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Friday, October 7, 2011

Recalculating.....

Tonight is Yom Kippur, aka the "Day of Atonement" in Judaism. Sounds pretty scary, and frankly, it sometimes it is. Thinking of how quickly life can change and how precious it is is so important to keep in mind, but so terrifying.

It's hard to tell from the outside what the "point" of Yom Kippur is. We tell G-d all of the things we did wrong, but we don't flagellate ourselves. We acknowledge that G-d makes the major decisions about what will happen to us in the coming year, but we assert our ability to change those decisions as we grow closer to G-d again. We don't eat or drink or do normal everyday activities, but we think of how much potential the everyday holds, to do both good and bad.

My favorite Yom Kippur explanation is this--it's sort of like when you're driving with the GPS and make a wrong turn, and soon after you hear the tinny voice saying, "recalculating, recalculating." And then you end up taking a route that wasn't the plan originally, but that hopefully gets you to the same place.

And that's exactly what Yom Kippur's about. Looking closely at our lives, at all the areas where we might think we're doing fantastic, and realize that we have strayed from the right path. And then we come up with plans to re-route and get to the place we want to go, becoming the people we want to be.

My realization for this year? A lot of the time, I excuse being short/rude/unfriendly by telling myself that it's ok, because I'm stressed, or tired, or going through a difficult time. When really, I'm capable of better than that. I don't want to dump my own problems on other people. So for this year, I'm going to focus on counting to 5 when I feel myself getting angry or upset before I react.

Today, we're doing to an ultrasound appointment to double check how our Bunny is doing. It's been an intimidating and scary week, but the timing has been perfect--I can't forget that G-d is with me all the time, helping me handle it.

I hope that all of you enjoy a happy and healthy year!


18 comments:

  1. i loved reading this! thinking of you and praying for your ultrasound!!

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  2. just the words i needed to hear. Thanks and hope the ultrasound goes well. :-)

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  3. I hope all goes well with the ultra-sound, and everything else, too. Shana Tova.

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  4. Thanks for sharing this post!! Good luck with the ultrasound!

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  5. Wishing you a peacefull Yom Kippur!
    L'Shana Tova

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  6. Hoping all goes well with the ultrasound! Lovely post.

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  7. Thinking of you and your bunny-honey! G-D bless you all the way.

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  8. I love reading about things I'm unfamiliar with. thank you for sharing....

    I hope the ultrasound went well. I've never had any kids so not sure all the details involved, but I'm praying for all great things for you and your family.. =)

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  9. Thinking of you and the little Keshet. Enjoy your weekend!

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  10. Hope you're doing well and can enjoy a big yummy meal once you are done fasting :)

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  11. love this post Keshet. In Christianity, we sort of do this in an ongoing fashion, but I think we miss out on the deep meaning found in the original feast days and fast days. Such symbolism is so very valuable and brings a certain reverence that is sometimes missing in mainstream Christianity. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. may you be blessed with a wonderful year!

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  13. yes, I think we could. I've been studying more and more the Hebrew law and feel like Christianity has allowed much to go that Christ never intended to let go. If you read the New Testament, you find that Christ said he came to fulfill the law, not abolish it. I often wonder how it is then that most of Christianity has done away so completely with what G-d said was His perfect law, the law that David loved and that made him a man after God's own heart. Well, I could go on and on but I may bore you. Blessings friend.

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  14. thanks for the explanation of Yom Kippur. I never really knew what it was, but what a great thing to have a whole day of reflection and recalculating. I might take some time today and reflect in my own way.

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  15. I still remember the episode of norhtern exposure about Yom Kippur lol. You are probably too young for that though. It seemed like the most beautiful idea I had ever heard.

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  16. What a great explanation Keshet. Wishing you all the best for the ultrasound xxx

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I love hearing your thoughts:)