Most Rabbis prepare #YomKippur sermons, I prefer verbal tweets (instead or in addition) sprinkled throughout the prayer service. The tweets below are all 140 characters or less, so they are short, sweet and to the point. Some of them are by theme, some follow one another, or the basic flow of the Machzor, but generally they are not in a series or specific order and can be used as fits throughout YomKippur.
Some of these I copied in from the tweets about Rosh Hashanah, but most below are new for Yom Kippur.
YOM KIPPUR GENERAL
More than Day of Atonement, #YomKippur is a Day of At-ONE-Ment. It may be a pun, but it reflects true @Chabad perspective.
Ironically, the Hebrew word #Shabbaton (for Jewish weekend retreats) appears in #Torah re: #YomKippur (no food, no games, no fun).
Because #YomKippur is a retreat into the soul, a getaway from everyday life, a trip deep within ourselves, to refresh at the innermost core.
#YomKippur is only day a year Jews pray 5x. Weekdays 3, Shabbat & Holidays 4, YomKippur 5. Represents & reveals all 5 levels of the soul!
#5Alive (was?) the name of a @CocaCola drink, very apt description for the 5 Prayers on #YomKippur – prayers full of life for #BookofLife!
5 is important Kabbalistically, refers to 3 conscious levels of soul, the 4th transcendent level, 5th is innermost core – the #PinteleYid!
#YomKippur’s full name is “YomHaKippurim” which literally can read as “A Day Like (but not quite) Purim” — But #Purim & #YomKippur!!?? >
> #Purim = #YomKippur bcuz both reveal inner essential core identity of the Jew. “I am a Jew!” via Haman’s hate or via spiritual connection.
> #Purim’s edge on #YomKippur is that it reveals the Jewish core within and as part of the human experience, not a retreat away from it.
Without forgiveness who could survive? Imagine a keyboard with no delete or backspace! #Teshuva & forgiveness are true blessings!
Add/Remove Programs allows us to uninstall/change. Not everything has to uninstalled, change might be just right. #Teshuvah #HighHolidays
2 yr old daughter: “I’m not stinky, my diaper is stinky” what a #Teshuvah message! #RoshHashanah #YomKippur (see Beruriah in Talmud)
#FrenchToast & #Teshuvah: Both build onto a stale, no longer desirable past, enriching & giving it new life in a transformative way.
#Teshuvah can be from love or from fear, closeness or distance, passion or concern. The love way is better but fear may be more effective.
#YomKippur is very potent, but here’s what it can’t do: absolve sins between people, or substitute for a full year of vibrant Jewish living.
MACHZOR GENERAL
All these poems about G!d? #YomKippur is about getting closer to G-d. These poems are to help us get to know each other better.
Underneath all the Hebrew words is the #Cockadooledoo story w/ BaalShemTov. The words are the body, but the feeling within is the soul.
Or heartfelt Jewish woman who offered up her entire #Machzor to G-d, or illiterate Jew who recited AlefBais & asked G-d to put it together.
Funny thing in #Machzor some poems run responsively: left column to right. Recalls old typewriter #carriagereturn. Pull down & go back.
There’s meaning in that typewriter #carriagereturn: Pull the level down a notch, bring it back to the beginning, start fresh on a new line.
But #carriagereturn isn’t about erasing old: It pulls down & back to create new lines of type in our lives. Each line builds on one prior!
If #Machzor feels especially long this year, think of Greenberg’s Machzor: painstainkingly written, used & preserved in Soviet Labor camp: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/168704/jewish/My-Fathers-Machzor.htm
#Machzor (#highholiday prayerbook) really means “#cycle”: Think #spiral, returning to same point, but a few degrees higher than last year.
The #Machzor is filled with liturgical poetry: alphabetical, paraphrase, allegory, wordplay.. all with layers of meaning & history.
But like poetry or song lyrics, the #Machzor is most meaningful when it strikes a chord, when it touches something inside, hits home!
Why is #Machzor so long? Think of it as software update, may take time but moves us up to new version.
