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Yom Kippur Fasting

September 21, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

food

All anyone ever wants to talk about on Yom Kippur is fasting. Teshuva is iffy. Going without something to eat? That’s a whole other story! So here’s the best that the net has to offer on the subject…at least, that’s what I think.

Why Jews Fast – TheTorah.org
Yom Kippur is about fasting. Or is it? Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber and Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich dispel the myth that Yom Kippur is “the fasting day” by showcasing the interesting diversity of fasting practices in the Biblical and post-biblical periods.

I Didn’t Fast On Yom Kippur – Hevria.com
There are a lot of blog posts about not fasting on Yom Kippur. This is the only one worth reading. You’ll see why after you read it.

Yom Kippur Customs and Rituals – ReformJudaism.org
The lowdown on fasting, yes, but also a good overview of what to expect on the big day.

Written by Rabbi Patrick

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Yom Kippur Tagged With: fasting on yom kippur, yom kippur, yom kippur fast

Foregiveness: A Yom Kippur Thought

September 21, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

In the midst of a deep spiritual crises, the “golden calf” episode, the Creator revealed to Moses the “Thirteen Attributes of Compassion” (Exodus 34:6,7). Since then, invoking these “Thirteen Attributes” at opportune times have brought about the Creator’s unconditional forgiveness.

The “Date Palm of Deborah” is short book written by the renown Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordovaro (1522 -1570). The main body of this work is a description of how each of the Creator’s “Thirteen Attributes of Compassion” has a human counterpart which can actually be practiced by people to forgive those who have hurt them. All human acts of forgiveness express one or more of these attributes.

For example, it’s commonplace for people who have been hurt by others to feel insulted. The concept underlying the first attribute of compassion addresses the insult cast at the Creator when people knowingly misuse His resources He kindly created to benefit humanity. These people abuse… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Shabbat & Holidays, Yom Kippur Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Date Palm of Deborah, forgiveness, good deeds, kabbalah, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, Rabbi Moshe Cordovaro, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, symbolism, Thirteen Attributes of Compassion, Torah, torah scholar, yom kippur

Has Anyone Seen My Kavanah?

September 8, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

i-dont-know

Okay, here’s the thing: while I typically possess the organizational skills of an ant with OCD, over this past year my every attempt at organization has been confounded. I believe that this is due, in large part, to my lifestyle becoming increasingly nomadic; and my resistance to this. In an effort to both conserve space and travel lightly, I was forced to consolidate my possessions down to the bare necessities (I mean, I was only able to take, like, ten to twelve pairs of shoes with me. In my world this is nearly equivalent to a social crisis.). Consequently, when high holy days crept up behind me, placed its hands over my eyes, and whispered, “guess who?” I was completely caught off guard. To say I was ill prepared for the most important holidays on the Hebrew calendar would be like saying Henry Ford was a bit put off by the Jews; or that the Middle East has one or two small issues. Shifting into seat-of-my-pants, headless-chicken mode, under which I had been operating to a much greater extent lately, I tried to remember where I had stored the things I would need for the days of awe. More specifically, I wondered when I had last seen my kavanah. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term kavanah, it is a Hebrew word meaning intention or direction of the heart and describes the state of mind one should be in while praying.

Oy gevalt! Was my Kavanah in mothballs somewhere? Where on Earth had I put it? I searched through every closet and box, finding nothing but half-finished projects and mementos of broken vows and unfulfilled oaths. I started to sweat until I remembered that I had already nullified my vows and oaths during Yom Kippur the previous year. Baruch HaShem! At least I didn’t have that to worry about. Also, I distinctly remembered having my Kavanah with me since that time. So where did I put it? Did I leave it at the shul among the prayer shawls and kippot that are provided for those who don’t have them? Perhaps it was buried deep within my storage unit, in the box containing my white Yom Kippur clothes? I was at a complete loss.

