The 60 Second Guide to Yom Kippur
Posted on | October 7, 2011 | By Mark Frankel | 5 Comments
While Rosh Hashanah is focused on G-d’s existence, authority and supervision of the world, Yom Kippur is focused on our role in G-d’s plan for the perfection of humanity.
We’re created half-spiritual and half-physical with a strong ego, so we’re conflicted between doing what is good (spiritual) and what feels (physical) or looks good (ego).
Judaism does not deny us physical or accomplishment pleasures, rather we’re instructed to make these pleasures secondary to a focus on becoming giving, emotionally mature, G-d aware individuals.
However, because the ego and body drives are so strong, we make mistakes and instead of driving towards the long-lasting perfection of our spirit, we pursue short-lasting and often self-destructive physical and ego satisfaction pleasures.
G-d expects that we’ll make mistakes and He gives us the means to self-correct and erase the negative effects of our mistakes on the day of Yom Kippur. In fact Yom Kippur is considered a joyful day and we eat a festive meal before the day begins and one after the fast ends.
To assist us in our self-correction, G-d instructs us to refrain from physical pleasures like eating, bathing and intimate relations and we focus on the greatness of G-d and put our egos on the shelf for a day.
Eliminating our physical and self-centered pleasures gives us the opportunity to introspect, admit and express regret over our limiting self-destructive actions and negative character traits. When accompanied by sincere intent to improve, G-d assists in removing the effects of our mistakes and allocates the resources we need to become the better people we want to be.
May we be successful in using this awesome day to set ourselves on the path of actualizing the greatness each of us possesses.
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October 7th, 2011 @ 10:45 am
I loved this. Where I daven, they have a separate beginner’s service that they advertise as being only 2 hours. It brings in some who wouldn’t otherwise go to shul on RH and YK. Imagine what a draw the 60 second minyan would be!
October 17th, 2011 @ 5:57 pm
I actually think there is an “issue” with how long YK davening is.
There is for me. Frankly it’s much, much more Yom Kippur than I can … “use.”
October 18th, 2011 @ 9:02 pm
Yes, but….Suppose you do go to a two-hour Yom Kippur service. Then go home and do what? What do you do with yourself the rest of the day? Everything is asur.
If you spend all day in shul praying Mussaf, Mincha and Neilah with only a short break somewhere around 4 PM, you are taking your mind off F-O-O-D (and for those who are addicted to it, C-I-G-S) and off T-V and off the sports world and away from all of the mundane pursuits that are not supposed to bother you on this holiest of days, when you are (theoretically anyway) supposed to be just like a malach. It’s much easier when you spend the hours from 8 AM to 8 PM in shul davening.
I can only see it for pregnant women and women with young children and babies who are unable to go to shul on YK. Keep running the two-hour service in a continuous loop and provide babysitting, so that young mothers can participate more fully in the prayers of the day.
October 19th, 2011 @ 12:45 pm
Alternatively, those with child-related time commitments, etc. could go to shul for a block of two or more hours of the regular service.
As far as the all-day service goes, I have periods of greater or lesser concentration in shul, but at home lesser would be virtually certain.
October 22nd, 2011 @ 8:58 pm
Frankly, I could do with a shorter RH service, though. Getting out of shul at 1:30 is a whole lot easier than getting out at 4 PM. Especially when the Kiddush served during the (too) short break is no more than some stale honey cake. WADR, I can accept HKBH as King in five hours rather shlepping it out to a full seven-and-a-half hours or more.