Some resist software updates, they prefer old & familiar. But when G-d provides download, rest assured there’s no bloatware. #HighHolidays
The #onephraseperpage #YomKippur challenge. It’s hard to find all the #Machzor relevant & meaningful so try to find one phrase per page.
A 770 #HighHolidays memory: “Men zol visen vu men shtayt un far vemen mem shtayt!” fierce passionate proclamation by the old Gabbai MP Katz.
Which translates to… “Know where you stand and before whom you stand!” Timely & relevant for #HighHolidays and throughout life.
Benefits of sitting/standing in synagogue: exercise, minimizes restless leg syndrome, & it balances respect for & comfort with our Judaism.
When you get called to open the ark, think beyond physical coverings. Think of layers to peel away within ourselves to reveal Torah within.
AL CHAIT
Why tap our chests at #YomKippur #AlChait? It’s a signal to our hearts, seat of passion & desire: “You got me into this mess!”
Tapping chests at #YomKippur #AlChait can be a form of knocking, not beating. We tell our hearts: we want IN! Seeking to go deeper within!
#YomKippur’s tapping chests can also be a Jewish Defibrillator of sorts, waking up our hearts, getting back into healthy rhythm. #AlChait
For the most part, #YomKippur’s #AlChait isn’t listing of specific sins, rather its factors, conditions & circumstances.
Acknowledgment of a problem & verbal confession are central to rehabilitative programs like AA, and key to the #YomKippur experience.
There are 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, 2x #AlCheit beginning with each letter, for a total of 44 #AlCheit each time on #YomKippur.
Willingly/Duress, Knowing/Unknowing, Intentional/Unintentional… a few ways #AlCheit tells us that we must rectify even the unintentional.
The last of alphabetical #AlCheit: “for sins of a confused heart” Clarity is such a blessing, there are too many shades of gray in our lives.
UNESANEH TOKEF
Rabbi Amnon’s medieval #HighHoliday prayer reminds us of life’s uncertainty, all of 21st century tech & progress hasn’t changed that much.
Rabbi Amnon’s #HighHoliday prayer is anti-@Snapchat: nothing is fleeting, all is recorded, nothing forgotten. Hopefully it won’t shame us.
The Great Shofar and the Still Soft Voice: #Judaism values both words & silence, fullness & void, our active & passive roles.
Unesaneh Tokef is a frightfully haunting prayer, but the “as a shepherd” line reassures G-d looks after each of us individually. We matter!
I heard this beautiful story on #RoshHashanah. It recalls a line about counting in the famous Unesaneh Tokef prayer. https://www.shabboshouse.org/translation/
#BookofLife “reads itself” says UnesanehTokef #RoshHashanah prayer. Indeed it does, actions speak for themselves, our choices tell a story.
3 Bold Loud Words at end of UnesanehTokef prayer: Repentance, Prayer & Charity. #Rebbe says they are all mistranslated.
MORE MACHZOR SPECIFIC
“Answer Us!” This common #Selichot #Poem is like Jeopardy – all reasons why G-d should answer us. Underneath it though: what’s our question?
“Hear Our Voice” in #YomKippur recalls @Verizon’s (now @sprint’s) famous ad: “Can you hear me now?” We’re looking for (spiritual) signal!
Politics aside, #YomKippur Machzor’s “Return us back to You…” may evoke similar language to #MakeAmericaGreatAgain “Renew days of yore!”
“Answered us in past… Answer us now!” #Machzor’s walk thru the centuries, is more than past history. It’s reliving Jewish memory!
“To Him who lives forever” perhaps a richer translation: “To the Life of the Worlds” bcuz ironically: world & forever share a Hebrew root.
One year with many French visitors on #SimchatTorah #Rebbe sung “Ha’Aderet V’Emunah” to #LaMarseillaise – the French national anthem.
The Chassidim didn’t know the French anthem, but the #Rebbe singing it to a prayer poem made all those French guests feel right at home!
