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Virtual Yom Kippur Box
Your Virtual Yom Kippur Box holds hand-picked resources for your reflection. For more High Holiday resources, visit our High Holidays Collection for 2021/5782.
Read: Psalm 27 for the People of Afghanistan
We cry out for Divine justice and compassion for us and all the world. Martha Hurvitz’s poem/prayer reminds us of the immediate needs of the Afghani people. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: Luley
Psalm 27 is recited daily from the first of Elul through the end of Sukkot. This version, written by Rabbi Margot Stein and sung by MIRAJ, focuses on the final two lines of the psalm, which express a longing for a healed world. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Read: ‘Unetaneh Tokef’ for Black Lives
Both the Unetaneh Tokef prayer and the impact of the list of killings of Black Americans inspired Imani Romney-Rosa Chapman to create this piyyut (liturgical poem). Sourced from Ritualwell
Watch: Feeling Grief and Hope Through the Shofar Blast
Rabbi Deborah Waxman explores these themes and the awe that the shofar blasts continue to inspire in this High Holiday 5782 message. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Read: Meditative Avodah Service
Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz reimagines the Avodah Service of the High Priest in the ancient Jerusalem Temple, the ultimate point of the Yom Kippur observance of our ancestors. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen/Watch: ‘This Be Dear to Me’
Composed by David Berkeley and arranged by Will Robertson, this contemporary psalm is performed by the Chorus and Strings of Congregation Bet Haverim of Atlanta. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Read: Future Prayer
Ellen Dannin shares her words for a possible future prayer not yet in our mahzor, one all the generations after us will recite. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Yom Kippur Resources 2020/5781
Read: Avinu Malkeinu for This Time
Sabrina Sojourner composes new words for an old prayer that pointedly speaks to today. Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: Unetaneh Tokef for Black Lives
The words of the Unetaneh Tokef — a prayer that inspires fear and awe during the High Holidays — and the killings of Black Americans inspired this poem by Imani Romney-Rosa Chapman. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: A River of Forgiveness by Rosa Blumenfeld
There was a river in the Garden of Eden. When it left the Garden, it split into four and flowed out into the world so that we would always be connected to the Garden and have a place in our hearts to call home. God knew that we would need that so as to not lose track of ourselves and our own goodness when we made mistakes. Sourced from Reset. For more practices, sign up for Harvesting Resilience: 30 Days of Spiritual Practice Before the Election. Receive a daily 5-minute practice to nourish your heart, mind and spirit. Register here!
Read: The Other Jewish View of Forgiveness
Many Jewish texts, ancient and modern, encourage us to forgive those who injure us, even when they themselves have not acknowledged the injury or asked for forgiveness. Louis E. Newman reminds us that when we forgive, we let go of our injury and can proceed with compassion. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
Listen: Review, Release and Restart
Phil Straus composed this choral arrangement that captures the essence of Yom Kippur and the process of teshuvah. Sourced from Ritualwell
Watch: Learning to Grieve, Learning to Praise: Jeremiah and the Poetry of Yom Kippur
For many of us, the experience of quarantine has brought to the fore grief that we’ve been carrying around unexpressed or even unknown. In this teaching, Rabbi Joshua Boettiger examines the praise within our grief and observes that the two are inextricably intertwined. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Watch: The Sounds of the Shofar: It’s More than You Think
In an exploration of the meaning behind each of the three different sounds of the shofar blasts, Rabbi Elyse Wechterman shows that each sound is supposed to bring to mind a uniquely different perspective on the themes of this holiday season. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
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