Dear Kol Rinah Family,
This weekend, we will have incredible experiences for both Shabbat and then Yom Kippur, so please read the entire email for all of the relevant information!
This new year, 5781, began with an extraordinary and new way to engage in worship and community. And yet so many of you have written and called to express your joy at being able to engage in sacred rituals that in many different ways felt like Rosh Hashanah. You have no idea how heartening it is to get your enthusiastic and constructive feedback as we venture into new territory in the new year.
But now the year has begun, and we must each ask ourselves where we stand in this world. What do we want from our days? How can we go about our lives so that, looking back, we see that we lived a life of compassion and purpose, a life of goodness and justice, a life of which we are authentically proud?
These are the questions that confront us each year, and the rituals of Yom Kippur help guide us in forming answers. By taking a full day, twenty-five hours, to abstain from eating, drinking, engaging in work, bathing and perfuming ourselves, intimate relations with our partners, and even wearing leather products and other finery, we force ourselves out of our routine and into a place of ascetic reflection. When we strip away all of our outer trappings, even our most essential functions, we are able to focus more clearly on our inner workings, the depths of our minds and souls.
We look at our promises made; did we fulfill them?
We look at our plans formed; did we bring them to fruition?
We look at our most important values; did we live up to them?
We look into the unknown future; what can we each do to make the world a better place?
This Day of Atonement, I hope you are able to find a quiet space, both physically and spiritually, to even for a moment reflect and renew your efforts to transform our world in the year ahead.
Below are some resources, links and schedules for Shabbat & Yom Kippur.
May this be a year of good health, of joy, of hope, of connection, of purpose, infused with sweetness.
Shabbat shalom and g'mar chatima tova,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
Resources
1. Kol Rinah's High Holiday Guidebook has wonderful resources, including page numbers for the machzor, reflections to help your Yom Kippur introspection, and suggestions for setting up your home as a prayer space.
2. Here is a prayer to say before and after you have set your computer up for use on Shabbat/Yom Tov, along with instructions on disabling "sleep mode" so that your computer will stay on for the entire holiday, making it so that you don't need to push more buttons than necessary.
3. Dressing for the Holidays... Some people love dressing up for the holidays. Others will enjoy the opportunity to dress down this year. Many people have the custom of wearing white to symbolize both the inner purity and renewal we hope to achieve through this holiday. Many will also wear a kittel if they own one. It is also customary not to wear leather if possible, as it is considered a luxury as well as material that had to be made through the killing of an animal.
4. If you own a tallit, you should wear it for both Kol Nidrei and for the morning of Yom Kippur (Shacharit & Musaf services). Kol Nidrei services are one of the only evenings in the Jewish calendar when we don tallitot.
5. Fasting for the Yom Kippur begins Sunday evening at 6:31 PM and will conclude on Monday evening at 7:27 PM. If you are not physically healthy enough to be fasting, please make sure to eat and drink as necessary. Also, taking essential medication supercedes the fast and should be continued on Yom Kippur.
Links
Friday evening at 5:30pm (same link as weekday and Friday evenings):
Services for BOTH Shabbat morning AND all of Yom Kippur, will be streaming
Schedule
Friday 9/25
Torah Talk with Rabbi Shafrin, 12 pm
5:00 pm - L'chaim hosted by Kol Rinah's Brotherhood. All are invited for conversation!
5:30 pm - Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat
6:34 pm - Candle lighting for Shabbat
Saturday 9/26
9:30- Shabbat morning services (see link above)
Sunday 9/27
Mincha at 3:00 pm via Zoom
Kol Nidre Livestream 6:30 pm
Monday, September 28 • Yom Kippur
Shacharit/Musaf Livestream 9:30 am – 1:00 pm
Yizkor will be said after Sermon
Learning with Professor Nancy Berg, 4:15 pm
"Synaogues, Real and Remembered"
Mincha Livestream 5:15 pm
Ma’ariv / Neilah Livestream 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Yom Kippur Family Experiences
• Elementary Age Zoom Service 10:00 am
• Young Family Zoom Service 3:30 pm
Yom Kippur at 7:27 pm.
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