The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

This Friday (sundown - October 3, 2014), as the sun goes down, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) begins. As I have mentioned before, it is our responsibility to repair and reconcile relationships. The three most important relationships are the one we have with ourselves, the one we have with our "Higher Power" (whatever that might or might not be), and the ones we have with the rest of creation. All the work seems to be on us and rightfully so, because of all of creation, humans are the one creature that always needs improvement.

The word "atonement" breaks down into, “at-one-ment.” On Yom Kippur, we recognize and accept responsibility for actions on our part that destroyed relationships, broke a trust, ruined a reputation, cheating in business, greed over good, and on and on. These things separate us from our highest self; they separate us from the love of others. The process of Teshuvah (repentance), literally turning oneself around, helps bring about a change of heart, and a regenerated personality. It reminds us to view ourselves as a being created with the "spirit of Elohim", that our real selves reflect the divine image, and that our actions and choices should be guided by values which reflect those of the “spirit of Elohim” – Tov Values.

Tov Values are “Life 1^st Values.” When we adopt Tov Values as our highest values we choose to do acts that:

“protect life, preserve lives, makes lives more functional, increase the quality of lives – and that enhance, nourish and nurture lives.”

We create relationships with others who share Tov Values. Tov acts are good and pleasing to the eyes of Elohim and people too. Many times, the meaning in life is measured in the victory we achieve in disciplining our baser self and bending it to serve a higher purpose.

On Yom Kippur, we remove ourselves from every aspect of the mundane world. We fast, turn off our cell phones and other appliances. We open our ears, eyes, hearts, and souls to reconnect with ourselves and with others. We refrain from indulging our physical appetites for a limited period not to deny our physical appetites, but to subsume them to a higher set of values and the need of putting our desires in their proper place and context. 

The customary greeting for this Holy day is "G'Mar Chatimah Tova," – “may you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a year of Tov, a year of health, a year of peace and a year of life.”

The prophet Isaiah (chapter 58), which is read on Yom Kippur states;

"Your fasting today is not such as to make your voice heard on high . . . No, this is the fast I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the chords of the Yoke, to let the oppressed go free; to break off every yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe him . . . Then shall your light burst through like the dawn."

This year -- Do Tov, Choose Life!

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor

The Power of Collective TOV Creativity -- Ubuntu

One of the most important concepts that Jim Myers and I teach through the Tov Center is about the importance of "Community." We live in a society of individuals. Everyone is a "ME." Individual rights, needs and wants take priority over those of community. Essentially, the "WE" is disappearing from America, the nation famously known as “WE the people!”

This creates a problem that most people do not seem to be aware of -- without a "WE" there is no "ME." Without a “WE” there is no righteousness; there is no kindness; there is no justice; there is no Tov; and, there is no community without others! And, very importantly, there is no shared Values Standard we can use to guide and measure human relationships. Every “ME” is running around with his or her own “self-created standard” measuring the world with it. Reminds me of that old Law of the Jungle thing, but this time the biggest “ME” prevails. The loss of a shared collective standard is the pressing problem of our generation. It is a problem that much of our work at the Tov Center will focus on.

I now use the term, "Communitarian" to describe myself. I live in a community of all kinds of people and I guide my actions by the Tov Standard. Tov means more than "good." Tov is an act that is pleasing to the eyes, makes life more functional, enhances the quality of life, protects life, nourishes and nurtures life. Life is the focus of the Tov Standard, which simply identifies and measures whose lives will be/have been affected by decisions and actions. 

The picture above came from a FaceBook posting called "Ubuntu." It emphasizes the importance of community and offers a different perspective on what "true love" is and the peace it brings. "Ubuntu" in the Xhosa culture means:

"I am because We are."

Now, don't run out and burn your Visa and MasterCard or join a 12 step program for consumer addiction. Like anything else, I try to find a balance between caring for my own needs and caring for the community. Sometimes the priority of one will outweigh the other; that is also part of life.

Many people are familiar with the tradition of breaking the glass at the end of a Jewish wedding ceremony. There are literally thousands of reasons given. My favorite is that even on one of the most joyous occasions in life, we can't be totally joyous because at that moment other people in the world are engaged in war, suffering from poverty, attacked by bigots, oppressed by inequality and being ignored by the justice systems. “WEs” are required to successfully repair certain levels of damage in our world. But the first steps of creating a “WE” are:

(1) the adoption of a shared values standard by two or more “MEs”

(2) creating shared values relationships

(3) communicating and acting together

David Muir, the new ABC World News anchor, recently said, "I think there's a hunger for a consensus in this country; there are so many polarizing voices." To those voices, I say “Ubuntu” – 

“I am because we are.”

It is our time to repair the world; just previous generations had their times.  I say we can do it the Tov way, the Communitarian way. Or as the very wise Jewish sage Hillel once said (Mishnah Avot 1:14):

"If I am not for myself, who is for me?

And if I am only for myself, what am I?

And if not now, when?"

Let's repair our world by doing Tov together!

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor