Jewish roots
The Prayers of Yom
Kippur
By
Intercessors Network
CBN.com
-- The Prayers of Yom Kippur
Kol Nidre
On the eve of Yom Kippur while there is still daylight, Jews congregate
all across the globe wearing white. They don their tallitot (prayer shawls) and
Kol Nidre is chanted with a sense of emotional anticipation and a centuries-old
feverishly moving melody. Dating back until at least the ninth century,
Kol Nidre, at first glance, seems to have nothing at all to do with Yom Kippur.
Indeed, it appears to attempt to release one from keeping his oaths and vows.
Many commentators address this issue and their main approach seems to be that
Kol Nidre, in actuality, emphasizes the importance of keeping one's word and reaffirms
our belief of honoring our commitments. How appropiate, as we enter a day when
we will be saying over and over how we plan to change and do teshuvah. Over
the years various versions of Kol Nidre have been adopted in various places. Indeed,
the version found in most siddurim actually contain parts of each version. This
stems from a machlokes (halachic dispute) over whether Kol Nidre is to annul vows
from the past year (Babylonian traditional) or to declare annulled all vows of
the coming year (European tradition, tosofot). The Shema During
the Shema on Yom Kippur, the second line, Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto LeOlam V'aed,
"Blessed is the Name of His Glorious Kingdom for all eternity" is read aloud.
Moshe originally heard this line from the angels when he was on Mount Sinai receiving
the Torah from G-d. Though normally said quietly, on Yom Kippur it is said out
loud. Normally, we dare not utter angelic phrases loudly, but on Yom Kippur, it
is as if we are spiritually raised to the level of angels and we say the verse
out loud. Avinu Malkinu The Gemorrah in Taanis tells the
story of when there was a very bad drought in Eretz Yisrael , the land of Israel.
Public fasts were proclaimed and special prayers were said. The great Torah Scholar
Rabbi Eliezer was called upon to lead the prayers with the saying of the 24 blessing
Amidah, which is said at times of severe drought. Yet, no rain fell. His disciple,
Rabbi Akiva came to the front and said a special prayer in which each verse began
with the words, Avinu Malkenu, Our Father, Our King. Rain fell. The prayer became
a regular part of the prayer services during a time of fasting or tragedy. Today,
it is said fast days and during the ten days of repentance. On Yom Kippur, during
Neilah, the word ketiva, inscribed is replaced by chatima, sealed, because in
the Neilah prayer G-d seals our fate for the coming year. Viduy Confession,
is an essential part of repentance. Repentance cannot be just a fleeting thought
like other thoughts that come and go in a person's mind. By confessing one's sins
out loud, it becomes something much more real. A person must come to the complete
understanding that the sins he committed are wrong and cannot be rationalized
away. The two forms of confession, Al cheit and Ashamnu, alphabetically
list all types of sins. The Al cheit, prayer lists many sins or categories of
sins that are commonly committed. Sins are expressed in the plural not only to
save individuals from embarrassment but so that the congregation as a whole might
attain true atonement. One cannot confess only for oneself, rather one has to
beg forgiveness for all Jews who sin. As the Rav Issac Luria, 16th Century Kabbalist,
wrote that confession is written in the plural, "We have sinned' because all Israel
is considered like one body and every person is a limb of that body. So we confess
to all the sins of all the parts of our body. If you read the Al cheit
carefully, you will see that the list of sins is not a list of the Mitzvot. Rather,
it is a list of categories of sins that are the most common. Many relate to our
misuse of speech and having the wrong type of thoughts or attitude. Some have
to do with more concrete mitzvot like shabbat or Kashrut. All relate to us in
way or another. Of course, one should not feel limited to confess only the list
of sins printed in the siddur, one should mention viduy any specific sins which
he or she may have committed. It is customary to gently beat one's chest during
the viduy, as if to say that your heart may have led you astray in the past but
hopefully, this will not happen in the future. Neilah A Jew
prays three times a day on weekdays. On Shabbat and Holidays, including Rosh HaShanah
a fourth service is added (Mussaf) in memory of the additional sacrifices given
on these days in the Temple in Jerusalem. On Yom Kippur, yet a fifth service
(the only day of the year with 5) is added. The extra service unique to Yom Kippur
is called Neilah. Neilah is said after Mincha as the sun is going down
and literally means closing (or locking) and refers to either the closing of the
gates of the Holy Temple at the end of the day or it refers to the closing of
the gates of prayer as Yom Kippur is ending . The Neilah service contains
stirring pleas that our prayers be accepted by G-d before Yom Kippur ends. The
heavenly judgment inscribed on Rosh Hashanah is now sealed during Neilah. The
chazan chants the service in a special melody designed to stir the emotions and
bring the congregation to greater devotion. There are a number of customs
that have become well accepted in connection with Neilah. Usually the Rabbi or
Rosh Yeshiva (head of Jewish studies school) or the Village Elder will speak before
the Neilah service to inspire the congregants to pray more fervently. In many
congregations he will himself lead the service instead of the cantor - again -
expressing the hightened sence of urgency. The Aron HaKodesh (Holy Ark
that contains the congregation's Torah scrolls) is kept open for the entire service.
Those able to stand up for the entire time, do so. Selichot (prayers of repentance)
are recited and Avinu Malkenu (Our Father Our King) is said even when Yom Kippur
falls out on Shabbat. Following Neilah, the shofar is sounded with one
great and mighty long blast and the services conclude with the exclamations of
Shema Yisrael - Hear Oh Israel and Next Year In Jerusalem - LeShana Haba BiYerushalayim...
Chag Sameach and Shabbat
Shalom
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, dean of the Ohr Torah Institutions Learn more about Christianity's Jewish Roots
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Used
by permission, The Intercessors Network. Sign up for their e-mail updates.
*This article was originally
published in 1978. Jews for Jesus. Used with permission.
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