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Jewish Life & Celebrations

Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur Service of Contemplation

© Excerpted from the Yom Kippur Service of Contemplation of The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in New York.

This service was arranged by Rabbi Peter Schweitzer originally in 1993, and later revised in 1995, 1998 and 2002. Full credit for the sources is available through The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism.

CANDLES

United with Jews the world over, we gather to proclaim a new year.

May it be a year of hope and not of despair.
May it be a year of vision and not of darkness.
May it be a year of life and not of death.

Let the fire we kindle be for us a warming flame, whose brightness shows us the path of life.

May the dancing flames of these candles kindle warmth within our hearts, wisdom in our minds, and passion in our souls.

As these candles give light to all who behold them, so may we, by our lives, give light to all who behold us.

As their brightness reminds us of our ancestors who have kindled light, so may we serve as beacons to our children, who will walk in our light.

Without hope, even the day is like night.

But with hope, even the darkness becomes light.


CANDLE BLESSINGS

Baruch ha-or ba-olam.

Precious is the light
within the world.

Baruch ha-or ba-adam.

Precious is the light
within each person.

Baruch ha-or ba-yom-tov.

Precious is the light
of the holiday.


ON TURNING

Now is the time for turning, but for us turning does not come easily.
It takes an act of will for us to make a turn.
It means breaking with old habits.
It means losing face.
It means starting all over again.
It means saying: I am sorry.
It means recognizing that we have the ability to change.

So let us turn:

from callousness to sensitivity,

from hostility to love,

from pettiness to purpose,

from envy to contentment,

from carelessness to discipline,

from fear to hope.

Then will our lives be revived and renewed as at the beginning.


HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The traditional, rabbinic view of the High Holidays is steeped in awe and terror. An omnipotent Yahweh undertakes an annual judgment of humanity, especially of the Jews, rendering an initial verdict on Rosh HaShanah and a final verdict on Yom Kippur.

In the face of Yahweh's terrifying presence and power, the safest human response was to appear as humble as possible. Appeasement ceremonies, including prayer, fasting, wearing torn clothing, weeping and breast-beating, were all ways to supplicate before God.

The Enlightenment undermined the old belief framework of the High Holidays and weakened the overwhelming sense of dread. Notions of divine record- keeping and supernatural rewards and punishments were questioned by the new rational inquiry.

Modern-thinking Jews revised their prayers and dispensed with some rituals entirely. They saw kapparot, the sacrificial slaughter of chickens, as an archaic practice unworthy of repetition. Kol Nidre, which excused Jews from carrying out promises, became a moral problem. Tashlich, the symbolic throwing of one's sins into a body of moving water, was also deemed less compelling, and fasting, likewise, seemed an unnecessary deprivation.

Some secular Jews regarded any celebration of the holidays as too religious and were likely to neglect them altogether. What they failed to realize is that the High Holidays, precisely because they are personal rather than national, have a special significance for humanistic Jews.

If human judgment replaces divine judgment, and if human power becomes the alternative to divine power, then Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur become perfect vehicles for celebrating a humanistic philosophy of life. It is appropriate for Jews to reflect on the moral quality of their behavior and to make decisions to improve it. It is also appropriate to revitalize rituals, customs, and ceremonies when they enhance our observance and celebration and are compatible with our values and philosophy.

Introspection and goal setting are traditional. They are also humanistic. A humanistic Yom Kippur allows us to seek and offer forgiveness among ourselves. It provides the occasion to re-state our belief in personal, human responsibility for our lives, behavior, and destiny. The High Holidays are not a punishment or threat, but an opportunity. It is up to us to take advantage of them.


A DAY OF RECKONING

Our ancestors declared the dreaded power of this day.

Are we any less mindful of its important purpose?

They stood in judgment, their fates weighed in the balance.

Do we not stand in self-evaluation, our choices equally measured?

They implored and beseeched, and asked for atonement.

We introspect and reflect, and seek self-awareness.

They confessed before another.

We chastise before ourselves.

Like them, we stand poised before an ever-unfolding book of life,

We believe it is written by our deeds and by the events that befall us.

We strive to take responsibility for our lives and write the pages ourselves,

And accept, with courage and dignity, the pages over which we have no control.


SHMA / Unity

Shma Yisrael: Hear, Israel, Justice and Mercy are One!

May they reign supreme in unity forever and ever!

Shma Yisrael: Hear, Israel, all Humanity is One!

May all people live together in fellowship and love!

Let us join hands here and everywhere in peace.

Shma, Yisrael: Hear, Israel, all the World is One!


