Vampire Weekend's Surprising Jewish Stories
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Is it the holiest or hungriest day of the year?
It’s about that time to celebrate the holiest day of the year, or as I like to call it - the HUNGRIEST day of the year.
This is JEW KNOW IT and today we’re talking about Yom Kippur.
Simply put – Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.
So, leading up to and on this day, you can be like, "Hey God, my bad if I messed up last year.”
And more importantly? You can also say “sorry” to those you wronged and say “it’s all good” to those who wronged you.
Why? Well, you know those old, unused apps on your phone that slow it down and take up space? Grudges and hurt feelings are like those apps - they slow down our emotional well-being, and Yom Kippur is your chance to delete them.
You also fast on Yom Kippur and abstain from things like bathing, leather shoes, lotions and oils, and sex.
You do this so you can, just for the day, ignore your physical bodies and focus on your souls.
So you want to observe Yom Kippur like a boss? Here’s how:
You start before sundown with an EPIC pre-fast meal. Think of it as fueling up for a spiritual marathon. Get in those carbs!
Next, you hit up Kol Nidrei, the Yom Kippur service that officially starts the holiday.
Kol Nidrei helps us do two things:
One, it lets you annul old promises you may have bailed on.
Think of this as a “reset” button for promises you may have made without fully thinking them over.
Two, Kol Nidrei helps you look ahead and ask, "Are you SERIOUS about your new promises? Can you follow through on your word?”
This matters TODAY more than ever. Why? Because we live in a world where the power of the WORD feels about as sturdy as the latest TikTok trend.
Moving on to Yom Kippur day, you hit up services focused on forgiveness and 2nd chances, tapping into the idea that the more you forgive others for their mistakes, the more God will forgive you for your mistakes
It's like the mystical secret to being forgiven!
The day concludes with “Ne'ila,” the MOST climactic service of them all, when the GATES OF PRAYER are said to be closing and you have a final opportunity to seek forgiveness.
And when that final Shofar BLASTS, you made it. Time to eat!
Believe it or not, Jews have been fasting on Yom Kippur way longer than intermittent fasting has been a thing.
But have you ever thought about why? I mean, isn’t stuffing your face what the holidays are all about?
Let me explain: fasting on Yom Kippur is like hitting the pause button on your body so you can crank up the power on your soul.
It’s like you’re flipping the script on life and saying, “Yo, life, I’m not just living to eat, but eating to live!”
Think of it this way – when you get to the end of your life, hopefully many, many years from now, do you want your tombstone to read, “Pounded a gazillion In-N-Out burgers,” or would you rather it say something like, “Lived with soul and purpose.”
Now I get it - the first one is pretty funny and you might say that you’d be cool with it, but really think about it! What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
Of course eating, and occasionally indulging, is something you can, and should, enjoy, but on Yom Kippur, you’re making a statement that the physical aspects of life are a means to an end… not the other way around.
Did you know that the word “scapegoat” - that’s someone who is blamed for something - actually derives from Yom Kippur?
Back in the day, the High Priest would take an actual GOAT, confess everyone’s sins over it, then send that lil’ guy off into the desert until he got lost.
Quite literally, he was an ESCAPED GOAT. Get it?
And did you know that even further back, God was having a chat with the angels when he was considering creating humans and the angels weren’t really that into the idea?
The angels were like, "Why bother creating humans who are FLAWED when we angels are LITERALLY PERFECT?”
But God was like, "Yeah, but they’ll have the ability to achieve greatness by using their Free Will to choose good over evil, and in doing so, they will reach greater heights than you angels.”
That shut up the angels REAL quick.
Together, these stories illustrate why Jews atone on Yom Kippur:
One, so that they can achieve a CLEAN SLATE by breaking free from mistakes as if they were sent with the goat to the desert.
And two, so they can strive for greatness in the year ahead by using free will to choose to do the right thing.
And while you may never be perfect as the angels, that’s sort of the point. It is your imperfections and ability to keep trying your best that make you great.
The High Holidays are a time in which you make a spiritual accounting - you review our actions, identify weaknesses, say sorry, forgive and make a game plan for next year.
But once the High Holidays are over… then what???
First off, those resolutions you made? Keep 'em! Write them down somewhere you'll see every day. Just don’t like… get a face tattoo of them or something.
Next, remember that "sorry" isn't just a High Holidays thing. If you mess up, it's not a "once a year" deal. Apologize when needed, forgive when asked, simple as that.
And that spiritual connection you felt during the Holy Days? Keep engaging in activities that nurture your soul, whether it's prayer, meditation or just being there for others.
Oh, and try to follow through on what you said you would do, and if you can’t, be open and communicative about it.
And if you forget any of the above, allow that little voice in your head to remind you. It’s like your very own Shofar.
[SHOFAR BLOWS] Did you guys hear that, or was that just me?
This has been JEW KNOW IT, a series where we tackle questions big and small about Judaism… even the ones you’re too afraid to ask.
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