Thoughts Shared with the Congregation This Yom Kippur (published in a pamphlet. . . )
Forgiveness on Yom Kippur – Which Direction?
Central to our prayer
experience on Yom Kippur is asking God that we be forgiven and asking those
around us to forgive us, too. Rabbi
Ungar writes meaningfully above about some of the issues involved in seeking
forgiveness, especially from others, as well as our obligation to forgive
others.
In fact, forgiving may be at
the heart of this whole process, and more central than we typically
imagine. If we begin with forgiving
others, we may be much readier or much more eligible to ask for forgiveness
ourselves. The response to the Kol
Nidrei prayer is assurance of forgiveness and the phrase Vayomer Adonai Salachti Kidvarecha—“I have forgiven, as you have
asked.”
But what about forgiving what
has not been asked? Each of us carries the
burden of things we haven’t forgiven. We
think it’s because the act was unforgiveable or we haven’t been asked. But the burden of it really turns out to be
our burden. Think of something that you
haven’t previously been able to forgive.
Let go of it and you will see that it is liberating to you and can bring
you closer to the person involved.
Letting go of this canker inside you will free you up to be more
generally forgiving, and in a better mood to ask (and hopefully receive)
forgiveness.
For a demonstration, (after
the holiday) check out Ikar LA’s I Forgive You on YouTube. http://www.ikar-la.org/videos/ After that, please forgive me. (I’ve already forgiven you!)
More about the liturgy and music of Yom Kippur. . .
KOL NIDREI: The paragraph of Kol Nidrei is a legal
formula developed by the Rabbis which annuls only those vows which are made
between humans and God. Tradition
suggests, for its three repetitions, 1st softly, like someone
hesitating before entering the royal palace; the 2nd time, a bit
more confidently; the 3rd time like someone who feels comfortable in
the royal court and approaches the ruler like a friend. We will echo this progression by having the
first recitation as a solo, the 2nd with the choir, and the 3rd
together with the entire congregation.
Please sing!
After the Amidah comes the beautiful piyyut (poem)
Yaaleh (223). A reverse anacrostic, it describes
poetically the emotional arc of the day.
The prayers Shomeia T’filah (224) and Han’shamah Lach (225)
are among those special Missinai tunes heard especially with these passages –
and only on Selichot and Yom Kippur.
What beautiful texts – full of yearning and appreciation of the breath
of life. The piyyut Ki Hinei Kachomer
(227) envisions God as potter, mason, craftsman, glass-blower, etc – God as shaping
creator.
SELIHOT AND VIDUI: Two highlights of the
prayers of penitence (Selihot) are El Melech Yoshev (229) and Sh’ma
Koleinu. The choir’s version of El
Melech Yoshev is a very dramatic setting by the composer-conductor Zavel
Zilberts (1881-1949). Conductor of the
Workmen’s Circle Choir and others in the 1920s, he was an extremely influential
figure in the world of traditional Jewish music. Our Sh’ma
Koleinu (233) melody is from Shlomo Carlebach.
The Vidui section (234) is the group of confessional
prayers which we find in our Yom Kippur and Selihot services. This includes Ashamnu (235). Remember that the major third in the ay-ay-ays
may sound happy to us 21st century Americans, but in the tradition of Jewish
music, this note is meant to imply our vulnerability, our rawness, and our
emotional pain in the act of confession.
(I loved this little melody as a child—but what we should love is that
we are casting out our sins through confessing them; rather than rejoicing in
naming them!)
YOM KIPPUR MORNING: Among the prayers in which the Choir will
participate in Shacharit is Tavo L’fanecha (263). The choir will sing Samuel Naumbourg
(1815-1880, Chief Cantor of Paris)’s musical setting of this prayer. This composition beautifully expresses the
disappointment of arriving with a full list of transgressions annually, despite
our best intentions.
