A Yom Kippur reflection from the standpoint of Moses
Yom Kippur invites us to take Moses’ place on the heights of Sinai: a call to intercession, humility, and shared responsibility.
If he were to speak again to the people as he came down with the Tablets of Forgiveness, he would not recall their failings in order to judge them, but in order to heal. He would remind us that holiness is not the absence of faults, but the courage to correct our course. Even the greatest prophets walk in human frailty. Holiness is not a fixed state; it is a continual journey of rising and return.
Yom Kippur is the certainty that no failing is greater than God’s mercy.
It is the day to honor His unconditional love, to restore the covenant, and to renew our soul as a community.
And so we begin the Yom Kippur fast as a sacred time of inwardness, renewal, and spiritual light.
To accompany these hours of reflection and ascent, I share the traditional order of the prayers and the reading of Tehilim (Psalms):
The Five Prayers of Yom Kippur
On this day we recite five services:
1. Arvit (Evening): It opens with the solemn declaration of Kol Nidrei.
2. Shacharit: The morning prayer.
3. Musaf: The additional morning service.
4. Minchah: The afternoon prayer.
5. Neilah: The closing prayer, offered before nightfall.
(It is customary to recite Vidui, the confession, in each of these services.)
The Tehilim Reading (36 Psalms)
The 36 additional psalms are distributed through the fast:
Before Kol Nidrei: Psalms 115–123.
Before going to sleep: Psalms 124–132.
After Musaf: Psalms 133–141.
After Neilah: Psalms 142–150.
It is a tradition to complete the entire Book of Tehilim together with a minyan.
Kol Nidrei
Kol Nidrei: Ve’esarei, Ush’vuei, Vacharamei, Vekonamei, Vekinusei, Vechinuyei… Miyom Kippurim zeh, ad Yom Kippurim haba aleinu letovah…
All vows: Prohibitions, oaths, consecrations, and promises we have taken upon ourselves from this Yom Kippur until the next — may it come upon us for good — we repent of them all. They are forgiven, annulled, canceled, and void. Our vows shall not be vows, nor shall our obligations be obligations.
And so we end the fast with the same certainty with which Moses came down from Sinai:
יְהוָה יְהוָה אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן
אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת
Hashem, Hashem, compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abundant in kindness and truth.
(Exodus 34:6)
There is no failing greater than His mercy.
I wish everyone a meaningful fast — one that brings clarity, serenity, and the blessing of being sealed for a year of peace, health, and goodness.
Gmar Chatima Tova.
