Abraham Cooper
The Media Line, Oct. 11, 2024
“How in God’s name was it possible to deny on October 8 what the world witnessed on October 7? Where did Hamas learn such a strategy, and to what end? The roots of this denial trace back to the last century, to history’s greatest crime—the Holocaust. For if you can deny the Shoah, you can deny anything.”
The Al Chet prayer, part of Vidui (the Jewish confession), is one of the bedrocks of Yom Kippur services. Al Chet literally means “for the sin.” In this prayer, we Jews self-indict for the many ways we may have transgressed during the previous year, tapping our hearts after verbalizing each charge and then throwing ourselves on the mercy of the Heavenly Court.
Among the confessions, one of the top 10 most significant is: “…for the sin which we have committed before You through speech.”
This Yom Kippur is like no other. The pogrom on October 7, 2023, the over 100 hostages still enduring unimaginable suffering at the hands of Hamas’ monstrous leader Yahya Sinwar, and the multifront war spreading through Gaza, Lebanon, and from the Houthis to Iraq, all trace back to Iran.
These assaults target our families and our Judaic and Zionist values; public displays of Jew-hatred have extended beyond campuses into workplaces, medical clinics, and even outside our houses of prayer and assisted living facilities. Our enemies, both collectively and individually, aim to undermine our self-belief and the eternal promise that our greatest days are still to come. Antisemitism spreads globally, from genocidal slogans to the relentless subculture of hate on social media.
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For Further Reference:
Yom Kippur: Embracing Our Mortality, And Living with Meaning: Menachem Lehrfield, Times of Israel, Oct. 10, 2024 — Western culture works overtime to make us forget one unavoidable truth: we are all going to die. You could do yoga and CrossFit every day, it’s still going to get you. No matter how many green juices you drink or how little gluten or carbs you eat, death is the only thing in life that’s certain!
On Yom Kippur, The Jewish Establishment Should Come Clean: Charles Jacobs, JNS, Oct. 10, 2024 — Israelis have been calling for an accounting from their leaders for the catastrophic intelligence failure on Oct. 7.
The Curious Case of Kol Nidre: Herman Kieval, Commentary, October 1968 — In our time, the best-known ritual of the High Holy Day services—not only among Jews but among Christians as well—is unquestionably Kol Nidre.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Guide for the Perplexed, 2024: Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, The Ettinger Report, Oct. 9, 2024 — Yom Kippur is observed on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishrei (October 12, 2024), starting on the evening of October 11. Yom Kippur is a Super Sabbath (Shabbat Shabbaton in Hebrew), concluding 10 days of soul-searching and spiritual self-awareness and self-enhancement, which begins on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish year.