V'AHAVTA / Affirmation

We shall love our neighbors as ourselves and affirm the oneness of the world with all our mind, with all our strength, and with all our being. We take these messages to heart. We shall teach them and repeat them to our children. We shall speak of them in our home and on our way, by day and by night. Let us be mindful of all our teachings and live up to them. So shall we dedicate ourselves to a life of purpose and meaning, of goodness and renewal.


CONFESSION OF FAILINGS

We speak now words of confession.

May they be words of sincerity and not mere lip service.
May they be words of voice which do not fall on deaf ears.

We are not so arrogant and stiff-necked to say,
"We are perfect and have no failings."

Rather, do we confess,
"We have gone astray, we have offended, we have done wrong."

We all have committed offenses; together we confess these human shortcomings:

The offenses of arrogance, bigotry, and cynicism; of deceit and egotism, flattery and greed, injustice and jealousy.

Some of us kept grudges, were lustful, malicious, or narrow-minded.

Others were obstinate or possessive, quarrelsome, rancorous, or selfish.

There was violence, weakness of will, xenophobia.

We yielded to temptation, and showed zeal for bad causes.

We have turned aside from precepts and pledges, teachings and ideals. We search the inmost chambers of the heart and probe the deep recesses of the mind. Let nothing be concealed from our sight.

We have acted wrongly:

openly and secretly,

with words or with thoughts,

under duress or by choice,

by abusing power,

by hardening our hearts,

by shirking duty,

by speaking slander,

by disrespect and dishonesty.

Now let this be an hour of compassion and favor and of mercy.

Let us be forgiving, find pardon, and achieve atonement.


ERRORS OF OUR WAYS

We strive for perfection but succumb to temptation:

by malicious gossip,
by gluttony,
by narrowmindedness,
by falsehood,
by hating without cause,
by our arrogance,
by our insolence,
by our disrespect,
by our hypocrisy,
by hastily judging others,
by exploiting the weak,
by giving way to our hostile impulses.

Now let this be an hour of compassion and favor and of mercy.

Let us be forgiving, find pardon, achieve atonement.

We strive for perfection but succumb to temptation:

by failing to work for peace,
by keeping silent in the face of injustice,
by ignoring those who suffer in distant lands,
by forgetting the poor in our midst,
by withholding our love from those who depend on us,
by engaging in gossip and in repeated slander,
by distorting the truth to our own advantage
by conforming to fashion and not to conscience,
by indulging in despair and trafficking with cynics,
by neglecting our heritage of learning,
by not rising to fulfill the best that is in us.

Now let this be an hour of compassion and favor and of mercy.

Let us be forgiving, find pardon, achieve atonement.


THE TRIAL OF OUR LIVES

This is a day of judgment.
Today we remember our deeds.

This is a day of questioning, and we ask:
What have we done with the gift of life?

We are not so arrogant as to pretend that the trial of our lives does not reveal our flaws. We know ourselves, in this moment of contemplation, to have failed the ones we love and the stranger, again and again.

We know how often we did not bring to the surface of our lives the hidden goodness within.

Where we have achieved, we are grateful; where we have failed, we hope to eventually succeed.

Let us remember how exposed we are to the chances and terrors of life. We were afraid. We sometimes chose to fail.

And we say: Let us turn our thoughts from the hurt to its remedy, and be freed of the torments of guilt.


MEMORIAL

LEAVES
(author unknown)

You shall ask,
What good are dead leaves?
And I will tell you,
They nourish the sore earth.
You shall ask,
What reason is there for winter?
And I will tell you,
To bring about new leaves.
You shall ask,
Why are the leaves so green?
And I will tell you,
Because they are rich in life.
You shall ask,
Why must summer end?
And I will tell you,
So that the leaves can die.


WE REMEMBER THEM

In the rising of the sun and in its going down,
we remember them.

In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of the winter,
we remember them.

In the opening of the buds, and in the rebirth of the spring,
we remember them.

In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer,
we remember them.

In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn,
we remember them.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
we remember them.

When we are weary and in need of strength,
we remember them.

When we are lost and sick at heart,
we remember them.

When we have joys we yearn to share,
we remember them.

So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us,
as we remember them.


DESTINY
Based on Ben Sira

Fear not death; we are destined to die. We share it with all who ever lived, with all who ever will be. Bewail the dead, hide not your grief, do not restrain your mourning. But remember that continuing sorrow is worse than death.

Seek not to understand what cannot be explained, search not for what is hidden from you.

As a drop of water in the sea, as a grain of sand on the shore are a person's few days in life. The good things in life last for limited days, but a good name endures forever.

In the time of our trouble, seek the consolation of friends. In days of distress and desolation, may they help us to endure.


ON BEING REMEMBERED
by Jacob P. Rudin

When we are dead, and people weep for us and grieve, let it be because we touched their lives with beauty and simplicity. Let it not be said that life was good to us, but, rather, that we were good to life.

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