Atoning throughout Yom Kippur : NPR

Within the fall of 2021, 67-year-old Nancy Piness couldn’t deliver herself to select up the cellphone and name her pal, although they’d recognized one another for many years.

Earlier that 12 months, they’d one thing of a falling out. There was nobody horrible factor that occurred, however over time they’d disagreements, variations of opinion and pressure. At some point, it simply grew to become an excessive amount of and so they stopped speaking.

“I deliberately avoided her street,” Piness mentioned. “I deliberately hoped I wouldn’t run into her at the grocery store.”

This time of 12 months, Piness thinks about her pal quite a bit.

That’s as a result of Friday evening marks the start of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) — the holiest day of the Jewish 12 months. It’s noticed with fasting, prayer and deep introspection.

“Yom Kippur is seen as this really special window where if you express an actual regret and you ask to be absolved, then God will absolve anything — literally anything,” explains Rabbi Chana Leslie Glazer, interim rabbi at a congregation in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

“There is one little caveat, though. If you don’t make right with the other people that you’ve hurt, then that can’t be forgiven,” mentioned Glazer.

This concept is central to the Jewish Excessive Holidays. And within the weeks main as much as Yom Kippur, many Jews attempt to restore damaged relationships.

“There are a lot of people who will go around,” mentioned Glazer, ”writing up an inventory of all of the people who they should ask forgiveness from and that they need to apologize to.”

However this course of requires preparation.

A method that is carried out is thru a service referred to as selichot, which occurs inside the week earlier than the Jewish New 12 months (Rosh Hashanah). The phrase selichot means pardons, and the service is designed to assist one replicate on the methods wherein they’ve fallen brief previously 12 months.

For the sins we have now dedicated

On a moist Saturday evening in northwest Washington, DC a small group of congregants collect collectively at Temple Micah. Nancy Piness was one among them.

Standing in a circle, they lit a braided candle, sipped from a ceremonial cup of wine, smelled candy spices and recited the blessings that mark the ending of Shabbat. Then they filed into the sanctuary, and started the selichot service.

One of many prayers they recited is the Al Chet — a communal confession of sins which is claimed many occasions over the course of the Excessive Holidays. It pairs with one other prayer referred to as Ashamnu, wherein many congregants clench their proper hand in a fist and pound their coronary heart as they recite every sin.

That is the fourth Excessive Vacation season that Piness has been out of normal contact together with her pal, who isn’t Jewish. This 12 months, she lastly feels able to have a dialog. And she or he’s been considering quite a bit about what she’ll say.

“I can tell it’s emotional now and I can feel the lump in my throat and I may burst into tears, which she doesn’t always understand,” mentioned Piness. When she lastly picks up the cellphone to name or textual content, she mentioned her message will probably be one thing like: “Too much time has gone by. I miss you. And I hope we can find some time soon to talk.”

Forgiveness is a course of

The Jewish thinker Maimonides outlined 4 steps that make up the method of searching for atonement or forgiveness. Glazer explains that step one is to acknowledge the improper motion and cease. Second, to verbally confess. Third, to genuinely remorse the motion. And the fourth is to ensure to not do it once more.

For years, Piness was caught between these steps.

“I could be in services for hours on end and think about things. But I’m a feeler, and I’m a doer. And it’s time to act,” mentioned Piness.

So this 12 months, she lastly did attain out.

“I was anxious,” mentioned Piness. “I was really anxious. And I didn’t want to pick up the phone and call because she’s not a phone person. And so I texted.”

She requested how her pal was doing and if they might speak in individual.

“She wrote back minutes later. And she said, ‘Hi Nancy — thank you for being in touch. I’m willing to get together, but right now I’m the one with too many things going on.’”

Piness plans to take a seat down together with her pal, as quickly as they each can. However she is aware of there’s nonetheless plenty of work to do, and it received’t be carried out earlier than Yom Kippur begins at sunset on Friday. 

Glazer advises lots of people who’re having bother making amends, and who could really feel strain to do it on deadline round Yom Kippur.

“We talk about at the end of Yom Kippur that it’s the closing of the gates and that’s the end of your window. And that’s more meant to inspire people to really think deeply, as deeply as they possibly can about what they’ve done and to really go as far as they can with it,” Glazer mentioned.

“But also it’s important to understand that if you don’t quite get all the way there by the end of Yom Kippur, it’s perfectly fine to go in later and do the rest of your work.”

Piness is relieved that although issues aren’t fully resolved, no less than she’s taken these first steps.