Yom Kippur
Oct. 8th, 2008 05:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioYom Kippur begins tonight. To those who observe, may you have a tzom kal (easy fast) and an uplifting day. To the rest of you, happy Thursday.
My rabbi will be speaking tonight and our new rabbi will speak for the first time tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to both. In the afternoon we will have our by-now-traditional beit midrash -- classes to fill the time between services, so you can just stay at the synagogue all day. I find that helps me a lot in maintaining focus. Mind, by about hour 22 of the fast my focus is fading anyway. I spend yizkor (we have ours late in the day) in a fog, but that's ok because I'm not really into yizkor anyway. (Traditionally speaking, I have no reason to go -- thank God.) I do find that the energy returns for ne'ilah, the final set of prayers. Someday I'd like to find an analysis of the whole Yom Kippur experience taking into account physiology and psychology; I'll bet the day and its liturgy are structured the way they are for reasons beyond theology.
I learned some years ago that the secret to fasting is a large, proteinful lunch (not dinner). And because we can't do it on Yom Kippur, we're supposed to have a festive meal beforehand. We had a lunchtime meeting today (bring your own). Later I received some inquiring comments about my sushi spread. :-)
My rabbi will be speaking tonight and our new rabbi will speak for the first time tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to both. In the afternoon we will have our by-now-traditional beit midrash -- classes to fill the time between services, so you can just stay at the synagogue all day. I find that helps me a lot in maintaining focus. Mind, by about hour 22 of the fast my focus is fading anyway. I spend yizkor (we have ours late in the day) in a fog, but that's ok because I'm not really into yizkor anyway. (Traditionally speaking, I have no reason to go -- thank God.) I do find that the energy returns for ne'ilah, the final set of prayers. Someday I'd like to find an analysis of the whole Yom Kippur experience taking into account physiology and psychology; I'll bet the day and its liturgy are structured the way they are for reasons beyond theology.
I learned some years ago that the secret to fasting is a large, proteinful lunch (not dinner). And because we can't do it on Yom Kippur, we're supposed to have a festive meal beforehand. We had a lunchtime meeting today (bring your own). Later I received some inquiring comments about my sushi spread. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-08 09:18 pm (UTC)Tzom kal and gmar chatimah tovah!