Feeling like a complete shmuck, I thought that perhaps I might skip high holy days services this year; then no one would have to know about my lost kavanah. Except that I had already requested, and was granted, a ticket for all of the services for a very meager donation. Even though I attend synagogue services sporadically, at best, the people at this shul have been very good to me, and never make me feel like the village schnorrer (beggar) that I actually am. And once again, by granting me a ticket at a ridiculously generous discount, they were extending the hand of tzedakah to me. No, not attending services was not an option. I needed some advice. In the past, when faced with an untenable situation, I typically asked myself how my dad would advise me in a given scenario. In this instance, I was sure he would have told me to “suit up and show up.” Okay…good…I could do that…probably.

When the first day of Rosh Hashanah arrived, I suited up, showed up, and listened to the beautifully plaintive call of the shofar. Even though I did my best to stay anonymous amidst the sea of people, the rabbi noticed me and proffered, along with his warm greeting, an invitation to the break-the-fast dinner that takes place at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. I accepted the invitation graciously, and hoped my nervous smile didn’t betray me. I wondered if he would have extended the invitation if he had known that my kavanah was still MIA? Sh*t! Where the f@#* was my f@#*ing kavanah? Since I had 10 days until I really needed it, I went home and promptly forgot all about it. You can imagine my horrified shock when I woke up one morning to find Yom Kippur staring me straight in the face.

Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! No kavanah in sight, and my white Yom Kippur clothes were still buried somewhere in the depths of my storage unit. I would have to wing it. In keeping with my decidedly punk personality, I made the ironic choice to wear all black.

I mean:
A) I had plenty of black clothes
B) Hell, I even had black canvas sneakers
C) Being the one black dot in a sea of white is sort of my shtick.

Once I had suited up, I went to the Kol Nidre service for the showing up portion of the evening. Guess who wasn’t with me? That’s right; Ms. Kavanah apparently had a better party to attend. The evening service passed more slowly than the line at the DMV; and the service on the following morning was even slower (it’s not like I could hide my kindle inside my Machzor; there were too many people in attendance. But I totally thought about it). It was all I could do to not run screaming to the nearest exit. That afternoon, as I was heading back to the shul for the concluding service of Neilah, I began to despair of ever seeing my kavanah again. It was during the final moments of Yom Kippur that I became really desperate; and as the gates of Heaven started to close I prayed feverishly, pleading to be written in the book of life. Suddenly, I saw something flutter in my peripheral vision. When I turned to look, guess who was sitting there looking oh-so-convivial? Yup…it was my kavanah. I was so relieved to see her that I decided I could wait until the service was over to discuss the (ahem) problem.

When the service concluded I quietly requested a word with her outside. Once we were out of earshot of the other congregants I turned on her angrily. “Where the hell have you been?” I demanded, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you since before Rosh Hashanah! You sure picked a fine time to disappear. If I don’t get written in the book of life this year, and I die, I am so taking you with me!” She looked at me as though I had lost my mind (and since I was subjecting abstract concepts, like kavanah, to anthropomorphism, perhaps I had). “Nu?” I asked her impatiently, “What do you have to say for yourself?” She contemplated for a moment and then spoke. “Wait,” she began, “you don’t actually think that I’m something that can be carelessly misplaced and forgotten, do you? Like a book or car keys?” Then under her breath she said, “And you think I’m a flake?”

Did I think that? Did I think she was like other commonplace items that are easily misplaced? She looked at me then; looked directly into my eyes, searching expectantly for contrition that wasn’t there. “You are too much!” she said, clearly exasperated. “I can’t believe I have to explain this to you. Um, I actually live inside of you!”.

Okay, that was hurtful.

”Here’s the problem. I can’t engage unless you engage me.” It was at that precise moment that it dawned on me: she was right. It wasn’t until I became desperate enough to try that she appeared. I mean, sure, suiting up and showing up is all well and good; but because I had convinced myself that kavanah was something that existed separately from me, I didn’t even try. I had been faithless and foolish. I did, however, learn something that day: the Creator has endowed each of us with plenty of kavanah. However, in order to engage it we must also have faith; and sadly, faith is in much shorter supply.

