Susie, I loved in particular your ability to slip in a bit of humor that makes your serious thoughts more accessible and more palatable. I also appreciate that you take your reader, me in this case, on a journey back and forth through time, from the day’s rain and it’s effects on you to the Greek wisdom writers and the period of transition from sacrifice to prayer after the Temple was destroyed for the second time.
I so look forward to your writing to tickle and thrust my thinking to new places.
Having historical awareness is a blessing. I guess it's also sometimes a curse if you see the writing on the wall when events are turning dark. But I can't imagine living outside of historical consciousness.
A thought provoking piece of work. Atonement, as practiced on YK makes for a long day but happens only once a year. Confession, the Catholic version, was forced on us once a week in parochial school. The humiliation attached to saying, "I'm sorry."
I'm not an expert on what it feels like inside Catholic practice, but I think Yom Kippur is more like Lent when Lent is taken seriously. It's a time of communal stock taking, public atonement....But the particulars are kept to oneself. It doesn't have the quality of having to say "I'm sorry" out loud the way you remember in the confessional.
Oh Susie! Your humanity invites us to accept ours, and to know we will never get it perfect, never be "done." And all of this on Yom Kippur and in the rain. Alan and I squabbled irritably twice on YK. We don't usually get crabby with one another. I was immensely amused by that. Beautifully written.
No, I was amused by Alan's and my squabbling. I guess there is a sweet tenderness to my amusement, too. A kind of "forgiveness" for being so damn imperfectly human. It's a very positive feeling. I could be persuaded to spread that in your direction!
". . . deep waiting, itself a potent spiritual practice." Indeed. And another potent ending. From your writing, feeling the root of the word -- POTENTial.
Oh wow again, Susie. I, too, fast on certain days and know the agonies that accompany that. My life feels like one long atonement now that my son is gone. And I beat my breast daily, but it is becoming a serene kind of prayer - transitioning from torment to peace. Blessed be God.
Thank you for your public atonement. I was at the same service, but due to the Pandemic, I was there via Zoom. I am a member, and it is a great congregation to be part of.
I remember hearing that the building would be locked. I remember thinking that it is so sad that a synagogue has to be locked, and also wondering how people would be able to get back in. I am sorry that you had to wait so long in the rain!
The Pandemic has been a nightmare for me. The one blessing that it brought was being able to attend services and events and connect with people far away without having to travel or parallel park.
I'm glad you were there on the screen. The security issue is a great sadness for everyone. Just when you most want to be openhearted and welcoming, this reality has to be taken into account.
I like to think that, too. I also know we are not able to see all the causes and conditions which makes hem appear random.
Agreed. All things and situations are infinitely more complicated than we can bend our brains around.
It’s the genius of YK that just as you think you have nothing to atone for, materials will be provided. Love this. Opportunities galore!
I'm pleased by this phrasing, too. I like to think that the challenges are not random and that they serve a definite purpose.
Susie, I loved in particular your ability to slip in a bit of humor that makes your serious thoughts more accessible and more palatable. I also appreciate that you take your reader, me in this case, on a journey back and forth through time, from the day’s rain and it’s effects on you to the Greek wisdom writers and the period of transition from sacrifice to prayer after the Temple was destroyed for the second time.
I so look forward to your writing to tickle and thrust my thinking to new places.
Having historical awareness is a blessing. I guess it's also sometimes a curse if you see the writing on the wall when events are turning dark. But I can't imagine living outside of historical consciousness.
A thought provoking piece of work. Atonement, as practiced on YK makes for a long day but happens only once a year. Confession, the Catholic version, was forced on us once a week in parochial school. The humiliation attached to saying, "I'm sorry."
I'm not an expert on what it feels like inside Catholic practice, but I think Yom Kippur is more like Lent when Lent is taken seriously. It's a time of communal stock taking, public atonement....But the particulars are kept to oneself. It doesn't have the quality of having to say "I'm sorry" out loud the way you remember in the confessional.
Oh Susie! Your humanity invites us to accept ours, and to know we will never get it perfect, never be "done." And all of this on Yom Kippur and in the rain. Alan and I squabbled irritably twice on YK. We don't usually get crabby with one another. I was immensely amused by that. Beautifully written.
Thank you. Were you amused that that's what the fast brought to the surface?
No, I was amused by Alan's and my squabbling. I guess there is a sweet tenderness to my amusement, too. A kind of "forgiveness" for being so damn imperfectly human. It's a very positive feeling. I could be persuaded to spread that in your direction!
I have a feeling that can't just be transferred from one person to another. You get it when you get it if you get it.
". . . deep waiting, itself a potent spiritual practice." Indeed. And another potent ending. From your writing, feeling the root of the word -- POTENTial.
Love making spiritual discoveries through etymology...in English and Hebrew!
It’s all about the שרש😉
Brilliant. Provocative. Beautifully written. You should republish this every year.
Thank you. Everything is always evolving...so next year, baruch ha-Shem, I will be different.
I didn't mean entirely different. I meant I hoped to live another year to grow in spirit ....according to my letter in Torah.
Priceless...full of truth, human, and a wide perspective.
I don't think I'd ever realized what a blessing going through the fast can be.
Oh wow again, Susie. I, too, fast on certain days and know the agonies that accompany that. My life feels like one long atonement now that my son is gone. And I beat my breast daily, but it is becoming a serene kind of prayer - transitioning from torment to peace. Blessed be God.
Very dear Patty.....There must be a lot to say about the connection between loss and atonement. Can you share a little bit of that?
Yes, I first need to gather my thoughts.😔❤️🩹
Thank you for your public atonement. I was at the same service, but due to the Pandemic, I was there via Zoom. I am a member, and it is a great congregation to be part of.
I remember hearing that the building would be locked. I remember thinking that it is so sad that a synagogue has to be locked, and also wondering how people would be able to get back in. I am sorry that you had to wait so long in the rain!
The Pandemic has been a nightmare for me. The one blessing that it brought was being able to attend services and events and connect with people far away without having to travel or parallel park.
I'm glad you were there on the screen. The security issue is a great sadness for everyone. Just when you most want to be openhearted and welcoming, this reality has to be taken into account.