In my absence today, I'd like for each of you to spend the period doing some reflection about Yom Kippur, which is coming this Shabbos, October 4th.
Assignment: Please listen to one of the audio shiurim (Torah discussions), OR read the article linked below. When you are done, please write a comment on this blog post with a 1-2 paragraph summary of the main ideas discussed, AND your own personal thoughts on how the shiur or article changed your understanding of Yom Kippur.
When writing your summary and reflection, make sure to use proper spelling and grammar, write in full sentences, and organize your thoughts well. This assignment is due TONIGHT, Thursday September 30th, by 11 PM. By TOMORROW at 11 PM, you need to respond to at least one classmate's comment as well.
*Helpful Tip #1: While listening to your chosen audio shiur, periodically pause the recording and take notes on what is being said, so that you can keep track of the important ideas. This will make writing your summary a lot easier.
*Helpful Tip #2: Write your comment in a Google doc first, and then copy/paste it to the blog in case something goes wrong when you hit submit. Make sure to contact me right away if you have any technical difficulties.
Article by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Audio Shiur by Charlie Harary
Audio Shiur by Rabbi Ari Kahn
On Yom Kippur we are all apologizing for our sins.IN the example with the two goats we see that they are sent away. This represents them being sent away and leaving their sins behind. We know that sins are not physical but rather emotional and mental. Although e know people have forgiven us we still feel guilty. That is why we do certain actions involving crumbs and chicken.
ReplyDeleteIn addition the two goats each represent a different part of us. One of them is our good side and one is bad. We let the bad self go in to the wilderness and we purify with keeping the good. We stick with our good side and ;let the other negative side run away. The example given shows us a good representation of how this is done.
I think you are looking at it in a very interesting and cool way. I never really knew about this and I'm really glad I read this and learned. The whole concept of the sins leaving us and being left behind is very interesting and I really enjoy learning about it. Thanks for sharing :)
DeleteIn Charlie Harary’s discussion, he talked about many main ideas about Yom Kippur. He discusses that Yom Kippur can have its pros and cons. If you go and make a word association about Yom Kippur to anyone, they would say torture, the worst day ever, horrible. That is saying if you go up and ask someone their opinion on Yom Kippur and tell you about it they would say all negative stuff because it is a very long fast day. That is one main idea he focused on. He said that we all think there are two worlds: physical world and the spiritual world but that is not true. There is only one, everything is just one. The closer it gets the more spiritual it is and the further it gets the more physical it gets. He also focussed on how we have a very long time to apologize and talk to Hashem. We have 25 hours to apologize to Hashem and really focus and reflect on the past year and talk to Hashem. Teshuva is also something he talks about. Teshuva is not something where we just kiss up to G-d for a day or week and say you are a person you are not. You shouldn't just kiss up to G-d for the period of time so that he puts you in the book of life. It isn't right to just fake it then a week later to go back to the person you really were. If you are working on changing for the better, you should focus on it and keep to it even after Yom Kippur. Teshuva is returning to who we are. The big question to ask ourselves is who are we? Judaism is the religion where it says “I already am or “It’s already here”, we just have to reveal something that is already a part of us.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion really changed my understanding of Yom Kippur because before I just thought of Yom Kippur as a day of just saying sorry to Hashem and sitting in shul for a long time and fasting, but it really isn't just that. I learned so much from Charlie Harary and what he had to say. I am now much more motivated to sit in shul with my machzor, following along, and really keeping up. I have certain, specific things to say to Hashem that I want to change for this year. We have a whole 25 hours to sit there and daven and just tell Hashem how we are sorry and we did wrong. It is one day out of 365 whole days that we get to do this. That is why it is so special and I really look at it differently now. I realized that I won't get this opportunity for another 364 days, that I better focus and really get what I want to say out now. I now see that Yom Kippur is so much more than just a super long fast that I dread, I see it as so much more.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s article talks a lot about the ritual of the two goats on Yom Kippur. One of these goats would be sacrificed and one would be let out into the desert. People would confess over the goat and then they would send it off of a cliff with their sins and it would die. Maimonides says that this strange custom was to show the people that they can take their sins away and be free of the burden of their sins, but they must repent.
