MembersThe Significance of Yom Kippur During a Pandemic

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once said, “Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the Holy of Holies in the Jewish year. It is the rarest of phenomena, a Jewish festival without food. Instead, it is a day of fasting and prayer, introspection, and self-judgement, when collectively and repeatedly, we confess our sins and pray to be written in G-d’s book of life.”

While Yom Kippur is usually as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, the holiday has special relevance when a pandemic castes a dark cloud over the holiday. Many of us are pondering what happened to our world? How did we end up in this situation? Is G-d so angry with us that He has inflicted a pandemic on our world? Is G-d justified in His anger? Should I be angry with G-d or should I be using this pain in order to become a better person?

As we approach Yom Kippur, I find myself asking these very questions, over and over again. For the past week, my daughter was among those children who was stuck at home instead...