YIZKOR: The Yizkor service (290) begins
with the Choir singing Enosh by Louis Lewandowski. This familiar text, which is not present in
our Machzor, is taken from Psalm 103: The
days of mortals are as grass. We
flourish like a flower in the field. The
wind passes over it and it is gone, and none can even recognize where it grew. But God’s compassion is from forever to
forever for those who fear God; so is God’s righteousness to their children’s
children. Lewandowski’s musical
setting beautifully brings this awe-inspiring text to life. Also heard in the Yizkor service is Gerald Cohen's soothing setting of the 23rd
Psalm - Adonai Roi (293).
YOM KIPPUR MUSAPH: The Yom Kippur Musaph is lengthy
in a different way from the Rosh Hashanah Musaph. On Rosh Hashanah, we had Malchuyot,
Zichronot and Shofrot, pages and pages of Torah, Prophets and
Writings verses on the themes of God’s Sovereignty, Remembrance, and Shofar
Soundings. On Yom Kippur, the Musaph
includes (in addition to the aforementioned selichot and vidui portions) a
Martyrology service and the Avodah Service recalling the majesty of the ancient
Temple.
As
on Rosh Hashanah, the Musaph begins with the haunting Hatzi Kaddish (298), Silent Amidah (300), Hin’ni (312), and the
start of the repetition of the Amidah (313). The early
highlight of this section of the service is the Un’taneh Tokef. The beautiful lyrical duet of B’rosh
Hashanah (315) by Meir Finkelstein will be sung again by Gabrielle
Cohen, Halley Dunn, Marissa Madison, Allison Meyer, along with me. After
the Great Alenu (325) comes a significant Yom Kippur insertion: the
Avodah service (326) recalling the annual purification ritual by the High
Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem. The
MiSinai tune which is chanted to V’hakohanim (330, 331, 332) is
reminiscent in its own way of Gregorian chant, which itself may have been an
imitation (or later manifestation) of the chant of the Temple.
MINCHAH: The Minchah service (361) led by our beloved Jerry
Benis is noted for a Torah reading (363) sung in the ordinary Torah chant (as
opposed to the High Holiday version heard this morning and on Rosh Hashanah)
and the mind-boggling Haftarah (367) – the Book of Jonah. Maftir Yonah is being chanted by some of our
high schoolers this year: Talia Rozenbojm,Orri Benatar, Micah
Goldson, Lily Sline, Aaron Abramowitz, Jenna Rodier, and Gabrielle Cohen. As the afternoon deepens and we
approach. . .
N’ILAH: The N’ilah service (392) provides
us with our last opportunity to plead our cause in the spiritual marathon which
is Yom Kippur. The Sephardic hymn El
Nora Alilah (407) is sung prior to the repetition of the N’ilah Amidah. You will hear
two different but related
melodies. The first, for the refrain, is
in a western (Spanish Portuguese) style.
The second, for the verses, is more typical of world Sephardic practices
and the source of the melody.
The melodies unique to this service create a special
sound picture to bind us to the conclusion of Yom Kippur in years past, whether
in our lives or in those of our people over many hundreds of years. The nusach melody of N’ilah is evocative of
walking carefully forward as we prepare to leave the divine presence—as,
indeed, the gates close before us.
Special unique MiSinai melodies are heard at Sh’ma Na (410), P’tach Lanu Sha’ar (414), Enkat M’saldecha (416), and Rachem
Na (419). Passages on 421 and 422
are quite distinct from the “boilerplate” of the rest of Yom Kippur
amidahs. Who among us would not be moved
by these two pages of liturgy? We hope,
of course, that God is also moved!
We conclude the day’s observances with the Ma’ariv
weekday prayer (445), followed by Havdalah (459) and the affirmations
(429) of Sh’ma (1x), Baruch Shem (3x),
and Adonai Hu HaElohim (7x). Followed of course by a t’kiah g’dolah and the chanting of Lashanah Haba-ah biY’rushalayim—next year in Jerusalem. May it be so!
G’mar
chatimah tovah—may you have a good seal in the Book of Life for the coming year.
— Cantor Jack Chomsky
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