day on
which the Jew rests from his work,
but it could not demonstrate Yom
Kippur as the Day of Atonement,
the day of introspection and of
communication with God, the guide
of the universe. For what Yom Kip
pur is meant to be, and is, to the
Jew as an individual and as a mem
ber of a people cannot be drawn on
paper nor perceived with the eyes.
Yom Kippur can only be experi
enced by the Jewish soul, it can
only be felt by the Jewish heart.
Judaism knows no concept of
Grace or mystic salvation coming to
the individual through the effort
of someone else. On the contrary,
every Jewish man and woman can
redeem himself through a sincere
return to God, and Yom Kippur is
the day that gives each one of us
the opportunity and the proper set
ting to balance the books of our
lives. For Jewish life cannot be a
haphazard one, Jewish living can
not be achieved without prepara
tion. And Yom Kippur, the Day of
Atonement, gives us both the prop
er occasion and the proper direction
for the planning of a Jewish life.
Everyone is familiar with the old
saying that “all Israel are responsi
ble for one another.” Daily life
has taught us that Jews as a group
are usually blamed for the mis
deeds of an individual Jew, and are
often praised for the achievement
of a Jewish individual. But even
among ourselves this mutual re
sponsibility cannot be an empty
slogan. Judaism, the God-given
way of life, realizes that is it im
possible for the individual to raise
himself to the high standards set
on Mount Sinai unless he is aided
and encouraged by all the members
of his group. That is why the Syna
gogue Service relies primarily, not
on the leadership of one religious
functionary, but on the participa
tion of all worshippers. The liturgy
Yom Kippur includes a full de
scription of the Service at the
Sanctuary in Jerusalem. There the
High Priest brought the offering of
the whole people before the Lord,
in the presence of the people, who
in turn participated in the prayers
and responses. And when the High
Priest pronounced the Holy Name,
which he was permitted to do only
on Yom Kippur, the people, who
had been standing tightly crowded
together, fell on their faces and
found enough space to bow deeply
before God. It was to them the
miracle of Yom Kippur, and it is
the inspiration of Yom Kippur to
this day, that even the impossible
can be achieved by concerted effort.
And to this day, also, every Jew
closes his shop and his offce and
comes to the Synagogue to receive
some of this inspiration, to be one
with every other Jew, and to par
ticipate actively in the Service that
is being conducted for him by his
Rabbi and Cantor.
The Biblical source of the ob
servance of the Day of Atonement
is in the Third Book of Moses,
Leviticus. In the 16th chapter the
ritual of the Sanctuary is described,
and the day is identified as follows:
“And it shall be unto you a
statute for ever: in the seventh
month on the tenth of the month,
Coa& ati&e . . .
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