But why that poem? Perhaps: French are very nationalistic! French food, French language, French culture… but this poem says >>
>> to whom is the majesty & strength? beauty & splendor? Not to your foods & traditions, your pride & joy, but “To the Life of the Worlds!”
#Psalm150 uses musical instruments to praise G-d: thru tension of a drum, breath blown into a flute, a touch of life’s strings.
Tension can create music, if drawn just tight enough but not too tight. Too much slack doesn’t elicit sound. Drums in #Psalm150
Timing is everything for clashing cymbals, they meet in the middle to make the desired sound – so it is with life’s contrasts. #Psalm150
#Psalm150 is all about praising G-d with instruments. Hey, but what if u can’t play or don’t have an instrument? >>
<< that’s why #Psalm150 ends with: “Every being that has a soul – praise the L-rd!” No instruments or specific talent or ability necessary.
“All my limbs” i.e. everything I’ve got. Go big or go home. Prayer works best when we don’t hold back, when we throw yourself into it 100%.
Every #HighHoliday #Machzor has a bigger bolder font for this one word: The King! It sets the tone, sets the bar: It’s not just about us!
1/3: Rabbi Aharon of Karlin fainted when reaching the word “The King” in #HighHoliday #Machzor. Why? He recalled the Talmud story of >
2/3: Roman general asked R’ Yochanon b. Zakkai: “If I’m King, why didn’t you come earlier!” – R’ Aharon saw this as reflection of us & G-d..
3/3: This story of non-@Chabad Rebbe, is one of the only (if not the only) story printed in the original @chabad #HighHoliday #Machzor.
“Song of Ascents” (#Psalm130) literally = steps. One step at a time, step in right direction, journey of 1000 miles begins w/ single step.
“Out of the depths” (#Psalm130) can be from lowest point, from the pits, or it can mean from depths of one’s soul, from innermost core.
“More than night watchmen awaiting dawn” (#Psalm130) all on work shifts know this feeling, but is also figurative: from darkness to light!
The #Amidah was so good the first time, we’re going to do it all over again! (Reasons for Chazzan’s aloud repetition of silent #Amidah)
Seriously, #Amidah may be repeated but it’s not superfluous. We pray as individuals & as a community, each has its own power & purpose.
1/3: Repetition of #HighHoliday #Amidah in #Machzor has short “Misod” paragraph about leading the congregation based on secret traditions.
2/3: btw: chabad #Machzor doesn’t translate it as secret, perhaps bcuz for @chabad the mystical inner tradition is normal part of life.
3/3: But what’s the secret? How we humans (despite all our limitations) can open up to speak to G!d. This communicative channel of prayer.
LIFE is a very Jewish word, especially around #HighHolidays. Quick Hebrew lesson: #Chaim = life, the root is #Chai, & #Lchaim is TO LIFE!
“suspends earth in empty space” isn’t only a matter of astronomy. It’s about life in limbo, the world in balance, awaiting that one deed.
Another repeated #Machzor word is #Kadosh, usually = holy, after all it’s the High HOLY Days! But #Kadosh also means different/designated.
MLCH = Hebrew root for king. By changing vowels it can be WAS King, IS King, WILL be King. Melech = is, Moloch = was, Yimloch = will be.
Timelessness is a big in Judaism. G-d is timeless & therefore so are His Mitzvot. They span centuries, never out of style.
1st Chazzan paragraph #YomKippur #Shacharit ends off by referring to Jewish people as G-d’s “adopted son”: bonds of family, yet by choice!
G-d’s “cloak is zeal” says #Machzor. Can’t you just feel the swish of #superman’s cape? Never limp or a drag, its alive with alacrity.
“Kochacha Yigdal Na” can be read as a praying for power surge. But its for the power of forbearance: restraint, tolerance, forgiveness.
“Heaven as a Curtain” like partition & concealment. But maybe also as mysterious, drama, theater – all the world is G-d’s stage.
#Machzor says: heavenly chariot wheel rims are “full of eyes.” Journey forward is all about vision. Vision moves us, makes world go round.
