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Yom Kippur - Survival Guide
For Those Less Serious | For Those More Serious
Top Ten 10 Tips for Surviving Yom Kippur
by Daniel Diker
- Pretend it's a three day fast and get excited that it's 2/3 over.
- Don't talk to anybody closer than four feet away.
- If you do find yourself chatting with your neighbor in shul, talk with
your head down like you're concentrating and breathe out.
- Use an ArtScroll Prayer Book so you can read the stories when you get bored.
- Do stretching exercises just before Mussaf so you don't throw out your
back when you "fall to the ground."
- Look like a mess in the morning so people really believe you
accidentally overslept two hours.
- Choose seating in the back next to the entrance so nobody sees you walk
in.
- Let your kids do whatever they want.
- Put yourself on the Yom Kippur committee. This allows you to run around
all day like you're really being useful.
- Pray for redemption - you probably need it.
And now for those who need something more serious...
Yom Kippur Survival Guide
It's not always easy to pray.
It is not always a simple matter to focus on those obscure Hebrew words
or to listen to the intoning of ancient tomes amidst the fervor and hesitance
that mark Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
How can you make prayer become a relevant and meaningful experience?
Think about some of these ideas before you step inside the synagogue. They may help:
- Try not to expect too much! Don't try to get everything out of every prayer or to follow along the whole service.
- Use a translation, preferably with explanations. There are some excellent bilingual festival prayer books on the market today.
- Select one or two prayers that are objectively more significant on these High Holy Days, or that seem to have special meaning for you.
Read through them carefully. (Don't worry if you are "falling behind" following the reader...) Think about what the prayers mean to you. Why did you select them? Of what wider significance could the prayer be to your community, someone you know, mankind?
- Close your eyes. Take in the atmosphere. Now look around and share a feeling of togetherness with others in the synagogue.
Think about the fact that millions of Jews around the world are doing exactly what you are doing. What does that mean to you?
- Use the time to "time out" and reflect on yourself, your family, those you care for - and the rest of the world. Any special thoughts?
- Think that just by being in synagogue, you have made a commitment as a Jew.
Do you want to strengthen that commitment somehow? If so, how? Think of three things you could do once the day is over.
- Join in with the prayers. Even if you don't understand what you are saying, your thoughts and feelings are communicated. Your words join those of your fellow congregants in the synagogue: they combine together. Your prayers, if sincere, will be heard and understood...
And may you be inscribed for a Happy and Healthy year.
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