Day of Atonement

Kol Nidre prayer as recited on Yom Kippur (English translation. The words Kol Nidre are on the upper left.)

*

This time of year, practising Jews (but often even non-religious or secular Jews) consider their actions over the last year and consider their moral culpability and ask for pardon for wrongdoing. They are called upon to really see others and consider their perspectives and their experiences and to really consider their values and what is the right thing to do. It’s about moving beyond fear and self-protection and instead considering what is morally and ethicallly right.

Today, I was writing an Indigenous land acknowledgement for an upcoming event and in addition to acknowledging that we are on Indigenous land and that it is “covered by the Dish with One Spoon treaty and the Two Row Wampum treaty, which require all those who use the land to do so responsibly, to care for the land and share it peaceably,” I’ve added, “We invite you to consider what it is to have a safe, secure and unchallenged home, to have a relation with the land and the place where one lives, both here and across the world,” thinking about homelessness, refugees but also especially, the people of Gaza and the West Bank as well.

The music here is Kol Nidre, one of the very moving melodies in the Jewish tradition and is performed on the night of Yom Kippur, the “Day of Atonement,” the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar. I made this video and recording two years ago.