Tomorrow evening, our community, like other Jewish communities around the world, will begin the observance of Yom Kippur. And for many of us, this day can feel a little depressing. And why not? So many of our prayers on Yom Kippur paint a picture that is scary or gloomy. For most of us, we spend the day haunted by the phrase in the prayerbook that reads, “This is the day of dread for even the hosts of heaven are judged.” What a depressing declaration!
And yet, this is only one half of the message of the day. We must not forget our Yom Kippur Torah portion which states, “I set before you on this day, a choice between good and evil.” Yom Kippur is about seeing life as a series of choices. Yom Kippur reminds us that God does not choose to bring right or wrong into this world; we do.
Let us look at Yom Kippur this year not as our “doom and gloom” holy day. Rather, let us look at Yom Kippur as our “empowerment” holy day. We are empowered to choose goodness and blessing. We are empowered to choose right over wrong. We are empowered by the lessons of Yom Kippur to make this world a better place.
May we all be inscribed in the book of life and blessing this year, Rabbi Robbie
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Temple Beth Am of Northern Westchester 203 Church Place Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
