in the spirit of tradition...

[dancingyel]

...have my yearly yom kippur post!

yom kippur starts in a few hours, so i'm busy in preparations -- hydrating, eating a biggish lunch, contemplating which lights need to be left on, telling people i won't be reachable...and, of course, trying to get into the yom kippur mindset. as always, apologizing to people is hard. i try to be a good friend, and a good person in general, but i know i fall short of that. so i'm sorry to everyone i have (or may have) wronged -- especially, i apologize for not being good at keeping in touch and for neglecting people when i feel too busy. it's easy for me to get wrapped up in my own stuff and whine and complain and forget to be there for people. so, i apologize for that.

going into this yom kippur, like the ones for the past several years, i find myself a little on the fence. on the one hand, there are things i'm repentant for, of course. on the other hand, there are things religion would tell me to be sorry for, but i'm not. it's always a tough balance for me, so we'll see how the day goes this year. and, on a less spiritual note, it's supposed to hit 101 tomorrow. full fast, no water? meep.

logistics: i will be unreachable between 6pm-ish today and 8pm-ish tomorrow. i'll check my email before services start, and then again as soon as it's sundown tomorrow.

if you're fasting, i hope you have an easy and meaningful fast.

Comments

[willworker.livejournal.com]

I b'ain't Jewish, but doesn't an "easy...fast" sort of defeat the purpose (that it's supposed to be a trial of some significance and therefore make you think about whatever it is you're supposed to think about (eg. apologies)?)

Steve

I was gonna say...

[zsander.livejournal.com]

n/t

Re: I was gonna say...

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Dunno what n/t means, but see below for my answer to Steve. :)

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Actually, the phrase "may you have an easy and meaningful fast" is a pretty standard Yom Kippur wish. Fasting serves several purposes. One is to take our attention away from the physical and focus on the spiritual. Another is to be more like angels, who don't need food or water. Another is deprivation or sacrifice -- which is what I think you're referring to -- but that doesn't mean suffering. We're asked to deprive ourselves of food and water, which, of course, is a sacrifice -- but undue suffering takes one's attention away from the spiritual and focuses back on the source of suffering itself, so that's not really the point. But that's why we wish people a fast that's both easy and meaningful -- not so hard that the fasting takes away focus, but also not *so* easy that it's not noticeable.

Er...

[zsander.livejournal.com]

...L'chaim?

Re: Er...

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Hee. Thanks! The standard greeting is Shana Tova (literally, "good year"). :)