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Celebrate the
High Holidays
with a
Humanistic
Community
Teen
& Young Adult News
Rabbi Sherwin Wine - Humanist Hero of the Year
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What is Yom Kippur?
For Humanistic Jews Yom Kippur is a time of continued reflection, a
time to examine human behavior. History has taught human beings to rely on
themselves for creating change in our society.
Adapting the form of our meditations to the content of our
message, Humanistic Jews make Yom Kippur a celebration of inner strength and a
time of self-forgiveness.
Yom Kippur has a special significance for Humanistic Jews. It
is the culmination of our examination of our behavior begun on Rosh Hashana. Yom
Kippur is a time to reflect on the moral quality of our values and behavior.
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Introspection and goal setting are traditional
behaviors on the High Holidays. There are three key elements to the
Humanistic and rabbinic liturgies for Yom Kippur: teshuva, tefilla,
and tsedaka.
Teshuva is a Hebrew word, usually translated as
"repentence," but which actually means return. For Humanistic
Jews teshuva is the action of returning to our values and ideals,
renewing our commitment to the highest standards of our ethics. |
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Tefilla is traditionally translated as
"prayer," but comes from a word that means self-reflection. For
Humanistic Jews tefilla directs us toward self-evaluation.
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Tsedaka usually means "charity," but the
deeper meaning tells about what kind of human beings we wish to be: tsadikim,
or people who embody the highest ideals of the Jewish people. |
Teshuva, tefilla, and tsedaka return to
our ideals, self-reflection, and putting our ethics into action are the
cornerstone of the Humanistic celebration of Yom Kippur.
Kol Nidre is often sung at a Humanistic Yom Kippur evening
celebration. For Humanistic Jews, as for other Jews, Kol Nidre serves as a
reminder of our humanness, our fallibility, our menschlichkeit, and our
connection to all humanity.
Many Humanistic Jewish communities hold a memorial service on
Yom Kippur, called a Nizkor ("we will remember") service. This offers
each of us a time to remember our traditions and our ancestors. It reinforces
the belief that it is through our actions that our loved ones and our heritage
will be remembered and preserved.
Family & Community Observances
One of the traditional activities of Yom Kippur is the reading of
the story of Jonah and the whale. This story can teach us about the ability of
individuals and communities to create change in themselves and about the
importance of tsedaka. We must keep in mind that the book of Jonah is a
theistic document. Creative plays and stories can, however, be built around
the original story line and be fun and interesting for children.
Yom Kippur is traditionally a fast day. Some Humanistic
Jews fast, some do not. In either case, the action of fasting can certainly be
used metaphorically to raise consciousness about the problem of hunger. We can
use Yom Kippur to teach our children about responsibility to the hungry by
collecting food for a food bank or visiting and volunteering at a food
kitchen. Many local opportunities exist for such social action. While some
communities may not wish to do this on Yom Kippur itself, we can use the
holiday to teach about tsedaka and social action and plant the seeds
for a host of charitable activities throughout the year.
| Teaching children about death is not easy, and some
education can be done in the Yom Kippur memorial service with children.
Lighting candles for our family members or for our ancestors can be
included in a young persons service. You can also speak with children
about what we remember about our loved ones, how they touched our lives,
and how they will always be part of our lives as long as we remember
them. |
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Yom Kippur is also a good time to teach children about
making and keeping promises. Encourage children to listen to and
understand the Kol Nidre service, and let them participate creatively in
interpreting the service by creating writings and drawings about their
commitments and promises. |
| Again, the humanistic possibilities for this holiday are endless.
The solemnity of the day, the serious nature of our observances, provide
an opportunity for all of us adults and children to begin a year
of participating in the
behaviors we value. It offers us the opportunity to ask forgiveness from
ourselves and those we have wronged and to vow to be active, involved
and caring people mentshes in the coming
year. It is a time for remembrance, a time to look at what we carry with
us from those who are gone and think about how we want to act in the
coming year. Use this time to make group resolutions about the upcoming
year, which can be re-examined the next year, or for children to write short
paragraphs on their commitment to Humanistic Jewish values. |
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Themes of Humanistic Yom Kippur
Observances:
Self-reflection
Forgiveness
Remembering our past
Honoring our ancestors
Personal change
Teshuva: return
(to values, ideals)
Tefilla: personal reflection
Tsedaka: charity and putting values into action
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To
read about Humanistic Rosh Hashana Celebrations a
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