Written by Shoshana H. Hogue

Filed Under: Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Rants, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat & Holidays, Yom Kippur Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Shoshana H. Hogue

Yom Kippur Is Over…Now What?

September 16, 2013 by Patrick Beaulier

Now-What

I hate Yom Kippur. Not for the fasting (it’s not fun, but it’s not that hard either), and not for the confession of sins. I can even handle the theological gymnastics of “who shall live and who shall die”.

What I don’t like about Yom Kippur is the aftermath.

We make our Jew Years Resolutions. We tap our hearts. We feel bad about who we are and what we have done. And then we go back to being the same people we were before. Frankly, not much changes between the remorseful Neila and screaming at your kids because you just want a bagel and the oneg line is a million miles long and you said you were going to go Paleo anyway.

Yom Kippur gives us the tools to feel sorry, but it doesn’t give us the tools to do anything with our newfound outlook on life.

So here’s my thoughts on how to correct this.

Don’t Make Resolutions

You can’t live up to them. It’s scientifically impossible. 88% of these kinds of oaths to God fail.

Instead, make habits.

If you want to be a better husband, don’t decide that you are going to cut your hours back at work and run the carpool for your kids school and start cooking dinner every night.

An easier and more practical idea is lighting Shabbat candles. It takes two minutes. But if you can get in the habit of lighting candles with your wife once a week, then you can slowly build up to whatever you want.

Ask For Help

The hardest phrase in the English language is “can you help me?” We’re socialized into believing that help is for losers and people who can’t get their act together.

Instead of trying to be a little island, form a Helping Club, or what some people call a Time Bank.

The idea is pretty simple: you set up an organized group of people who help each other, based on each other’s skill sets. Have a friend that’s a doctor? See if she will see patients for 10-15 minutes in return for having your cousin look at her car. Someone needs their child’s bedroom painted? Trade painting time for a few hours of GRE tutoring…or whatever you need.

Sure, in theory you help your friends and family when they need you, but you can always flake out at any time. There’s no social responsibility in that way of assisting others. In a formal system like a Time Bank, you’re locked into helping. But the reward of never feeling bad about saying “I need help” outweighs any reservations you might have about losing more of your time.

Do Something Different Every Day

Routines are terrible to break. But if you can break one routine, you can break another.

So for example, if you have a resolution to go to the gym every day (which you shouldn’t have, but whatever), first try changing the order in which you get ready in the morning. Instead of brushing your teeth, then showering, then eating breakfast, try eating breakfast, then brushing your teeth, then showering. Sure, it’s silly — but it empowers you to make other kinds of changes without feeling like your whole world is going to collapse.

What are you going to do in the new Jewish year? What’s something different you would like to try? Let us know!

Rabbi Patrick is the director of PunkTorah. His poorly planned goal of going zero-carb is the inspiration for this article. 

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Yom Kippur Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, jewish new year, new years resolutions, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Yom Kippur

FREE Kol Nidre // All Vows EP Download NOW!

September 24, 2012 by Patrick Beaulier

PunkTorah is proud to announce the release of Kol Nidre // All Vows, a free digital EP from artist and performer Rebecca Wright.

This mini-album takes Kol Nidre, the classical song of Yom Kippur, and “remixes” it in three formats: vocal, vocal/piano, and a dark, electro “chill mix” by PunkTorah founder Patrick Aleph.

This music will be included in the Erev Yom Kippur service broadcasted live on OneShul.org.

Download the tracks below in this .zip file.

Kol Nidre (entire album in .zip file)

You can also download one track at a time via Bandcamp below…

May you have a meaningful fast,

Rebecca Wright + the volunteers and staff at PunkTorah

Please consider giving a $5.00 donation to support all of PunkTorah’s hard work.

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Media Reviews, Yom Kippur Tagged With: all vows, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, electronic music, jewish electronic music, kol nidre, kol nidre music, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punk jewish, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebecca wright, yom kippur music

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