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Overview
Drawing on Jewish creativity from hundreds of sources—the Bible, postbiblical literature, Talmud, midrashim, prayers with commentaries, Hasidic tales, short stories, poems, liturgical music—and describing Yom Kippur observances in various lands and eras, The Yom Kippur Anthology vividly evokes the vitality of this holiday throughout history and its significance for the modern Jew. Literary works by prominent authors S. Y. Agnon, Martin Buber, Meyer Levin, I. L. Peretz, Franz Rosenzweig, Sholom Aleichem, Elie Wiesel, and Herman Wouk also illuminate the spiritual grandeur of the holiday.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780827613485 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The Jewish Publication Society |
| Publication date: | 07/01/2018 |
| Series: | The JPS Holiday Anthologies |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 432 |
| File size: | 11 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
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CHAPTER 1
YOM KIPPUR IN THE BIBLE
As the keynote of Yom Kippur, the Bible emphasizes self-denial, which the rabbis later interpreted in several ways, including fasting. The prophet Isaiah elucidates the ultimate purpose of a fast day.
During the periods of the Temple the predominant feature of the Day of Atonement was the elaborate Temple ritual, as recorded in the Bible. On this day only the high priest entered the holy of holies to make atonement for his sins and for those of the Israelites.
The Book of Jonah, identified in the Talmud (Taanit 15a) with fasting and stressing God's mercy to those who repent, is therefore a most appropriate Scripture reading for the Day of Atonement.
A SACRED OCCASION
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Mark, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall practice self-denial, and you shall bring an offering by fire to the Lord; you shall do no work throughout that day. For it is a Day of Atonement, on which expiation is made on your behalf before the Lord your God. Indeed, any person who does not practice self-denial throughout that day shall be cut off from his kin; and whoever does any work throughout that day, I will cause that person to perish from among his people. Do no work whatever; it is a law for all time, throughout the generations in all your settlements. It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice self-denial; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe this your sabbath.
Leviticus 23.26-32
On the tenth day of the same seventh month you shall observe a sacred occasion when you shall practice self-denial. You shall do no work. You shall present to the Lord a burnt offering of pleasing odor: one bull of the herd, one ram, seven yearling lambs; see that they are without blemish. The meal offering with them — of choice flour with oil mixed in — shall be: three-tenths of a measure for a bull, two-tenths for the one ram, one-tenth for each of the seven lambs. And there shall be one goat for a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of expiation and the regular burnt offering with its meal offering, each with its libation.
Numbers 29.7-11
And this shall be to you a law for all time: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall practice self-denial; and you shall do no manner of work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you. For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord. It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice self-denial; it is a law for all time. The priest who has been anointed and ordained to serve as priest in place of his father shall make expiation. He shall put on the linen vestments, the sacral vestments. He shall purge the innermost Shrine; he shall purge the Tent of Meeting and the altar; and he shall make expiation for the priests and for all the people of the congregation.
This shall be to you a law for all time: to make atonement for the Israelites for all their sins once a year.
Leviticus 16.29-34
PROCLAMATION OF A JUBILEE
You shall count off seven weeks of years — seven times seven years — so that the period of seven weeks of years gives you a total of forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the horn loud; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month — the Day of Atonement — you shall have the horn sounded throughout your land and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family.
Leviticus 25.8-10
THE TEMPLE RITUAL ON THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
The Lord said to Moses:
Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover. Thus only shall Aaron enter the Shrine: with a bull of the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall be dressed in a sacral linen tunic, with linen breeches next to his flesh, and be girt with a linen sash, and he shall wear a linen turban; they are sacral vestments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. And from the Israelite communityhe shall take two he-goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
Aaron is to offer his own bull of sin offering, to make expiation for himself and for his household. Aaron shall take the two he-goats and let them stand before the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; and he shall place lots upon the two goats, one marked for the Lord and the other marked for Azazel. Aaron shall bring forward the goat designated by lot for the Lord, which he is to offer as a sin offering; while the goat designated by lot for Azazel shall be left standing alive before the Lord, to make expiation with it and to send it off to the wilderness for Azazel.
Aaron shall then offer his bull of sin offering, to make expiation for himself and his household. He shall slaughter his bull of sin offering, and he shall take a panful of glowing coals scooped from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of finely ground aromatic incense, and bring this behind the curtain. He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud from the incense screens the cover that is over [the Ark of] the Pact, lest he die. He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger over the cover on the east side; and in front of the cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. He shall then slaughter the people's goat of sin offering, bring its blood behind the curtain, and do with its blood as he has done with the blood of the bull: he shall sprinkle it over the cover and in front of the cover.
Thus he shall purge the Shrine of the uncleanness and transgression of the Israelites, whatever their sins; and he shall do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which abides with them in the midst of their uncleanness. When he goes in to make expiation in the Shrine, nobody else shall be in the Tent of Meeting until he comes out.
When he has made expiation for himself and his household, and for the whole congregation of Israel, he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and purge it. He shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat and apply it to each of thehorns of the altar; and the rest of the blood he shall sprinkle on it with his finger seven times. Thus he shall cleanse it of the uncleanness of the Israelites and consecrate it.
