The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called “Aseret Yemei Teshuvah,” often translated as “The 10 Days of Repentance,” but the truth is that the Hebrew word “teshuvah” is better translated as “return” rather than “repentance.”
While emphasis on repenting for our past misdeeds is indeed laudable, the primary focus must be on repairing our relationship with G-d. That’s what “return” means. Throughout the year we may have strayed, our relationship with G-d may have taken a hit, but during these 10 days we have the opportunity to return to our true selves.
This is even more so on Yom Kippur itself, the day that the essence of our souls is revealed. More than mere repentance, and even more than returning, we discover that we never really left. Despite everything we may have done, the deepest part of us—our G-dly essence—was never affected; and we discover that on Yom Kippur.
Gmar Chasima Tova! May you and your family be sealed for a great year!
Rabbi Chaim & Chanie
P.S. There are a few sets left in each category for Lulav & Etrog! Be sure to put UPTOWN in the notes. Click here.
P.P.S. To accommodate the ever growing crowd, we are building an even bigger 750 sq foot sukkah this year (up from 450 sq ft) for a budget of approx. $3,000 for the sukkah, labor, schach and tables. Please consider being a sponsor? www.chabaduptown.org/donate. You can also use cashapp, venmo or paypal: @chabaduptown or zelle: [email protected].
SHABBOS SHUVAH
This Shabbos is call Shabbos Shuvah, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It means the "Shabbos of Return." The master Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria ("Arizal") taught that the seven days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur correspond to the seven days of the week. The Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur includes within itself all Sundays of the year; the Monday embodies all Mondays, and so on. Shabbos Shuvah is thus the archetypical Shabbos -- the juncture in time at which we are empowered to influence every Shabbos of our year!
LAWS & CUSTOMS OF YOM KIPPUR
Kaparot - In the early morning hours of the day preceding Yom Kippur, the Kaparot ("Atonement") ceremony is performed. We take a live chicken (a rooster for a male and a hen for a female) and, circling it three times above our heads, we declare: "This is my replacement, this is my exchange, this is my atonement; this fowl shall go to its death, and I shall go to a long, good and peaceful life." The fowl is then slaughtered in accordance with halachic procedure, at which time we contemplate that this is a fate we ourselves would deserve, G-d forbid, for our failings and iniquities. The value of the fowl is given to the poor, and its meat eaten in the Yom Kippur meal; some give the fowl itself to the poor. (A alternate custom is to perform the rite only with money, reciting the prescribed verses and giving the money to charity. Kaparot can also be performed in the preceding days, during the "Ten Days of Repentance"). Links: All About Kaparot; a Chassidic story; What Give us the Right to Kill Animals?
Omit Tachnun- Tachnun and similar prayers are omitted on Erev Yom Kippur.
Festive Meals The day before Yom Kippur is a Yom Tov, a festive day; for although we stand prepared to be judged in the supernal courtroom for our deeds of the passed year, we are confident that G-d is a merciful judge, and will decree a year of life, health and prosperity for us. Two festive meals are eaten -- one at midday and the other before the fast, which begins at sunset. The Talmud states that "Whoever eats and drinks on the 9th [of Tishrei], it is regarded as if he had fasted on both the 9th and the 10th." In many communities it is customary to eat kreplach on the day before Yom Kippur. Kreplach are small squares of rolled pasta dough filled with ground meat and folded into triangles. They can be boiled and served in soup or fried and served as a side dish. The meat symbolizes severity, the dough is an allusion to kindness. In preparation for the Day of Judgment we "cover" the severity with kindness. (Click here for a recipe.) Links: Eating Before Yom Kippur; Reverse Biology; Food: an Anthology
Mikveh - Men immerse in a mikveh on Erev Yom Kippur to attain an extra measure of sanctity before the holy day.
Lekach (honey cake) - It is customary to ask for and receive lekach (sweet cake -- signifying a sweet year) from someone (usually one's mentor or parent) on this day. One of the reasons given for this custom is that if it had been decreed, G-d forbid, that during the year we should need to resort to a handout from others, the decree should be satisfied with this asking for food. The Lubavitcher Rebbe adds a deeper insight: "asking for lekach" on the eve of Yom Kippur instills in us the recognition that all the sustenance we receive throughout the year, including that which we supposedly "earn" by our own powers and endeavors, is in truth a gift from Above, granted in response to our daily requests from "He who nourishes the entire world with in His goodness, with grace, with benevolence and with compassion." Link: Our Daily Bread
Additional Erev Yom Kippur customs - Additional eve of Yom Kippur customs include
- receiving symbolic malkut ("lashings") as atonment for one's transgressions,
- reciting the "Al Chet" confession of sins after minchah and at sunset, and
- lighting a 26-hour candle that would burn for the duration of Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur fast begins before sunset - Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, begins before sunset. Its most basic observance is the fast that begins this evening and ends tomorrow evening at nightfall (a total of approximately 26 hours), during which we abstain from food and drink in fulfillment of the biblical command (Leviticus 16:29). For twenty-six hours, from several minutes before sunset on Tishrei 9 to after nightfall on Tishrei 10, we "afflict our souls":
- we abstain from food and drink,
- do not wash
- do not anoint our bodies,
- do not wear leather shoes, and
- abstain from marital relations.
Kol Nidrei The first of the five Yom Kippur prayer services, which begins with the solemn Kol Nidrei prayer, is recited in the synagogue tonight at sunset, at the onset of the holy day.
Don't Forget to Light a Candle - Tomorrow is Yizkor. Those who have the custom to light a candle should so this evening before lighting holiday candles.
Kiddush Levana Motzei Yom Kippur - Though Kiddush Levanah can be recited as early as three days after the moon's rebirth, the kabbalah tells us it is best to wait a full week, till the seventh of the month. When sanctifying the moon of the month of Tishrei, it is customary to wait till the night after Yom Kippur.
Start on Sukkah - It is customary to begin working on -- or at least planning -- the construction of the sukkah immediately after Yom Kippur. Indeed, The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 30:7) describes the four days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot as a time when the Jewish people are "preoccupied with mitzvot... this one is occupied with his sukkah, this one is occupied with his lulav..."
"G-d's Name" - According to an old Chassidic tradition -- mentioned in the writings of the Baal Shem Tov -- the day after Yom Kippur is referred to as "G-d's Name." (The Baal Shem Tov explains that each of the various divine names describe G-d's involvement in a specific "world" or realm of reality, but the designation "G-d's Name" -- without reference to any particular name -- connotes a divine effluence that transcends all realms and particulars. On Yom Kippur, we access and reveal the very essence of our soul, which is one with the very essence of G-d; thus the day after Yom Kippur carries the designation "G-d's Name.")
Upcoming October Events:
- Tues.-Wed., Oct. 4-5 - Yom Kippur Services and Break Fast. Special Children's program lead by Rivky Lazaroff and Chana Staal of Chicago! Simultaneous Main and Sefardi Service!
- Fri. Oct. 7, 6:45 pm - YJP Pink Shabbat - Dinner Oct. First Fridays www.yjphouston.org/pinkaware
- Sun., Mon. & Fri. Oct. 9, 10, 14 - Community Sukkot Dinners Under the Stars
- Sat. Oct. 15, 8:30 pm - Young Professionals YAD, Moishe House & YJP Houston - Sukkot Sukkot Beer Garden and Biltong Demo & Pairing Event
- Oct. 16, 6:30 pm - Simchat Torah Uptown - Dance like a Star!
- Oct. 28, 9 am - 5:00 pm - Mental Health First Aid Training at Jewish Federation - Reply to this email for registration info.
Mazel tov Rafi & Eti Benjaminov on the birth of a baby boy!
Shabbos Shuva Parshas Vayelech
Friday, September 30, 5 Tishrei
Candle Lighting & Mincha at 6:50 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Services at 7:00 pm
RSVP for Shabbat Dinner www.chabaduptown.org/shabbatdinner
Shabbos October 1, 6 Tishrei
Chassidus at 9:00 am
Services at 10 am
Followed by Shabbos lunch Kiddush & Farbrengen sponsored by Rafi & Eti Benjaminov in honor of their new baby boy!
Likkutei Sichos at 5:45 pm
Mincha at 6:50 pm
Study of the laws of Yom Kippur
Maariv, Havdalla and Shabbos ends at 7:42 pm
Living Torah
Sunday September 18, 22 Elul
Shacharis at 8:00 am
Yom Kippur
Tuesday, October 4
Light Holiday Candles & Fast Begins 6:46 pm
Kol Nidrei Simultaneous Main and Sefardi Service 7:00 pm
Children's Program 7:00-8:30 pm
Wednesday, October 5
Sefardi Sunrise Minyan 7:00 am
Community Morning Service 9:30 am
Children's Program 11:30 am-1:00 pm
Yizkor Memorial Service 12:30 pm
Sefardi Mincha 4:15 pm
Mincha Afternoon Service 5:30 pm
Neilah Closing Service 6:45 pm
Havdala & Fast Ends 7:38 pm
Break the Fast Buffet - RSVP
Kiddush Levana
Gmar Chasima Tova, Good Shabbos, Good Yom Tov and Easy Fast!
