Yom Kippur,

A Day of Rest

                Day nine of our tour (Wednesday, Oct.12) and after quite a hectic schedule it was time for a more restful day. We were staying in a hotel at Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee. What a great place for a day of leisure! As our itinerary said: "Free time to relax in the hotel gardens, poolside, or step into the sweet water of Lake Galilee". All grasped this opportunity to rest, to relax.

                To the Israelis this was 10 Tishrei- the tenth day of the seventh month. This was a special day. This was Yom Kippur. Today was the day the land stood still. Twenty five hours to nowhere.

                The shouts and chatter of the fishermen preparing for another day of work could not be heard. Their boats remained idle. Their nets uncast. The sea was quiet, merely gently lapping its rocky shores. The wheels of our bus will not be going round and round. The roads will feel easier having the weights which they usually bear lifted from their shoulders. At the end of the day many people also will feel easier, having the weight of their transgressions against God lifted from their shoulders. The doors of the market stalls remain drawn and locked. The shops are shut.

                This is Yom Kippur. This is a day to be still; to be quiet. Today Israel stands still. Its people take time to meditate, to reflect, to repent, to ask God to forgive their many trespasses. White clothing is the choice of many for this day. I also wear white as a sign of solidarity with those whose land I am visiting.

                As a physical act of repentance a sevenfold washing in water is carried out. As they purify themselves by this sevenfold washing here in the sweet waters of the Sea of Galilee so may God also wash them clean of their sins.

Ceremonial washing at the Sea of Galilee on the day of Yom Kippur.

I turn now to the Book of Leviticus, chapter 16, verse29: "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: on the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work - whether native-born or an alien living among you - for on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then before the Lord you will be clean from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of rest and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance."

                At the end of what is for many Israelis an emotional 25 hours may this greeting ring true - gmar chatimah tova (That you will finish with a good stamp in God's book).