Yom Kippur is a day deeply associated with repentance and atonement. In fact, that’s what its name signifies: the Day of Atonement. But what truly leads to atonement on this day?
While “repentance” is often used to translate the Hebrew word teshuvah, a more accurate definition is “return.” On Yom Kippur, we shed our external differences and return to our core essence; the root of our souls is revealed. In this process, we return to Hashem.
Teshuvah itself can take two forms. We can return to Hashem out of fear, recognizing that our sins have created a separation and we fear the consequences. Or, we can return to Hashem out of love, reaching for the infinite.
When we realize that, at its core, our relationship with Hashem is never truly broken by sin, only concealed, we can focus on strengthening this bond. Yom Kippur then becomes not about the fear of punishment, but about a boundless expression of love. Hashem loves us, and we love Hashem, leaving no room for negativity—it’s all about nurturing the relationship.
This message feels especially poignant this year, as we mark the first anniversary of the events of October 7. Now, more than ever, we need an outpouring of love. We’ve endured enough pain, and all the Jewish people long for is peace, tranquility, and above all, the deep recognition that our relationship with Hashem is inherently good.
Wishing you a gemar chasimah tovah,
Rabbi Chaim & Chanie
P.S. There are a few sets left 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 1,080 sq foot sukkah this year (up from 750 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].
LAWS & CUSTOMS OF YOM KIPPUR
Kaparot - In the 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 COMMUNITY EVENTS
- Fri.-Sat., Oct. 11-12 - Yom Kippur Services and Break Fast
- Wed., Thurs. & Fri. Oct. 16, 17, 18 - Community Sukkot Dinners Under the Stars
- Sat. Oct. 19, 9:00 pm - YAD, J-HYPE & YJP Houston - Sukkot Stir Fry Showdown: Wok-N-Roll All Night - Join Young Professionals 20s & 30s for a Sukkah Stir-Fry Showdown! Dinner & Open Bar www.yjphouston.org/showdown
- Thurs. Oct. 24 12:15 pm - Shemini Atzeret Yizkor with special Service to Honor the Memory of the Oct. 7 massacre
- Thurs Oct. 24, 6:25 pm - Simchat Torah Uptown - Dance like a Star!
Yom Kippur
Friday, October 11
Light Holiday Candles & Fast Begins 6:37 pm
Kol Nidrei Simultaneous Main and Sefardi Service 6:45 pm
Children's Program 7:00-8:30 pm
Shabbat, October 12
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 5:15 pm
Neilah Closing Service 6:30 pm
Havdala & Fast Ends 7:29 pm
Break the Fast Buffet - RSVP
Kiddush Levana
Sukkot & Simchat Torah Holiday, Service & Candle Lighting Schedule: chabaduptown.org/sukkotschedule
Gmar Chasima Tova, Good Yom Tov and Easy Fast!