Yom Kippur: A Time for Reflection and Renewal

Written and submitted by GesherEU member, Sheya.

Yom Kippur is on Saturday. I kind of forgot about it. It was not something my brain was spending energy on. I was reminded by my brother who called, asking to borrow a book. He’s not usually a reader and didn’t explain why. It took me some time to figure out that he might be very bored all day.

Yom Kippur is also the first time I “broke” anything big. I slept in and went to shul to meet a friend. He lived alone, and suggested going back to his. I had brought my phone with me. We convinced ourselves that we were “allowed” to use our phones (and possibly smoke too). All it took was a short conversation between us involving some mental gymnastics, and our consciences were clear. I went back to yeshiva that winter and began to think less about breaking Shabbos.

That was 12 years ago, and it’s been a long journey. Thinking “hey, you shouldn’t break Shabbos” came in ebbs and flows over the years. I fluctuated back and forth on the religious spectrum, never quite sure where to settle. I haven’t felt bad about treating Saturdays – and Yom Kippur in this case – like an extra weekday for quite a while now. Now, it’s a day for me to choose how to make the most of. Whether I use it for downtime, running errands, or spending time with loved ones, I see it as another day to make the most of.

I’m going to the Taskmaster Live Experience on Saturday. I love the show, so I overpaid for tickets on launch day and have been looking forward to it since. I booked the tickets as fast as possible, picking a random Saturday that looked empty in my calendar without giving it a second thought. Turns out that Yom Kippur falls on this random Saturday too, so I must remember to stop by my parents on Friday to wish them an easy fast and that they may be sealed in the Book of Life.

Posted in Blog, Members Stories and tagged , .

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *