Yom Kippur 5774

Dramatic Conclusions

I missed the last episode of Downton Abbey. I, like many of you, had been obsessed; and since we don’t have a TV, Rebecca and I would watch the show via the PBS website. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that the episodes were only available for a limited time and, after a busy two weeks, we logged in only to find that Downton Abbey was no longer available to us.

For me, this colored the whole experience: So many unresolved plot lines, so many characters only part-way developed – what does a story mean if we don’t have a chance to see it resolved?

The same is true of our religious experiences. The words, music, rituals, and customs of our holidays have been shaped by millions of Jews over thousands of years; and each holiday takes us on an experiential journey, one with a beginning, middle, and end.

Kol Nidre, the opening service of Yom Kippur is one of the few times that almost every Jew comes to the synagogue. The rooms are packed, the hallways buzz with anticipation and seasonal greetings – g’mar hatimah tovah, may you be inscribed for a good year – and the energy level is high.

The following evening, the energy has admittedly dropped off a little – a day without food or drink will do that to any of us. But Neilah, Yom Kippur’s concluding service is just as integral to our experience of the day as Kol Nidre. Neilah sets the tone for the ending of Yom Kippur – and it launches us into the new year.

When I was in Israel on Nativ, the year after high school, I fell ill just before Yom Kippur and ended up spending the entire holiday in bed; but toward afternoon, as I watched the shadows lengthen out my window, I felt a sudden burst of energy – just enough to get out of bed, dress, and head up the street to the closest synagogue. I still remember the warm, yellow light and the warmth of a packed room spilling out into the twilight gray-blue of the street. I went into the synagogue and began to sing together with the congregation:

Keep open the gate for us,
at the time of the closing of the gate,
for the day is coming to an end.

Those final minutes of Yom Kippur – the uplifting melodies; the open ark symbolizing our desire that the gates of Prayer and Repentance remain open to us; the fevered energy of a day coming to its end – remain my favorite part of the day. If you haven’t been to Neilah, or if it’s been a while, I encourage you to stay through the afternoon or return at 6:00 to join the community for Neilah. After all, it’s the ending that gives meaning to the story.

G’mar hatimah tovah,
Rabbi Abe Friedman