When he has finished purging the Shrine, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, the live goat shall be brought forward. Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated man. Thus the goat shall carry on him all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.
And Aaron shall go into the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen vestments that he put on when he entered the Shrine, and leave them there. He shall bathe his body in water in the holy precinct and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making expiation for himself and for the people. The fat of the sin offering he shall turn into smoke on the altar.
He who set the goat for Azazel free shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may re-enter the camp.
The bull of sin offering and the goat of sin offering whose blood was brought in to purge the Shrine shall be taken outside the camp; and their hides, flesh, and dung shall be consumed in fire. He who burned them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may re-enter the camp.
Leviticus 16.2-28
THE PURPOSE OF FASTING
Cry aloud, spare not,
Lift up thy voice like a horn,
And declare unto My people their transgression,
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways;
As a nation that did righteousness,
And forsook not the ordinance of their God,
They ask of Me righteous ordinances,
They delight to draw near unto God.
"Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not?
Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?" —
Behold, in the day of your fast ye pursue your business,
And exact all your labours.
Behold, ye fast for strife and contention,
And to smite with the fist of wickedness;
Ye fast not this day So as to make your voice to be heard on high.
Is such the fast that I have chosen?
The day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush,
And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Wilt thou call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen?
To loose the fetters of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him,
And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning,
And thy healing shall spring forth speedily;
And thy righteousness shall go before thee,
The glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer;
Thou shalt cry, and He will say: "Here I am."
If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke,
The putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedness;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
And satisfy the afflicted soul;
Then shall thy light rise in darkness,
And thy gloom be as the noonday;
And the Lord will guide thee continually,
And satisfy thy soul in drought,
And make strong thy bones;
And thou shalt be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Isaiah 58.1-11
THE BOOK OF JONAH*
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment upon it; for their wickedness has come before Me.
Jonah, however, started out to flee to Tarshish from the Lord's service. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to sail with the others to Tarshish, away from the service of the Lord.
But the Lord cast a mighty wind upon the sea, and such a tempest came upon the sea that the ship was in danger of breaking up. In their fright, the sailors cried out, each to his own god; and they flung the ship's cargo overboard to make it lighter for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the vessel, where he lay down and fell asleep. The captain went over to him and cried out, "How can you be sleeping so soundly! Up, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will be kind to us and we will not perish."
The men said to one another, "Let us cast lots and find out on whose account this misfortune has come upon us." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. They said to him, "Tell us, you who have brought this misfortune upon us, what is your business? Where have you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you?" "I am a Hebrew," he replied, "I worship the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made both sea and land." The men were greatly terrified, and they asked him, "What have you done?" And when the men learned that he was fleeing from the service of the Lord — for so he told them — they said to him, "What must we do to you to make the sea calm around us?" For the sea was growing more and more stormy. He answered, "Heave me overboard, and the sea will calm down for you; for I know that this terrible storm came upon you on my account." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to regain the shore, but they could not, for the sea was growing more and more stormy about them. Then they cried out to the Lord: "Oh, please, Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man's life. Do not hold us guilty of killing an innocent person! For You, O Lord, by Your will, have brought this about." And they heaved Jonah overboard, and the sea stopped raging.
The men feared the Lord greatly; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and they made vows.
The Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the fish's belly three days and three nights. Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. ...
The Lord commanded the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon dry land.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: "Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it what I tell you." Jonah went at once to Nineveh in accordance with the Lord's command.
Nineveh was an enormously large city, a three days' walk across. Jonah started out and made his way into the city the distance of one day's walk, and proclaimed: "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
The people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast, and great and small alike put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he had the word cried through Nineveh: "By decree of the king and his nobles: No man or beast — of flock or herd — shall taste anything! They shall not graze, and they shall not drink water! They shall be covered with sackcloth — man and beast — and shall cry mightily to God. Let everyone turn back from his evil ways, and from the injustice of which he is guilty. Who knows but that God may turn and relent? He may turn back from His wrath, so that we do not perish."
God saw what they did, how they were turning back from their evil ways. And God renounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon them, and did not carry it out.
This displeased Jonah greatly, and he was grieved. He prayed to the Lord, saying, "O Lord! Isn't this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment. Please, Lord, take my life, for I would rather die than live." The Lord replied, "Are you that deeply grieved?"
Now Jonah had left the city and found a place east of the city. He made a booth there and sat under it in the shade, until he should see what happened to the city. The Lord God provided a ricinus plant, which grew up over Jonah, to provide shade for his head and save him from discomfort. Jonah was very happy about the plant. But the next day at dawn God provided a worm, which attacked the plant so that it withered. And when the sun rose, God provided a sultry east wind; the sun beat down on Jonah's head, and he became faint. He begged for death, saying, "I would rather die than live." Then God said to Jonah, "Are you so deeply grieved about the plant?" "Yes," he replied, "so deeply that I want to die."
