By Sivan Rahav-Meir
Translated by Yehoshua Siskin
You all saw the fight in Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur. But here are three other Yom Kippur experiences, that speak for themselves
“Shalom Sivan, Kibbutz Givat Haim hosted students from the Ramat Gan Yeshiva for Yom Kippur. The kindergarten there served as the synagogue and it was filled to capacity. One of the members of the kibbutz wrote at the conclusion of the fast as follows: ‘This was an unforgettable experience. All the superlatives in the world would not suffice to describe the powerful spirituality and togetherness of this day which broke down the walls of even the most skeptical. I was sorry that I did not photograph the final moments of the day when all the children gathered underneath a talit and received a blessing. Tears of joy flowed from my eyes. We now have memories to cherish for all of the new year and beyond.’”
{IMG Sivan Meir – shofar
Avi Benaihu, a former IDF spokesman, wrote from Kibbutz Lehavot Haviva as follows: “180 kibbutz members, both adults and children, participated in Kol Nidrei and Ne’ilah services at our kibbutz. This is the eleventh year that guys from the Mitzpeh Yericho Yeshiva came to pray in our kibbutz meeting room that is turned into a synagogue. We met them when they were youths and now they arrive with their wives and infant children. They took this mission upon themselves and they renew it each year in a most amicable and enlightening manner.”
The Ayelet Hashahar Religious Organization comes to Kibbutz Geva every Yom Kippur. Hili, a fourth generation kibbutz member, wrote as follows: “I have been attending the Yom Kippur prayers here for the last 16 years. But this year I wanted to offer a special thank you for the extremely respectful and sensitive way that the services were conducted. Judaism is very important to me. The volatile public rhetoric pains me, but I feel that what happened here on Yom Kippur was simply healing. If only our experience can be replicated and thus influence the entire nation.”
A Story For The Ten Days Of Teshuvah
{IMG Sivan Meir – robber’s note
“Shalom Sivan, I am Sandra Baras from Karnei Shomron. Something happened yesterday from which we have yet to recover.
About an hour after the holiday was over, we opened our front door and saw an envelope on the ground. It contained 1,400 shekels and a letter describing how someone, as a child, took money from our home decades ago and was returning it now—with interest.
Over the years we raised five children here and we always hosted their many friends so it is impossible to know which child—who writes that he was ‘one of the family’—authored the letter.
I was so inspired to discover how one little theft bothered this individual all these years. This proves we have an inclination to do good that never wanes.
But I am curious to know what happened now, precisely at the conclusion of Rosh Hashanah, 5784, during the Ten Days of Teshuvah, that the one who stole as a child decided to come back to our home to make amends.
We forgive him with a whole heart. We decided to contribute the money to tzedakah and, as far as I’m concerned, this contribution is in his merit.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov famously said: “If you believe it’s possible to do damage, believe that it’s possible to make things right.”
Total Devotion: An Extended Yom Kippur Fast In Auschwitz
Yom Kippur is over, but here is a Yom Kippur story that you will never forget:
The story of sisters Hanna and Sara Tesler—uncompromising in total devotion to their faith—is the story of our people. It’s the story of two girls in Auschwitz who wanted to fast on Yom Kippur (even though according to halacha or Jewish law they were not, of course, required to do so). They fasted together with other prisoners but at the end of their fast they understood that their calculation was wrong and Yom Kippur was actually the next day. So they fasted again only to realize that they had again been mistaken and were still one day away from Yom Kippur. So they fasted a third consecutive day in Auschwitz—and somehow managed to survive.
Eventually they were liberated, made aliyah, and settled in Kvutzat Yavne, a religious kibbutz. They were privileged to live to a ripe old age. Just four years ago, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Sara passed away and this year, on the eve of Yom Kippur, Hanna passed away at the age of 97. Several hours before the fast began, Hanna’s funeral was held, exactly 80 years after her triple Yom Kippur fast in Auschwitz.
Yom Kippur, 5784. The soul of a defender of the honor of Israel ascended on high. At her kibbutz, no one with a number tattooed on their arm remains. Now it’s our obligation. ” n
Sivan Rahav-Meir, married to Yedidya and a mother of five, lives in Jerusalem. She has been a journalist in the Israeli media from the age of six and has interviewed thousands of people on television, radio, and in print. Globes named her Israel’s most beloved journalist, Forbes listed her as one of the most influential women in Israel, and the Jerusalem Post ranked her among the 50 most influential Jewish people in the world.
Sivan lectures in Israel and abroad on Judaism, Israel, and new media. In recent years, she began writing The Daily Thought, a brief commentary on current events that is circulated in Jerusalem and translated into 17 languages for global distribution. This volunteer-run project provides spiritual uplift for Jews and non-Jews all over the world.
To receive Sivan Rahav-Meir’s content, search The Daily Thought.