Yom Kippur

Today begins the celebration of Yom Kippur in Israel.  It is also the first day in six months where we have seen ANY clouds!  I am sure the two are related.  More about that later.  Below is a summary of Yom Kippur..

How is Yom Kippur Observed?

An Overview of Yom Kippur's Traditions and Customs

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/

Yom Kippur commemorates the day that G‑d forgave the Jewish people for the sin of the Golden Calf. Forty days after hearing G‑d say at Mount Sinai: "You shall not have the gods of others in My presence; you shall not make for yourself a graven image," the Jews committed the cardinal sin of idolatry. Moses spent nearly three months on top of the mountain pleading with G‑d for forgiveness, and on the tenth of Tishrei it was finally granted: "I have pardoned, as you have requested."

From that moment on, this date, henceforth known as the Day of Atonement, is annually observed as a commemoration of our special relationship with G‑d, a relationship that is strong enough to survive any rocky bumps it might encounter. This is a day when we connect with the very essence of our being, which remains faithful to G‑d regardless of our outward behavior.

And while it is the most solemn day of the year, we are also joyful, confident that G‑d will forgive our sins and seal our verdict for a year of life, health, and happiness.

For nearly twenty-six hours – from several minutes before sunset on Tishrei 9 until after nightfall on Tishrei 10 – we "afflict our souls": we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather footwear, and abstain from spousal intimacy. We are likened to the angels, who have no physical needs. Instead of focusing on the physical, we spend much of our day in the synagogue, engaged in repentance and prayer.

Preparations

On the day before Yom Kippur, the primary mitzvah is to eat and drink in abundance. Two festive meals are eaten, one earlier in the day, and one just prior to the onset of Yom Kippur. Some of the day's other observances include requesting and receiving honey cake, in acknowledgement that we are all recipients in G‑d's world and in prayerful hope for a sweet year; begging forgiveness from anyone whom we may have wronged during the past year; giving extra charity; and the ceremonial blessing of the children.

Before sunset, women and girls light holiday candles, and everyone makes their way to the synagogue for the Kol Nidrei services.

On Yom Kippur

In the course of Yom Kippur we will hold five prayer services: 1) Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the eve of Yom Kippur; 2) Shacharit—the morning prayer; 3) Musaf, which includes a detailed account of the Yom Kippur Temple service; 4) Minchah, which includes the reading of the Book of Jonah.

Finally, in the waning hours of the day, we reach the climax of the day: the fifth prayer, the Neilah ("locking") prayer. The gates of Heaven, which were open all day, will now be closed—with us on the inside. During this prayer we have the ability to access the most essential level of our soul. The Holy Ark remains open throughout. The closing Neilah service climaxes in the resounding cries of "Hear O Israel... G‑d is one." Then joy erupts in song and dance (a Chabad custom is to sing the lively "Napoleon's March"), followed by a single blast of the shofar, and the proclamation, "Next year in Jerusalem."

After the fast we partake of a festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a Yom Tov (festival) in its own right. We immediately begin to look forward to the next holiday and its special mitzvah: the construction of the sukkah.

----------------------

Much more to think about here….

It is New Years Here in Israel Sept 8 and 9, 2010

It is also my brother Chris's birthday.  My thoughts are with him and my thoughts are with our goodly neighbors who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah.  Each year Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on a different date.  But it is a very special time for Jewish people.  Below is an article about the holiday I got off the internet.  After the article is a link I found today by searching for answers to questions about prayer.  Truman Madsen gives an audio talk about prayer.   Can you see a correlation between the article and the audio talk?

The two-day festival of Rosh Hashanah is observed on the 1^st and 2^nd days of Tishrei.

In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "Head of the Year," and as its name indicates, it is the beginning of the Jewish year. The anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, it is the birthday of mankind, highlighting the special relationship between G‑d and humanity.

The primary theme of the day is our acceptance of G‑d as our King

The primary theme of the day is our acceptance of G‑d as our King. The Kabbalists teach that the renewal of G‑d's desire for the world, and thus the continued existence of the universe, is dependent upon this. We accept G‑d as our King, and G‑d is aroused, once again, with the desire to continue creating the world for one more year.

Much of the day is spent in synagogue. G‑d not only desires to have a world with people, G‑d wants an intimate relationship with each one of us. In addition to the collective aspects of Rosh Hashanah worship, each man and woman personally asks G‑d to accept the coronation, thus creating the bond of "We are Your people and You are our King."

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn. The shofar is sounded on both days of Rosh Hashanah (unless the first day of the holiday falls on Shabbat, in which case we only sound the shofar on the second day). The sounding of the shofar represents, among other things, the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man's first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which will culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Altogether, we listen to 100 shofar blasts over the course of the Rosh Hashanah service. Click here for more about the shofar.

Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include:

We eat a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, as well as many other special foods. All have special significance and symbolize sweetness, blessings, and abundance. Click here for more about the special Rosh Hashanah foods.

We bless one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

We leave our old shortcomings behind us, thus starting the new year with a clean slate

We go to a lake, river or to the sea and recite the Tashlich prayers, where we symbolically cast our sins into the water, in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea." We leave our old shortcomings behind us, thus starting the new year with a clean slate. Click here for more about Tashlich.

And as with every major Jewish holiday, women and girls light candles on each evening of Rosh Hashanah and recite the appropriate blessings. (Click here for candle-lighting times for your location.) After the prayers each night and morning, we recite Kiddush on wine, make a blessing over the challah, and enjoy a festive repast.

This is the link to the audio talk by Madsen:
http://www.trumanmadsen.com/media/Madsen_Truman_1983.mp3

MORMON.ORG

Have you seen this?  My friend sent this and it is wonderful critique of Mormon.org.

Subject: 5 Things We Can Learn From the Mormons - An Article You Should Read

This article is an interesting read. It's written by an evangelical critiquing the new Mormon.org. He states,  "Over the weekend, I stumbled upon the new Mormon missionary site, Mormon.org. I was blown away....As pastors, you should familiarize yourself with this new site. It’s important to know how the Mormon Church is talking about themselves. And it’s important to understand how they do it so well. If you’re a communication director or pastor in ministry, there is much to learn from the Mormons—pragmatically. In many ways they are beating us at the communication and evangelism game."

http://www.thejakers.com/church/church-marketing/5-things-we-can-learn-from-the-mormons