Wishing You A Meaningful Yom Kippur!

Tonight is the very important holiday of Yom Kippur, so I'm just popping in to wish you all a very meaningful holiday, and for those fasting (as I will be) an easy fast! In hebrew we say "gemar chatima tovah" which is loosely translated into English as "may you be sealed in the book of life." Today we eat a festive meal and start our fast at sundown, and tomorrow our community spends the entire day in the synagogue……a day filled with prayer and instrospection and a desire to truly delete all the wrongs from the previous year and start over again with a clean slate. We aspire to be so "clean" that we are likened to angels, which is why there is a tradition to wear white on Yom Kippur.

Regarding that full day in the synagogue, this is certainly by choice, and those caring for small children generally try to come at the very end of the day to hear the last blow of the shofar and to break the fast with the community. I might also add, that in Israel, regardless of the level of one's religious observance, Yom Kippur is observed by the vast majority of Jews and the streets are truly empty (so i have heard….it is of course the case in our little city) as almost everyone understands the importance of the day.

Like my little pecking chicken toy? Read on to hear the sweet little story…..

I was wondering how to come up with a post for Yom Kippur, and spied this wonderful little toy sitting next to my computer, and of course that was it! I just love traditional wooden toys and anything handcrafted and brightly colored, so when my son presented me with this as gift purchased in the Ukraine (my husband and sons travel there every year for Rosh HaShana together with about 60,000 others, but more on that another time, or ask me about it if you are curious) I was so truly touched, as I just love it! Apparently we had seen such a toy somewhere in our travels and he, sweet boy that he is remembered my love for it!

That is all for now, have a wonderful Yom Kippur holiday!