ReplyDeleteThere are two goats to show that this atonement process is not like the others. This makes it different from all the rest because on Yom Kippur you should not just be atoned for your sins. You should also be cleansed and purified from your sins that “stain” you.
Even though this ritual is not done today we can still learn something from it. It is a visual representation of how we can do Teshuva for our sins. If we ask Hashem to forgive us and properly do Teshuva, our sins can go away just like the goat walking off of the cliff. Knowing this can really help us out during Yom Kippur. It gives us the encouragement to ask Hashem to forgive us because we know that there is always the possibility that our sins will be forgiven.
I think that the comparison of having two personalities and letting one go is very valid. By throwing the stained sins away you are able to become you are and cleanse yourself.
DeleteI think that it is very interesting that the process is a lot different from any of the other ones ancient Israel. It shows that it is special from all the other rituals. It is also amazing that Gd is so forgiving and all you have to do is ask.
DeleteThe article by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks talks about a custom that people did a while ago. Two goats were used for this custom, one of them was to sacrifice and the other was to be sent away “to Azazel.” Many people ask what and where is Azazel because it is not mentioned in any other books of the Torah. The accurate translation for the word is a steep, rocky or hard place. Many sages say that it represents a fallen angel in Bereshit because Azazel was the angels name.
ReplyDeleteThe right way to do the ritual was to get two goats that looked so similar that you could barely tell the difference. Both of the goats were being sent to their death, but in two completely different ways. The sacrificed goat signifies that you are killing all of your sins and that you are starting fresh. You are supposed to throw the goat off of a cliff. It was also supposed to be an offering to G-d.
In the olden days they used to sacrifice a lot of animals for their sins, but this one is different. The goat that was thrown off the cliff is usually the one that people confess their sins to, but it was the other way around.
DeleteThis changes my outlook on Yom kippur because I used to think that people only prayed. People used to actually took drastic measures to get rid of their sins. Many goats would die because of these rituals. I see now that people take it a lot more serious than i thought.
How they were both sent to their deaths but in totally different ways is a very interesting point.
ReplyDeleteIn my video, Charlie Harary talks about Rosh Hashanah. He gives the scenario of a man who takes many business trips and is hardly ever home. The man recounts of when he came home from a business trip early and went to say hi to his 16 year old son. The son doesn't really acknowledge him and the man goes to bed. Later that night he can't sleep and goes to get water. He hears his son talking on the phone saying, "Man, I hate it when my dad comes home! I have to watch what I do, say, and eat. I have to make sure I'm not out too late... When he's on his trip I can do whatever I want." The father was absolutely heartbroken at hearing this. Charlie Harary connects this with Rosh Hashanah by saying, that we have to be excited when our Father, Hashem, comes home on Rosh Hashanah. Although we are fearful that He will catch us doing something wrong, we know in our hearts that he loves us and only wants whats best for us. The same goes for Yom Kipper. If we are so afraid of Hashem that we don't want Him to come, then we are not being very good children! We have to be excited when Hashem comes to see us and is here for us.
ReplyDeleteThe article Rabbi Sacks writes is about how the two goats are sacrificed on Yom Kippur. ON Yom kippur, there are two goats. One goat is sacrificed, while the other is sent off to a desert. By doing this, all of the people’s sins are erased and they are then pure. The goat that goes to the desert ends up getting thrown or pushed off a cliff to plunge to it’s death..Then he talks about how, like the goat, they send off birds and sacrifice one. By doing this, it means you are casting off all of your sins. Meaning you have let go all of your since and you dont deny them and you have a clean slate. It brings us closer to Hashem knowing we have a clean slate.
ReplyDeleteI like this article because it really made me think about the past and how different it is from the present. Today, we don’t even use goats or sacrifice anything. All we do is daven to erase all of our sins and that is how we connect to Hashem. But in the past they had a whole process to erase their sins. I am fascinated by how much of a difference there is and that we do not follow the process today.