Then the Lord said: "You cared about the plant, which you did not work for and which you did not grow, which appeared overnight and perished overnight. And should not I care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well!"
Jonah 1.1-2.2, 2.11-4.[11.sup.3]
CHAPTER 2YOM KIPPUR IN POSTBIBLICAL WRITINGS
From about 330 B.C.E. to about 200c.E.,Diaspora Jewry created a number of outstanding literary works in the Greek language, among them the Septuagint, a Greek version of the Pentateuch translated by Jews in Alexandria. The other books of the Bible were translated later. The present text of the Septuagint contains additional, or "hidden," books known as the Apocrypha. The selection below is from the Apocryphal Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus in Greek).
The Book of Jubilees, considered a significant source of Jeurish law, was composed during the second centuryB.C.E. A pseudepigraphical work, it is a commentary, or midrash, on Genesis and parts of Exodus.
Among other significant postbiblical writings are the works of Philo of Alexandria (c. 20B.C.E.to c. 50 c.E.), who sought to merge contemporary Hellenistic philosophy with a literal, pious acceptance of Scripture.
YOM KIPPUR IN THE SECOND TEMPLE
It was Simon, the son of Onias, the great priest,
Who in his lifetime repaired the house,
And in his days strengthened the sanctuary.
He laid the foundation for the height of the double wall,
The lofty substructure for the temple inclosure.
In his days a water cistern was hewed out,
A reservoir in circumference like the sea,
He took thought for his people to keep them from calamity,
And fortified the city against siege.
How glorious he was, surrounded by the people,
As he came out of the sanctuary!
Like the morning star among the clouds,
Like the moon when it is full;
Like the sun shining forth upon the sanctuary of the Most High; Like the rainbow, showing itself among glorious clouds,
Like roses in the days of first fruits,
Like lilies by a spring of water,
Like a sprig of frankincense, on summer days,
Like fire and incense in the censer,
Like a dish of beaten gold,
Adorned with all kinds of precious stones;
Like an olive putting forth its fruit,
And like a cypress towering among the clouds.
When he assumed his glorious robe,
And put on glorious perfection,
And when he went up to the holy altar,
He made the court of the sanctuary glorious.
And when he received the portions from the hands of the priests, As he stood by the hearth of the altar,
With his brothers like a wreath about him,
He was like a young cedar of Lebanon,
And they surrounded him like the trunks of palm trees,
All the descendants of Aaron in their splendor,
With the Lord's offering in their hands,
Before the whole assembly of Israel;
And when he finished the service at the altars,
To adorn the offering of the Most High, the Almighty,
He stretched out his hand to the cup,
And poured out some of the blood of the grape;
He poured it out at the foot of the altar,
A fragrant odor unto the Most High, the King of All.
Then the descendants of Aaron shouted;
They sounded the trumpets of beaten work;
They made a great sound heard,
For a reminder, before the Most High.
Then all the people made haste together,
And fell upon their faces on the ground,
To worship their Lord,
The Almighty, the Most High.
The singers too praised Him with their voices;
They made sweet music in the fullest volume.
And the people intreated the Lord Most High,
With prayer before Him who is merciful,
Until the worship of the Lord should be finished,
And they completed His service.
Then he came down and lifted his hands Over the whole assembly of the descendants of Israel,
To pronounce the blessing of the Lord with his lips,
And to exult in His Name.
And they prostrated themselves a second time,
To receive the blessing from the Most High.
Now bless the God of all,
Who in every way does great things;
Who exalts our days from our birth,
And deals with us according to His mercy.
May He give us gladness of heart,
And may there be peace in our days In Israel, and through the days of eternity.
May He intrust His mercy to us,
And let Him deliver us in our days.
Excerpted from "The Yom Kippur Anthology"
by .
Copyright © 1971 The Jewish Publication Society of America.
Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations,
A Note from the Publisher,
Preface,
Acknowledgments,
I YOM KIPPUR IN THE BIBLE,
II YOM KIPPUR IN POSTBIBLICAL WRITINGS,
III YOM KIPPUR IN TALMUD AND MIDRASH:,
IV YOM KIPPUR IN MEDIEVAL JEWISH LITERATURE,
V YOM KIPPUR IN JEWISH LAW,
VI SELECTED PRAYERS,
VII THE PARADOX OF KOL NIDRE by Herman Kieval,
VIII THE MUSIC OF THE YOM KIPPUR LITURGY by Max Wohlberg,
IX HASIDIC TALES AND TEACHINGS,
X YOM KIPPUR IN MODERN PROSE,
XI YOM KIPPUR IN ART by Joseph Gutmann,
XII YOM KIPPUR IN MANY LANDS,
XIII YOM KIPPUR IN POETRY,
XIV YOM KIPPUR IN THE SHORT STORY,
XV PRE-YOM KIPPUR FEASTING,
XVI YOM KIPPUR MISCELLANY,
XVII CHILDREN'S STORIES FOR YOM KIPPUR,
XVIII CHILDREN'S POEMS FOR YOM KIPPUR,
Notes,
Glossary of Yom Kippur Terms,
Bibliography,