The year in review

The Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur begins at sundown Sunday, and local

Jewish organizations are preparing to host their largest crowds of the

year.

The special events connected with Yom Kippur include a full day of

services Monday, the Sunday-night singing of Kol Nidre, a prayer that

addresses the failure to fulfill vows, and the saying of Yizkor, the

prayer for the dead. The day attracts many Jews who do not attend

services at other times, said Rabbi David Rosenberg of Temple Isaiah of

Newport Beach.

“I sometimes won’t see people for a whole year and then they’ll show

up,” Rosenberg said. “I’ll say, ‘Where have you been?”’

Yom Kippur is the final day and culmination of the High Holy Days,

which began with the Jewish new year of Rosh Hashana on Sept. 10. The

High Holy Days are considered a time of reflection and atonement,

Rosenberg said, when Jews consider both the manner in which they have

spent year that has passed, and the manner in which they will spend the

year to come.

In contrast to the celebratory feeling of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur is

a holiday with a decidedly pensive tone.

“Rosh Hashana is a happy day,” Rosenberg said. “Yom Kippur is a solemn

day.”

He said the attitude Yom Kippur is designed to create in worshipers,

who spend the day fasting and praying, is one of awe and reverence before

God.

“It’s as if we’re standing in front of a judge in traffic court,”

Rosenberg said. “You get in front of the judge and you say ‘Please don’t

fine me!”’

Beth Slavin, spokeswoman for Temple Bat Yahm of Newport Beach, said

the combination of the extensive services and the singing of the temple’s

choir creates a powerful atmosphere for attendees.

“This is a period in our lives that is very awesome in meaning,” she

said. “You don’t take it for granted.”

Much of the Yom Kippur service, both Sunday evening and Monday, is

sung. Temple Bat Yahm choir conductor Thomas Macfarlane compared

performing the ample liturgy to singing three operas in a row.

Jewish groups have been striving to make sure that the High Holy Days

stay relevant for the lives of today’s Jews. This is a tricky task,

Rosenberg said, simply because the extended prayers and restrictions on

activities like eating and drinking that are the most challenging aspects

of participation in the ceremonies are also central traditions.

“It’s gotten shorter over the years,” Rosenberg said, explaining that

Yom Kippur services are now several hours briefer than they traditionally

have been.

“The rabbis like to say we’re a little weaker today,” he said.

At the Jewish Community Center of Orange County, in Costa Mesa, Yom

Kippur services lasting a little more than two hours will be given at 10

a.m. and 5 p.m. The center hosted a discussion in August designed to help

Jews find meaning in the High Holy Days.

The Pacific Community of Secular Humanistic Jews, which advertises its

services as ‘A Yom Kippur for Y2K,’ plans a program for Monday that will

address the challenges Judaism faces in responding to the complexity of

the contemporary world, according to the group.

In Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur represents the day on which the gates

of heaven are closed and the worthy are inscribed in the book of life.

“The gates are open, they’re going to close,” Slavin said. It is for

this reason -- the pressing need to find a home within the gates -- that

the day of Yom Kippur focuses so intently on the consideration of

personal limitations and the importance of right behavior.

Rosenberg noted that almost all Jews should be able, theoretically

speaking, to slip in before the gates clank shut.

“As long as we come clean, you know,” he said.