{"id":38662,"date":"2017-09-29T11:31:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T17:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=38662"},"modified":"2017-12-29T17:19:57","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T23:19:57","slug":"yom-kippur-insights-from-area-rabbis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/yom-kippur-insights-from-area-rabbis\/","title":{"rendered":"Yom Kippur insights from area rabbis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JOSH AXELROD, <em>Exclusive to the CCJN<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, looms large, New Orleans rabbis indicated how their congregations will be commemorating the holiday that begins at sundown tonight. Also, known as the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur takes place on the 10<sup>th<\/sup> day of Tishrei on the Jewish calendar.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38663\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lipskiers.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38663\" class=\"wp-image-38663 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lipskiers-300x267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"267\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lipskiers-300x267.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lipskiers.jpg 347w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/267;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38663\" class=\"wp-image-38663 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lipskiers-300x267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lipskiers-300x267.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lipskiers.jpg 347w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-38663\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mushka and Rabbi Leibel Lipskier of the Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center at Tulane, who served at the biggest Rosh Hashanah celebration this year. (Photo courtesy Leibel Lipskier)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rabbi Leibel Lipskier, who serves students at the Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center at Tulane, is approaching the holy day ready to engage Tulane\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar year. It\u2019s a day of introspection, a day to connect to the innermost part of your soul\u2026at the core we all have a spark of God inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He is preparing for the holiday by attending the mikvah (ritual bath), giving tzedakah, and studying relevant Torah passages that relate to Yom Kippur. Lipskier promises that students who want to get involved in any of these non-official Chabad events can always contact him. He hopes to make all students feel at home and make any ritual accessible on Tulane\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Chabad, at Tulane we\u2019re a family; we\u2019re not just an organization. We invite students to everything that we do, including (into) our personal space,\u201d Lipskier said.<\/p>\n<p>Also addressing non-traditional Jews, Lipskier hopes to provide a space for all through student services. The Kol Nidrei and Neilah services are both designed to be accessible to any denomination, including melodies, translations, and English explanations of the service.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38666\" style=\"width: 238px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38666\" class=\"wp-image-38666 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-768x1012.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-777x1024.jpg 777w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1.jpg 1434w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 228px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 228\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38666\" class=\"wp-image-38666 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-768x1012.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1-777x1024.jpg 777w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Schiller_Yonah-1.jpg 1434w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-38666\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tulane Hillel Rabbi Yonah Schiller. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe just want to encourage everybody to remember tomorrow as Yom Kippur, and get involved in any way that you find meaningful,\u201d Lipskier said. \u201cAt Chabad our doors are always open.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Yonah Schiller, the Executive Director of Tulane Hillel, is offering the The Goldie and Morris Mintz Center for Jewish Life as a space to students to fill in whatever way they want.<\/p>\n<p>The Tulane Hillel building will be hosting students who want to study, relax, or just hangout, taking time to reflect on the holiday. In an unusual offering, the center will be hosting yoga as a way to include the body in the spiritual process of introspection.<\/p>\n<p>Schiller is attempting to create an inviting and amenable environment. There will be separate Reform and Conservative services held.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are not prescriptive in how we try to promote different holidays, rather we try to create space and relevancy\u2026,\u201d Schiller said.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Tulane Hillel is striving to open access points to students who are learning more about their Jewish identity. Schiller identifies that college can be a turbulent time in students\u2019 lives when they are piecing together the meaningfulness of their religion.<\/p>\n<p>The break fast is free to all students and will be provided by the kitchen of Rimon, the latest addition to the kosher restaurant scene run by Chef Daniel Esses. It has replaced the former Hillel&#8217;s Kitchen. .<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38664\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38664\" class=\"wp-image-38664 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-250x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd.jpg 1434w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 250px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 250\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38664\" class=\"wp-image-38664 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-250x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Silverman_Todd.jpg 1434w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-38664\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Touro Synagogue Todd Silverman, one of three members of the clergy there. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rabbi Todd Silverman, the rabbinic director of lifelong learning at the Touro Synagogue, has been prepping for Yom Kippur for days, thinking about repentance and holiness leading up to the holiday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpecifically for Yom Kippur, it is messaged that the time to make <em>teshuvah<\/em> (repentance) is not the night before or the day-of, but rather over the course of the entire Elul\/High Holidays season,\u201d Silverman said.<\/p>\n<p>Silverman is able to achieve this through a process of introspection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI make mental lists, and then consider three questions for everyone I plan to reach out to:&nbsp; what were the specific things I did that I am acknowledging&#8230;, what can I say to show my apology, and what can I do to show my intent to atone,\u201d Silverman said.<\/p>\n<p>He hopes that congregants will find the holiday meaningful and serious. Touro Synagogue hosts Kol Nidre, as well as morning services, Yizkor and Neila. Silverman uses Kol Nidre to activate a sense of awe and gravitas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKol Nidre itself frames the entire experience for me,\u201d Silverman said. \u201cI find that the head-space and heart-space that I am in at the conclusion of Erev Yom Kippur is what carries throughout the rest of the holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37162\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2555.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37162\" class=\"wp-image-37162 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2555-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2555-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2555-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37162\" class=\"wp-image-37162 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2555-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2555-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2555-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37162\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rabbi Yochanan Rivkin at Congregation Anshe Sfard aron hakodesh. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Congregation Anshe Sfard will be holding a traditional Orthodox service, commencing with Kol Nidrei on Friday night and continuing all day with the services made even more holy by the confluence with Shabbat. The congregation will be led by Rabbi Yochanan Rivkin in the prayer services, aided by chazan Daniel Feld, who has been with the synagogue to share the High Holidays for the past two years.<\/p>\n<p>Originally from northern California, Feld now resides in Jersualem.<\/p>\n<p>Rivkin reflected on the holiness and the importance of Yom Kippur in an email exchange with the CCJN.&nbsp;&#8220;For me, Yom Kippur is the day on which the people of Israel are closest to G-d,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;Rather than focus on this day being the &#8216;Day of Judgement,&#8217; I prefer to think of it as a day on which we enjoy G-d\u2019s complete embrace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rivkin is enjoying the beginning of his second year as the spiritual leader of the Orthodox synagogue and his first after being named the permanent rabbi by the congregation. The forgiveness that happens on Yom Kippur is the result of the uncovering of the essential relationship between the Jewish nation and G-d, which overcomes any distance that may have been created through a sin that was committed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The forgiveness that happens on Yom Kippur is the result of the uncovering of the essential relationship between the Jewish nation and G-d, which overcomes any distance that may have been created through a sin that was committed,&#8221; he concluded.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Yom%20Kippur%20insights%20from%20area%20rabbis\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":38663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,640,642],"tags":[1284,1079,724,8790,8795,8969,8788,1776,8968,8821,2080],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38662"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38662"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40544,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38662\/revisions\/40544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}