Rant #2,451: Years May Come, Years May Go

Tonight, at sundown, is the holiest day on the Jewish Calendar, Yom Kippur, also known as "The Day of Atonement."

On this day, Jews around the world show God that they are worthy, that any mistakes that they made during the past year can be fixed, that whatever skirmishes they got into the during the past year can be atoned for.

One way that Jews do this is by giving up one of their great passions--eating--during this holy day, with ends, upon the tradional blowing of the shofar, at sundown on Wednesday. Giving up food for 24 hours cleanses the soul, cleanses the mind, and makes one feel more in tune with him or her self.

Let's go back to Rant #811, from September 5, 2012, to see what I wrote, in edited form, about Yom Kippur, all of which still applies seven years later:

"The holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, begins at sundown today, and lasts roughly until sundown tomorrow.

It is not a joyous holiday, but a time of reflection, for Jews around the world.

A few years ago I posted a Rant about the holiday, and it pretty much still stands.

So, with some alterations, here it is again, in edited form:

"Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown.

For Jews around the world, this is the holiest time of the year, the time where we pause to reflect on what we did the past year and how we can begin anew in the new year.

Even many non-observant Jews follow this holiday, and this is the only time that they venture into a synagogue during the entire calendar year.

Prayer and reflection are paramount here, as is refraining from drinking or eating anything for the duration of the holiday.

Some Jews don't even bathe, watch television, drive cars or do anything but pray and fast during this period, which ends tomorrow night at sundown, or when the shofar is blown at Yom Kippur services.

I, personally, don't go to that extreme. I do not go to synagogue, but I do fast.

However, from my personal experience, fasting is not hard to do. Sure, it takes you out of your routine, but it really isn't that difficult to do for a day.

What is difficult is doing it while you are in synagogue. The constant getting up and sitting down--when the Torah is displayed--makes it very difficult.

I remember in the old days, you would hear women crying in the back of the synagogue. Not eating can do that to you.

As far as my family, my wife has tried and can't do it, my son the same, my daughter, I know she has tried but she can't do it, either..

I have to tell you, after I fast I feel very, very good. It is almost as if everything bad in my body has been cleansed out of it by fasting. I might have a little buzz headache, but this is something I had been doing continually since I was 12 or 13, so I was pretty much used to it.

So to all my Jewish friends, and to all of those people I know who aren't, Happy New Year to everyone."

Yes, Yom Kippur is the real deal, the most major of holidays for Jews around the world, and with anti-Semitism on a high worldwide, it becomes and even more important holiday in the world we live in today.

We must show the world that we are strong, that this type of nonsense will not defeat us, and we must stand together to make that true.

Jews never stand together on anything, so while it might be a dream to hope that we all could do this, at least it is something to aspire to.

Let the year 5780 be a year of hope and a year of peace--for everyone, including my non-Jewish friends.

I will be absent from this blog tomorrow, but I will return on Thursday, hopefully reinvigorated by the fast and all the things I have to do to improve myself during the coming months.

Speak to you again then!