One of #YomKippur #Machzor’s longest poems (filled w/ praise for G-d) ends with 2 words: “Vhee Kevodecha” and THAT’s G-d’s greatest glory. >
“Vhee Kvodecha” G-d’s greatest glory is that despite all His heavenly glory, He’s most interested in us, and in our turning to Him.
> Like with parents, even very successful career-wise, greatest glory is pride in one’s children and the connection with them.
And the next #Machzor poem “Al Yisrael” reflects and ends with same theme: G-d’s greatest beauty or glory is our people.
“Lekach” = what you take in or understand (like #Torah or #Honeycake), “Libuv” = heartfelt feeling, sensitivity or perception. Mind & heart.
“Keriah vhaKedusha” is the name of a @Chabad publication during WWII. Roughly translates to “calling it with holiness” or “A holy calling.”
4x “uv’Chayn” #Machzor #Amidah. In @Chabad lingo this word implies: So, Therefore, NU??? What are you going to do about it? The takeaway!
#YomKippur “given to us in love” fasting is no treat but opportunity for fresh start & clean slate is a real gift.
“You will seek from THERE” The search must be where we lost it, not where light is better. #Teshuvah is from where you are at.
“Renew our days as of old” Judaism blends old & new, interconnected generations & centuries, modern applications of age-old tradition.
“Orech Din” He who arranges the law, is modern Hebrew word for lawyer, but in #HighHoliday #Machzor it = G-d in a famous liturgical poem.
“He opens the gate to those who knock in repentance”. Forget the song itself, does “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” ring a bell?
The mere act of knocking on heaven’s door is already a form of return/repentance, even before anything is said. I want in!
knockingonheavensdoor is saying we are outside & eager to come in. It says “We are here” before any specific request or #prayer. #Teshuvah
Robbery & Violence? Can all of us confess to that? A) It’s said collectively as a people B) maybe not in literal sense, but in subtle forms.
.@Chabad the opening #AvinuMalkeinu negative line about our sins is drowned out by the positive “We have no King but You!” Typical Chabad!
#AvinuMalkeinu was first said by #RabbiAkiva in the #Talmud as a prayer for rain. How many AvinuMalkeinu’s are there? Only One!
#RabbiAkiva invented the @AvinuMalkeinu formula to relate to G-d on 2 tracks at once: closeness & distance, love & respect, father & king.
This “Elul Audit” story illustrates the dual-power of #AvinuMalkeinu on #RoshHashanah and #YomKippur: https://www.shabboshouse.org/the-elul-audit/
#SongoftheDay: we don’t know the tune they used but we know today the exact words the Levites sang in the Temple each day of the week!
#HolyofHolies is the theme of #YomKippur Torah reading. A unique one-time service, once a year, by one person. Day of At-One-Ment.
#FrenchToast & #Teshuvah: Both take a stale no longer desirable past, build onto it, enriching, giving it new life in a transformative way.
A verse in #Torah reading that’s key to #YomKippur’s power: “Before G-d you’re purified.” The words “Before G-d” can mean a few things: >
“Before G-d you’re purified” = before G-d and no one else. #Teshuvah is a personal private process that’s between you & G-d alone.
“Before G-d you’re purified” = one must come before G-d. Like Moses had to step aside & come closer to the Burning Bush. Come closer!
“Before G-d you’re purified” = beyond the Names of G-d, for #YomKippur reveals soul’s inner essence as it connects w/ Divine Essence.
E.T. is mentioned in #YomKippur’s #Torah reading at least phonetically. There too, it refers to that which ought to be elsewhere, out there.
Order of #KohenGadol’s #YomKippur atonement prayers went from personal to family to community. It all must begin within.
In #YomKippur #Haftorah, #Shalom (hello) greeting is first to one from afar, and then to the one who is close. “Shalom LaRachok v’Lakrov”
#Rebbe’s chiefofstaff Rabbi Hodakov read #YomKippur’s “SoluSolu” (make way make way) #Haftorah. Indeed, he paved way for all the #Shluchim.
