Yom Kippur Torah Learning
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- B’shem Amro – In the name of the one who said it
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Something to Chew On – Texts for Discussion
May the opportunity to learn Torah and to read through the texts below offer you a healing of the body, the mind, and the soul, as we move from Yom Kippur into our new year.
They Asked for Wisdom
Jerusalem Talmud: Makos 6:2 They asked Wisdom how is the soul of a sinner atoned for? It responded “The sinner shall die”. They asked prophecy, it responded, “Evil will pursue the sinner”. Torah was asked…. “Let the soul bring a sacrifice and it will be atoned for. They asked God… and God responded, let them
Is There a Nation Like This Nation?
Jerusalem Talmud: Rosh Hashanah 7b:1 Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina, and Rabbi Hoshaya: one said, “Is there a nation like this nation? Ordinarily someone who knows they are on trial wears black and wraps themselves in black and lets their beard grow since they do not know how their trial will turn out. But
How Does One Confess?
Mishneh Torah, Repentance 1:2 (2) How does one confess? One says, “Please God, I have sinned, I have erred, I have willfully but unrebelliously transgressed, I have done such-and-such specific sins, I am regretful, and ashamed for my actions, and I will never again return to my old ways.” This is the essence of the
The Story of Rabbi Meir and Beruriah
Talmud: Berakhot 10a:2 With regard to the statement of Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, that David did not say Halleluyah until he saw the downfall of the wicked, the Gemara (Talmud) relates: There were these hooligans in Rabbi Meir’s neighborhood who caused him a great deal of anguish. Rabbi Meir prayed for
I Will Sin, and Then Repent
Talmud: Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (9) One who says, “I will sin, and then repent, I will sin [again], and then repent,” will not receive an opportunity to repent; for one who says “I will sin, and Yom Kippur will atone,” Yom Kippur will not atone. Yom Kippur atones for transgressions between a person and God,
Like Clay in the Potter’s Hands
Machzor Yom Kippur Ashkenaz, Maariv Service for Yom Kippur Eve, Yaaleh 78-84 Like clay in the hands of the potter, if they will, they can expand it, if they will, they can contract it; so too are we in Your hand, Preserver of kindliness and not the accuser! Like stone in the hand of the
The Gates of Tears
Talmud: Berakhot 32b:5 On the subject of prayer, Rabbi Elazar also said: Since the day the Temple was destroyed the gates of prayer were locked and prayer is not accepted as it once was, as it is said in lamentation of the Temple’s destruction: “Though I plead and call out, God shuts out my prayer”
My Profound Yom Kippur Experience
By Mona Lee Rosen
At least 20 years ago when I was still living in Randolph and attending Temple Beth Am in Randolph, I was given the honor for Yom Kippur morning of carrying the Torah around the sanctuary at the conclusion of the Torah services. In those days, the temple membership was pretty robust which meant that the entire sanctuary along with the temporary wall to the social hall had to be opened to accommodate the hundreds of people in attendance during the High Holidays. Those were the days when there was a fairly large population of Jewish Families living both in Randolph and being affiliated with Temple Beth Am.
As I walked around the Sanctuary during the services that morning, I experienced and an incredible expression and display of the love the congregants were feeling as they reached out to touch the torah with their prayer books, their tallis’s and their fingers. Along with that is the fact that I received a lot of yasher koach congratulations from those very same people reaching out to connect with the torah, with God as I walked around the synagogue. By the end of my walking journey around the entire sanctuary, I was crying. I was so profoundly touched by the love, the respect and the joy of all of those people reaching to connect in some fashion to the torah, to Judaism, to God. I walked away from that experience feeling so blessed and so very honored to have been given the privilege and the honor of carrying the Sacred Torah on that very special day. It was one of the highlights of my own Jewish experiences up to then and even including now.