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Yom Kippur-At-A-Glance

Elizabeth Applebaum

Special to the Jewish News

What We Observe: Yom Kippur is
the day of atonement; yom in Hebrew
means day, and kippur means atone-
ment.

When We Observe: This year, Yom
Kippur begins at sundown on Sunday,
Oct. 1.

Why We Observe: The command-
ment to observe Yom Kippur is in the
Torah in Leviticus 16:29, and Numbers
29:7. Also see Leviticus 16:30-34, 23:26
32, and Numbers 29:8-11.

Rites And Rituals: The command-
ment to observe Yom Kippur includes the
directive to "afflict yourselves!' The rab-
bis interpreted this to mean no food or
drink (including smoking); no wearing
of leather shoes; no bathing for pleasure;
no marital relations; and no anointing

with oils (in ancient times, people used
oil to clean and perfume the skin).
Those 'on medication, or who are in
poor health, should consult their rabbi
and physician regarding fasting.
Yom Kippur prayers are the longest of
any day in the year. A significant feature
of the liturgy is the Vidui, or confession,
which consists of Ashamnu ("We have
trespassed"), an alphabetically arranged
list of sins; and Al Chet ("For the sin"),
an inventory of transgressions, accom-
panied by beating of the chest. The con-
fession is recited at all services of Yom
Kippur.
Along with Rosh Hashanah, Yom
Kippur is the only day on which we
prostrate ourselves in prayer (in a modi-
fied form) as was done in the days of the
Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. The
prostration, which consists of kneeling
and touching the forehead to the floor, is
done during the cantor's repetition of the
Musaf service.
Yom Kippur includes two unique

prayer services: Kol Nidre, which begins
the day and in which we nullify all per-
sonal vows for the coming year; and
Neilah, which closes the holiday. Yom
Kippur concludes with a blast of the
shofar.

Customs Of The Holiday: It is
traditional on Yom Kippur to wear white,
which serves as a reminder of our mor-
tality because burial shrouds are white.
It also is a symbol of purity because
we hope God will forgive our sins and
restore us to lives of virtue.
We greet one another with the words
G'mar chatima tova, or, "May your fate
be sealed for the good" on Yom Kippur.
Some shorten the greeting to simply,
"G'mar tov."

Thematic Significance: Yom Kippur
is the day when God seals the decision
He made on Rosh Hashanah regarding
the fate of every person.
On the High Holy Days, the Book of

Life, with the name of every man, woman
and child, is opened. On Rosh Hashanah,
God decides the fate of each person, and
on Yom Kippur He seals His decision.
Although some believe that Yom
Kippur, unlike Pesach, Chanukah and
Purim, does not commemorate a histori-
cal event, tradition says that Yom Kippur
is the anniversary of God's forgiving
the Jewish people their first disastrous,
national sin — the building of the
golden calf.
Moses scolded the people, destroyed
the tablets of the Torah and went back
up the mountain a second time to pray
for God's forgiveness and receive new
tablets. Moses returned to the people,
ascended the mountain a third time and
prayed for God to grant the Jewish people
atonement. After 40 days, God erased
the collective sin of the Jews, and Moses
returned to the people on the 10th of
Tishrei, or Yom Kippur.

Double Champs

Brother-and-sister duo win championships at Franklin Hills.

Steve Stein

Special to The Jewish News

F

amily is more important than
history for Dr. Spencer
Solomon and Katie Solomon.
This summer, the duo became the first
brother and sister to win Franklin Hills
Country Club golf championships in the
same year.
That's quite an accomplishment because
Franklin Hills in Farmington Hills has
held a men's club championship tourna-
ment since 1927 and a women's club
championship tournament since 1949. But
the siblings are happier about keeping the
titles in the family.
"I wanted Katie to win so badly because
I knew that would.make my parents very
proud," said Spencer, who caddied for his
sister in her championship match after he
won his title.
Echoing him, Katie said, "I knew that
no brother and sister had won club cham-
pionships in the same year, but I wanted
to win more for my family." Spencer, 39,
and Katie, 26, are the oldest and youngest
of Franklin residents Steven.and Lauri
Solomon's four children. Randy, 38,
and Jacquie, 27, are in the middle of the

38

September 28 2006

brood.
"My husband was crying and I was a
nervous wreck after Katie's match," Lauri
said. After his tears dried, Steven Solomon
started doing some research.
"I checked with several other clubs in
the area and couldn't find any other one
with brother and sister club champions,"
he said.
It was Spencer Solomon's first Franklin
Hills men's championship after more than
decade of trying. Katie has now won four
consecutive women's championships after
a second-place finish in her first attempt.
Ironically, Spencer didn't need to hit a
single shot against six-time club cham-
pion J.J. Modell to win his inaugural
title. Modell, who beat Spencer 1-up in
two previous club championship semifinal
matches, couldn't face Solomon in the 36-
hole final match because he had another
golf tournament commitment.
"I was disappointed because I was play-
ing lights-out golf," Spencer said. "But not
playing gave me the opportunity to caddy
for my sister!'
Katie was glad to have her brother by
her side during her 1-up victory over Lea
Narens."I wouldn't have won without
Spencer's help',' she said. "He helped me

make decisions and talked through shots
with me, but he didn't interfere with my
game. He was a perfect caddy"
"I never imagined we'd work so well
together," Spencer said. Spencer won two
matches to reach the finals. He edged Jeff
Shapiro 1-up after he trailed by two holes
with four to play, and he crushed best
friend Tom Cohn 6 and 5 in the semifi-
nals.
Katie needed to play 19 holes to beat
Amy Rosenberg 1-up in the semifinals.
Two great shots left Katie with a three-foot
birdie putt that Rosenberg conceded on the
first sudden-death hole.
"I was my own worst enemy in that
match," Katie said. "Luckily, there was a 40-
minute rain delay after the 18th hole and I
had a chance to pull myself together. If we
would have gone directly to the next hole,
I think the result of the match would have
been different!' Spencer, who lives in West
Bloomfield, is an emergency room doctor at
Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. Katie is a
Birmingham resident. She's pursuing a doc-
torate at Wayne State University and does
pediatric development testing at William
Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

Avid tennis
player Nancy
Gershenson of
Franklin knows
all about ace
serves. Now she
knows about an
ace in another
Katie and Spencer
sport.
Solomon
Gershenson
shot a hole-in-one on the 106-yard, par-3
ninth hole at Franklin Hills. It was her first
ace in more than 15 years of playing golf.
Using a rescue utility club, Gershenson
hit a shot that went beyond the pin, then
rolled back into the hole. She was stunned.
Friends and playing partners Jean
Dubin, Linda Lutz and Lenore Singer
screamed.
• Gershenson's husband, Dennis, and
son, Billy, were playing the 10th hole at
the time. Billy Gershenson almost made
an ace himself on the 16th hole, leaving
a shot three inches from the cup. Nancy
Gershenson shot 104 for her 18-hole
round.

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