yom kippur
Yom Kippur Ritual
Why we refrain from eating, and who
should not fast.
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Herut Shitrid vividly recalls the first Yom Kippur she fasted, at age 10. "I
felt proud," she says nearly two decades later.
H
erut Shitrid vividly recalls the
first Yom Kippur she fasted.
She was only 10, but some-
how she was able to make it through
the whole day.
"I felt proud:' she says nearly two
decades later. "I was so proud that I
could do it:'
These days, Shitrid spends much
of her time serenading with her
harp the passersby at Jaffa Gate in
Jerusalem's Old City. But back when
she was growing up in the southern
Israeli city Beersheva, fasting on
Yom Kippur was one way to emulate
the adults' process of teshuvah — to
repent, or to return to your faith and
your highest self.
"If we're asking God to delete our
sins, we have to show Him we're will-
ing to sacrifice a little bit:' Shitrid tells
JNS.org.
Indeed, that sense of overcoming
our own bodily needs to invest every
moment of the day in the act of repen-
tance is one of the mainstays of the
fasting experience. But afflicting our-
selves comes in a number of forms. In
addition to not working and eschewing
food and drink, Jews on Yom Kippur
traditionally don't wear leather shoes
or any other leather garment such as
belts and coats, etc.; don't bathe, swim
or wash; don't use perfumes or lotions;
and avoid marital relations.
Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in
Israel, with no radio or TV, buses or
trains, and certainly no shopping.
(History buffs may recall that one Yom
Kippur did see a broadcast: during the
Yom Kippur War in 1973, to alert the
Israeli citizenry to Egypt and Syria's
attack).
In today's heavily secular Israel,
along with bicycling on the (nearly
empty) streets, fasting is one tradition-
al observance that is stubbornly clung
to — nearly three-quarters of Israelis
planned to fast last year. No wonder
Israelis of all stripes wish each other
a Tsom Kal (easy fast) or Tsom Mo'iil
(beneficial fast).
Israelis, of course, are not alone in
this practice. Regardless of what they
do the rest of the day, many Jews fast
on Yom Kippur. But why?
"When we walk around with a full
belly, we develop a sort of haughtiness,
a sense of self-satisfaction:' says Rabbi
Avi Moshel of Jerusalem. "So in the 25
hours of fasting, we actually put our-
selves in a state of humility:'
"Being hungry and thirsty reminds
us that all we eat and drink, in fact, all
we have in life, comes directly from
God:' he adds. "The goal of the day is
41 <9:"
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Deborah Fineblum
JNS.org
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Greater Detroit Chapter of Hadassah
Adat Shalom Synagogue
The Detroit Jewish News
Present
Naomi Ragen
"Between Peace and a Hard Place"
Challenges facing Jewish people in Israel and around the world,
and why, despite them all, I am confident of the future...
ol5v.) n -ry
DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS
JN
Monday, November 17
7:30 PM
Adat Shalom Synagogue
29901 Middlebelt Rd, Farmington Hills
Naomi is the author of ten international bestsellers, a playwright and journalist who
has lived in Jerusalem since 1971. She writes regularly in the Jerusalem Post and
her emails reach thousands and have become a force to be reckoned with in the war
against anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda.
She is a tireless advocate for gender equality and human rights, waging a relentless
campaign against domestic abuse and bias in rabbinical courts, as well as a successful
Supreme Court case against gender segregation on Israeli buses.
Light refreshments
Open to the public
No cost but RSVP is necessary
Hadassah: greaterdetroit@hadassah.org - 248-683-5030
Yom Kippur on page 34
1948890
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October 2 • 2014
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