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Repentance and forgiveness mark end of holy days
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE © St. Petersburg Times, published September 26, 1998 As it ends after sundown Wednesday, Yom Kippur will bring to a close the Days of Awe, which began 10 days earlier with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. For believers, these High Holy Days, as they also are called, are marked with prayer, atonement and acts of charity. Yom Kippur itself, known as the Day of Atonement, is observed with abstinence from food and drink. For the Warren family -- Gail, husband Steven and children Allison, 7, and Michael, 4 -- preparation for the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar will begin with a substantial meal that will include chicken soup, challah (ceremonial bread) and brisket. But in keeping with the spiritual theme of the holiday, the family also will ask each other's forgiveness for sins committed during the past year. "It is kind of interesting to hear what a 4-year-old will come up with," said Warren, who sits on the board of Congregation B'nai Israel, 301 59th St. N. "Usually they (the children) say they are sorry that they didn't listen or they are sorry that they fought with each other," she said. After dinner the family will leave for the synagogue. On Yom Kippur, they, like other members of the congregation, will wear white or light-colored clothing as a symbol of purity. In the synagogue, even the curtains of the ark are changed to white. Another tradition also finds members of the congregation forgoing leather shoes, a sign of luxury in ancient times, in deference to animals. "We all go in our nice clothes with canvas sneakers," said Warren, who had to explain to her daughter why Nikes were not appropriate for Yom Kippur services. Though services are held throughout the day, the young family will not remain at the synagogue for all of them, Warren said. Instead, her husband will attend the afternoon service while she and the children remain at home. Usually, Warren added, she prepares the post-Yom Kippur meal known as the "break fast." It is a joyful occasion shared with family and friends, but Warren, co-president of the St. Petersburg chapter of Hadassah, a women's Zionist organization, said she wants her children to understand the spiritual meaning behind it. "I really want them to know why we are having these dinners," she said, adding that she believes that a religious upbringing is important for children. "By having a formal religion, whatever it is, you are going to grow up to be a more moral and upstanding person," she said. Debbie Sembler, a mother of three young children and a member of Temple Beth-El, 400 Pasadena Ave. S, also emphasizes the meaning behind holidays such as Yom Kippur. She and her husband, Brent, will take their children to Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning services. However, Sembler said, fasting for Yom Kippur has become difficult since she became a mom. "I usually last until 3 or 4. I have not lasted the whole day for quite a while," the slender woman said. "With three kids . . ." That evening the family will break the fast with about 45 friends and family, including Sembler's parents, who are expected from Daytona Beach. Dishes will include traditional fare such as kugel, herring, gefilte fish and bagels. The observation of Yom Kippur dates back thousands of years, said Rabbi Lawrence E. Finkelstein of Congregation Beth Sholom at 1844 54th St. S in Gulfport. It goes, he said, "all the way back to Aaron, the first of the high priests of Israel." Added Finkelstein, "The only day upon which the high priest entered the Holy of Holies (in the Jerusalem Temple) was on Yom Kippur. This was the day on which the high priest would go in and confess the sins of the people as known to him and his as well." It is believed, Finkelstein said, that as the new year begins, God judges people and writes their fate for the coming year in the Book of Life or Book of Death. That fate is sealed on Yom Kippur, but during the intervening days, believers have the opportunity to reflect and repent. Yom Kippur, itself, is considered a day for confession, Finkelstein said. But, he added, "Confession is not simply, "Yeah, I did it.' It is a statement that says, "I understand what I did is wrong.' And there also must be sincere resolution that I will not do that again. In the Jewish scriptures, there is no such thing as atonement without confession." As Yom Kippur ends Wednesday evening, observant Jews will hope that God has heard their prayers for a good new year. For Warren, the end of the 10 Days of Awe, with their theme of confession and repentance, brings a feeling of "starting the new year fresh -- a clean slate."
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uesday evening Gail Warren and her family will set out for their synagogue. They will return again the next day, continuing their 25-hour observation of Yom Kippur, the most solemn time of the Jewish year.
