Yom Kippur

Today is Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day (similar to "Christians" who only attend services on Christmas and Easter). The Biblical basis for the holiday is found in at Leviticus 23:26. The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that essentially explains what the holiday is about. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. During the Days of Awe, Adonai inscribes all of our names in the "book." On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in the books is sealed. This day is, essentially, the last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.

Christians, in part due to John Wesley and Dwight Moody, place the most emphasis on our individual relationships with Adonai. To the Hebrew, the emphasis is on community. Confession of the sins of the community is made on Yom Kippur. Note that all sins are confessed in the plural (we have done this, we have done that), emphasizing communal responsibility for sins.

There is even a catch-all confession: "Forgive us the breach of positive commands and negative commands, whether or not they involve an act, whether or not they are known to us." It is interesting to note that these confessions do not specifically address the kinds of ritual sins that some people think are the be-all-and-end-all of Judaism. There is no "for the sin we have sinned before you by eating pork" (though obviously these are implicitly included in the catch-all). The vast majority of the sins enumerated involve mistreatment of other people, most of them by speech (offensive speech, scoffing, slander, talebearing, and swearing falsely, to name a few). These all come into the category of sin known as "lashon ha-ra" (lit: the evil tongue), which is considered a very serious sin in Judaism.

Today, ask yourself how seriously do you consider sin? Then, ask yourself do you see yourself as affected by the community you worship with, or do you consider your personal relationship the most important? Are your answers consistent with Hebrew thought, or a Greek view that places the greatest emphasis on personal freedom?