“…In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work…For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:29-30).
A few days ago, Tuesday, September 18, Judaism celebrated Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement” in English). One of the most important religious (holy) days in Judaism, Yom Kippur involves a 25-hour time of fasting. Yom Kippur follows Rosh Hashanah—and both are considered “high holy days.” Rosh Hashanah began September 9 and marks the beginning of the Hebrew calendar year 5779. Like the secular new year, Rosh Hashanah is a time of joy and celebration. Yom Kippur (which follows a week or more later) is a time of repentance and for the healing of one’s soul.
Several years ago I heard someone use the phrase “irks my soul.” I fell in love with the phrase and I’ve been using it ever since with ever increasing frequency and liberality, for there is much in life and in the world as it is that irks my soul. Yom Kippur is a day set aside, according to Leviticus 16:20-30, to “afflict the soul.” To “afflict” is a very strong word as the following synonyms indicate: “agonize, anguish, bedevil, besiege, excruciate, persecute, plague, torment and torture.” Whew! Yom Kippur is a really tough day if it is taken seriously as a day to “afflict the soul.” It is a day set aside to atone (afflict the soul), to make amends and restitution for the sins of the past year. It is as though this is your last chance to get and make things right. The judgment of God will be written in the book, so to speak, and the book will be sealed.
(“Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and God, not for sins against another person. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible. That must all be done before Yom Kippur”).
An Opinion piece in the New York Times this week made a case for Yom Kippur being “A Dress Rehearsal for Our Death,” suggesting that to really “afflict one’s soul” (atone) is to view one’s life as it has been and as it is now, and to make amends and to be forgiven as though this Yom Kippur were really the final Judgment Day. Some things “irk” our souls—but we also need to "afflict” our souls. Yom Kippur is a holy day for all people.
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