Yom Kippur Thoughts

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the Holiest Day in the Jewish Calendar, surpassing even Shabbat. On this day, it is customary for religious or even non-observant (“once a year” observant) Jews to fast for 25 hours. The secular Jews, who view themselves as non-believers may or may not fast depending on their motives if any. Some secular do fast and may attend Kol Nidrei (All Vows)¹ services and maybe go to synagogue the next day for a bit in order “to identify” with their fellow Jews whatever that means.

 As for the rest, well, it is the “Day of the Bicycle” when thousands of kids of all ages take advantage of the traffic-free roads and ride their bicycles, many of whom land up in the casualty dept at the various hospitals around the country.

Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur

 

The Israeli news website Mako published a provocative article three years ago, questioning whether there is a point in a secular person fasting on Yom Kippur when he or she continues sinning the next day 2. I would go even further and ask if there is a point of pseudo-religious people fasting for the same reason such as the Chief Rabbinate and its political shenanigans in the Knesset? In any case, the day after Yom Kippur, the routine of most people returns and the lesson of Yom Kippur is forgotten very fast the moment the stomachs are full after ending the fast.

Many of us sit at home quietly and do not see any purpose in fasting as it has lost its meaning for many of us (including Yours Truly) and has become a frivolous competition to see who can last out the longest, a sort of a competition of physical endurance without any self-examination involved.

What is the purpose of Yom Kippur? Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement" and refers to the annual Jewish observance of fasting, prayer and repentance 3. Leviticus Chapter 16 וַיִּקְרָא

gives an idea from where the tradition comes.

The Morning Service of Yom Kippur the Torah portion is Leviticus Chapter 16 and Numbers Chapter 29 7-11 בְּמִדְבַּר is read. Both portions explain the rituals involved and are meaningless to many people as it mentions all kinds of animal sacrifices that must be performed.

The Haftorah portion Isaiah Chapter 57  -  Isaiah Chapter 58 יְשַׁעְיָהוּ of the Morning Service of Yom Kippur -  is more relevant and is directed towards those who fast as a ritual without Kavanah (Intent) to better oneself is as if he/she has not fasted at all. This applies to the majority of people who fast on Yom Kippur to this day. (See the inserted commentary from the Soncino Press Edition of the Pentateuch and Haftorahs below).

From the “The Soncino Press Edition of the Pentateuch and Haftorahs. Hebrew Text, English Translation & Commentary (Second Edition) 1969 p 960”

During the Yom Kippur Service, the prayer Ashamnu is recited by the congregation a number of times as well as the prayer Al Het. These prayers are really the heart of the Yom Kippur service. People beat their breasts as they recite these two prayers. I often think to myself “What hypocrisy! What double standards!” Hardly anybody who attends Yom Kippur services intends to better their relationships with their fellowmen or improve themselves or even ask their fellowmen to forgive them for the wrongs they may have committed towards them. According to Jewish tradition, one must be granted forgiveness from one’s neighbour before asking forgiveness from God. This must be done before entering the synagogue for Kol Nidrei.

Perhaps the Al Het prayer should be updated to make it more relevant to our modern times. Many people say that one should never mix politics with religion. Here in Israel the establishment certainly does. It starts from the Chief Rabbinate and filters its way down the line. The religious political parties in the Coalition Government of Israel are calling the tune on religious Jewish Orthodox observance. Reform and Conservative Jews are considered persona non grata. On a recent visit to Paris, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and former Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel stated that Reform Jews were worse than Holocaust deniers.  He was picketed by the French Jewish Community for his divisive statements. The Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, is on record saying that non-Jews should not be allowed to live in Israel and some chief rabbis of Israel in the past have made disparaging and insulting remarks 5 concerning them. Have they ever asked forgiveness from them before they enter the synagogue on Erev Kol Nidrei? The religious parties - Shas, Torah Judaism and the Jewish Home are politicized Orthodox to ultra-Orthodox Jewish Parties in Government, each with their own agenda of blackmail and bribing the government to satisfy their own agendas whether parasitic yeshivas or illegal settlements in the occupied territories captured after the Six Day War of 1967. They are certainly not the moral compass in Israel - far from it! These “paragons of virtue” in the Coalition Government, have played their part in dividing the Jewish People and inculcating intolerance towards the minority non-Jewish population.

Israel’s Government treatment of Sudanese and Eritrean refugees by not giving them permits to work in Israel and imprisoning those who have nowhere to go when they are threatened with deportation. Where is Israel’s “moral compass” within the Religious Orthodox parties? They have forgotten their history of being deported in the past from the Diaspora. The Minister of Interior- the former jail-bird, Aryeh Deri, the head of the Shas ultra-Orthodox Party, also being investigated and interrogated at present for crimes of corruption and bribery supports this move to deport Sudanese refugees.

There are the aged who get very low old age pensions after paying all their working lives to National Insurance 
(2 400 Sh a month to live on). It reminds me of the ancient  Eskimo legend of putting their aged out on an iceberg with sufficient food until they starve to death. The handicapped of Israel fare no better and are largely ignored as well as having the extra burden of various accessories that must be paid for. Those who fare the best under the National Insurance handouts are the eternal yeshiva students in the ultra-Orthodox community, who never paid a shekel for generous handouts.

Now we get to the Palestinians in the occupied territories, a subject that is avoided and overlooked by many traditional Israelis. Their situation could be improved upon 4. Here too there are human rights violations by Israel.

Perhaps all these sins of the Israeli Government, which the people have elected, should also be added to the Al Het prayer and hopefully, the liturgical poem (Piyyut) - Unetanah Tokef could be recited or sang with more conviction than the automatic uttering without kavanah as is the practice today.

[Just an afterthought, Israel's Government seems to have lost its moral compass when it comes to condemning fascism in all its forms, as in the case of Germany. The AfD (a neo-Nazi Party in Germany that received the third highest amount of votes in the recent German General Elections) has a history of xenophobia that is a cause for concern.  If the fascism is not directed at the Jewish Community, the xenophobia is overlooked and we can expect an official invitation from the present Israeli Government to the leader of this party for a state visit.]

References:

1. "Kol Nidre - Wikipedia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kol_Nidre. Accessed 24 Sep. 2017.
2. 22 Sep. 2015, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/yom-kippur-fasting-secular-religious-jewish-identity-rabbi.html. Accessed 24 Sep. 2017.
3. https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/yom-kippur-day-atonement. Accessed 24 Sep. 2017.
4. "Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories - Amnesty International." https://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/. Accessed 24 Sep. 2017.
5. Racism and Gender in Israel  Israel Religious Action Centre Publication see p 32