 Yom
Kippur Story
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Cock-a-doodle-do!
Once during the Ne'ilah
prayer the
Baal Shem Tov cried
and entreated more than
usually. The disciples
understood that there was
a great prosecution Above
and the situation was
grave, and they also
intensified their prayers
and crying. When the rest
of the congregation saw
this, their hearts were
shattered and they also
joined the impassioned
supplication. There was
a young man there from a
village, who had come for
the Days of Awe to the
Baal
Shem Tov's
synagogue. He was
completely uneducated and
he stood the whole time
looking at the face of the
cantor without saying
anything.
As a village dweller,
the boy knew the sounds
made by all the different
farm animals, and he
especially esteemed the
rooster's crowing. When he
heard the weeping and the
outcries, his heart was
also shattered and he
cried out loudly,
"Cock-a-doodle-do!
G-d, have mercy!"
The worshippers in the
synagogue were confused to
hear a voice crowing like
a rooster, and a few of
them scolded him to quiet
him down and would have
thrown him out if he had
not protested, "I am also
a Jew."
The confusion was
pierced by the voice of
the
Ba'al Shem Tov
followed by the disciples
as they hurried to finish
the Ne'ilah prayer.
The face of the Baal Shem
Tov shone, and with a
special melody the
repetition of the
Amidah
commenced for the
Ne'ilah prayer.
As
Yom Kippur ended
the Baal Shem Tov related
to his disciples that
there had been an
accusation levelled in
Heaven, with the
prosecution seeking to
have a particular
community sentenced to
destruction.
As he aroused Divine
mercy on the community, a
great prosecution was
aroused against him for
encouraging Jews to settle
in villages and
out-of-the-way places
where they were likely to
be influenced by their
Gentile neighbours. When
he began to examine the
behaviour of the village
dwellers, he saw that the
situation was very grave.
However, suddenly the
sound of the call of the
village dweller was heard
in Heaven, and its
sincerity brought great
pleasure Above, nullifying
all the prosecutions.
Excerpted from
Days Of
Awe, Days Of Joy.
Published and Copyright by
Kehot Publication Society,
Brooklyn NY 11213
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Festival summary
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Kol Nidrei - Yom Kippur Eve
The opening prayer of Yom Kippur
is the Kol Nidrei "annulment of
vows" recited at sundown of Yom
Kippur eve.
The Kol Nidrei service consists
of the opening of the Ark and
taking out the Torah scrolls,
reciting the Kol Nidrei and
returning the Torah scrolls to
the Ark.
Kol Nidrei, the prayer which
ushers in the holy day of Yom
Kippur, is perhaps the most
famous one in our liturgy.
Ironically, it is not really a
prayer at all, but rather a
statement. A statement that
deals with promises, vows and
other sorts of verbal
commitments commonly made in the
course of the year. The Torah
places strict demands on keeping
one’s word, and not fulfilling a
vow is considered a serious
misdeed.
Kol Nidrei, which means "all
vows", nullifies the binding
nature of such promises in
advance. One declares all future
vows and promises invalid, by
declaring that all vows are
"absolved, remitted, cancelled,
declared null and void, not in
force of in effect."
On Yom Kippur when the essence
of the soul is fully revealed,
we express our real attitude
towards the imperfections which
might slip into our behavior, in
the coming year. They are thus
denied and declared
insignificant.
The evening service which
follows Kol Nidrei consists of
the Half-Kaddish, the Shema, the
Amidah, the Al Chet confession
of sins, and special additional
prayers (piyyutim) which are
said only on the night of Yom
Kippur.
Many have the custom to recite
the entire Book of Psalms after
the evening service.
Morning Service
The morning service ("Shacharit")
consists of the following: the
morning prayers, the Shema, the
Amidah, the reading of the
Torah, the Yizkor service, the
Musaf service, the priestly
blessing.
Torah Reading:
The reading of the Torah is
about the solemn service in the
Holy Temple on the Day of
Atonement, conducted by the High
Priest himself. This was the
only day of the year on which
the High Priest was allowed to
enter the Holy of Holies to
offer incense and pray on behalf
of the Jewish people.
Yizkor Service:
The Yizkor service is recited by
those who have lost either one
or both of their parents. Others
leave the synagogue until the
completion of the Yizkor
service; the reason for this is
to advocate long life for the
living parents.
The Yizkor is more than a
service of remembrance, but
rather it is a time for the
relatives of the departed to
connect with the souls of their
loved ones on a deeper level;
tradition has it that during the
Yizkor service, the souls of the
departed descend from heaven and
are joined with those who are
close to them.
Musaf Service
The Musaf Service--which is held
immediately following the
Morning Service) consists of the
Musaf Amidah, the cantor's
repetition of the Amidah, the
avodah -- a recounting of the
Yom Kippur service in the Holy
Temple -- and the priestly
blessing.
Priestly Blessing
The priests, or kohanim, direct
descendants of Aaron, the High
Priest, are commanded to bless
the Jewish people with a
three-fold blessing. It is
customary to perform this duty
during the Musaf service on
festival days. In preparation
for the blessing, the priests
remove their shoes and the
Levites ritually wash their
hands, they then gather at the
front or by the eastern wall of
the synagogue.
During the blessing, one must
not gaze at the Priests directly
as the Divine Presence rests
upon them. It is customary for
men to cover their eyes with
their prayer shawls, and for
women to gaze into their prayer
books.
After the blessing, it is
customary to thank the Priests
with the words, Yishar Koach.
Afternoon
Service
The afternoon service consists
of the Torah reading, the Amidah
prayer, the cantor's repetition
of the Amidah, the recital of
Avinu Malkenu ("Our Father, Our
King").
Torah Reading: The Torah reading
speaks of the purity of Jewish
life. The Torah warns us not to
follow in the immoral ways of
Egyptians and native Canaanites,
"that the land spew you not out
also, when you defile it, as it
spewed out the nations that were
before you."
The Haftorah: We read the entire
Book of Jonah. It contains a
timely message on the importance
of repentance and prayer. If
sinfulness can cause the land to
vomit its inhabitants,
repentance can cause the fish to
deposit Jonah back on dry land
and return him to life. One
should never despair, prayer and
repentance lead from darkness to
light, from the shadow of death
to a new life.
Neilah - The Closing
Service
The concluding service consists
of the Opening prayers, the
Amidah prayer, the cantor's
repetition of the Amidah, Avinu
Malkenu (Our Father, Our King),
Declaration of our faith and the
sounding of the Shofar and the
closing prayers.
Neilah means "closing the gate".
As the awesome day of Yom Kippur
comes to a close, and our future
is being sealed, we turn to G-d
to accept our sincere repentance
and new resolutions, and that He
seal us in the Book of Life,
granting us a new year replete
with goodness and happiness. The
Ark remains open for the entire
Neilah service, signifying that
the Gates of Heaven are wide
open to our prayers and
entreaties.
Closing Prayers
The apex of the service, the
emotional peak, is when we
pronounce the verses proclaiming
G-d as our G-d, all together. It
is written that when we recite
the first of the three verses,
the Shema, every Jew should have
the intention of giving up their
soul for the sanctification of
G-d's name, this intention will
be considered as if we had
indeed withstood the test to
sanctify the Divine Name.
This is followed by the
declaration of G-d's unity, "G-d
- He is the Only G-d" -- First
recited at Mt. Carmel by the
prophet Elijah. This last verse
is repeated seven times in the
most ardent way. The shofar is
then sounded one long sound and
the Neilah service ends with the
prayer:
"Next Year may we be in
Jerusalem!"
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