“All believe!” Do all believe? Chassidus says deep down at the soul-core, everyone connects. But it’s not always that way on the outside.
“Those who knock with repentance” same Hebrew word “Dofek” for knock & pulse. Knock is sign of life. Keep knocking! “AllBelieve” #Machzor
Judaism isn’t communist, but G-d is a great equalizer. “He treats great and small alike” #YomKippur “All Believe” in #Machzor
Each of #KohenGadol’s 8 garments was exquisitely beautiful, deeply symbolic & richly significant from breastplate’s stones to robe’s bells.
Yet when #KohenGadol entered #HolyofHolies on #YomKippur, he didn’t wear the 8 garments; only the simplest white linen clothes.
#YomKippur cuts away at all the sophistication & elegance, the rich layers of meaning – reaches deep within instead for the innermost core.
We’re going to pray here for hours this #YomKippur many #Machzor pages, fancy poetry, but it climaxes with #Shma the most basic: I am Jew!
Why read about sacrifices 2,000 years after destruction of Jerusalem Temple? Connection to history is a secret of Jewish survival >
>more than history, its destiny! And sacrifices continue today, albeit with animal within. A life of meaning is filled with self-sacrifice.
Heads-up. Actually down. We’re going to do something VERY different here that you ONLY see in synagogues on the High Holidays.
All year we do a lot of slight bowing in the #Amidah prayer, but on #RoshHashanah & #YomKippur we do the full bow, down on the floor.
A reminder of Jerusalem Temple & the full bow symbolizes the extent of spiritual surrender #YomKippur evokes, far more than all year round.
Many #YomKippur poems & praises are in Hebrew alphabetical order, the prayer for a good year when #KohenGadol exited, is full of A-Z wishes!
Why #YomKippur #Torah reading about relationships? It’s the ultimate earthly expression of holiness. >
> and teaches us that Judaism is not limited to the Temple or synagogue, but Judaism is about the home, the bedroom & our personal lives.
The longest Haftorah of the year, we read the entire book of Jonah at Mincha on the afternoon of #YomKippur. A whale of a tale!
Why Jonah story? can’t run away from mission, power of repentance, feel responsible 4 others, don’t underestimate people or effect of words.
Jonah and the __________. Everyone will say Whale, but no one associates him with the Kikayon – the temporary shading plant.
But the coming & going of the Kikyaon plant is where G-d teaches Jonah his greatest lesson, and it ends Jonah’s story with a question.
Rather than end #YomKippur #Mincha #Haftorah with G-d’s rhetorical question to Jonah, we add 3 verses from the prophet Micha: >
The #Micah verses said at #Tashlich on #RoshHashanah: throw our sins into the sea – an appropriate bookend for the #Jonah story.
#Neilah is the closing #YomKippur prayer. Think closing of a window, of an opportunity, of last chances.
Or think of #YomKippur #Neilah as “finalizing CD” which allows the burned music to be played on external devices, such as a car’s CD-player.
#Neilah allows #YomKippur spirituality to be “played” on non-#YomKippur “devices” transferring the holiness to all year round.
#Musaf may be #YomKippur’s longest prayer but #Neilah is its climax & crescendo. The ark remains open through whole #Neilah prayer.
My favorite #Neilah story: “Most Memorable Neilah” is in Dr. Brawer’s “Eyes that See” book.
#BaalShemTov’s Siddur has 1-letter change in graceaftermeals that thanks G-d not only for filled-up blessings but for overflowing blessings!
“In the shadow of G-d’s hand” sometimes we may see/feel G-d guiding & directing, or sometimes we only see its shadow (indirect effect).
“Gates of tears never close” See Volf Kitzes #BaalShemTov story with the lost #Shofar meditations.
At #Neilah’s final #Shema, the mystical Shaloh says we envision total sacrifice for Judaism, baring our soul as our core identity.
Ark opens & closes all #YomKippur, revealing layers as day goes on. Wide open @ #Neilah, all layers off, up to #Shema climax: I am a Jew!