By Rabbi David Levin-Kruss
Yesod Europe’s Jewish Learning Director
The other day I went into a favorite cafe and ordered. While I was waiting, I got impatient as usually I would have used the app and had the food ready for me. We seem to use apps for everything – to book tickets, meet people, buy groceries. And, in our professional lives, to make meetings, organize conferences, communicate with our participants. Well, it’s about time the internet is utilized to help us through the challenges of Yom Kippur.
In the Unetaneh Tokef prayer, said on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in most synagogues, we read that prayer, repentance and charity soften the Divine decree. The following six resources, most of them interactive, can be used to help us become better people, engage in meaningful ritual, and share our good fortune with others.
One caveat – I needed sites in English so they would be widely accessible. This means that the list is skewed in the direction of American culture, but much is easily adaptable to our personal or work needs. Let’s go.
Teshuva – Repentance – Becoming a Better Person
10Q – emails you a question a day starting on Rosh Hashana and ending on Yom Kippur. Afterwards, you send your answers to the secure online vault. One year later, your answers are unlocked and returned, and the process begins anew.
Future Me – Write a letter to your future self, and schedule it to be sent at a future date.
Tefila – Prayer and Meaningful Ritual
There are two minor Rosh Hashana customs that contain prayer but are not prayers in the classic sense.
Once is a “simanim” seder. The rabbis gave different foods symbolic meanings and some Jews, especially those of Sephardi/Mizrahi origin, have a mini-seder on first night of Rosh Hashana where they eat emblematic foods and share blessings. Find Kol Haot’s Rosh Hashana Seder Kit here
Another custom is tashlich. Going to a body of water and metaphorically throwing away your sins.
Post Secret offers a modern twist: Do you have something you feel you cannot tell anybody? This site allows you to send an anonymous postcard with your confession and it is then archived. And you can read what other people have shared – perhaps you will identify with what they wrote, perhaps you will have your horizons expanded, perhaps you will have a completely different reaction.
Charity
Most of us are involved daily through our work in making the world, and especially the Jewish world, a better place. Some of us choose to give charity in addition to our work or to volunteer for other worthy organizations. Lots of tips and guidance below on how to use our money and time effectively. But remember the caveat – these two are particularly US focused: Charity Navigator and Give Well.
Hope these are of help. Feel free to write to me at dlk@yesodeurope.eu and share any thoughts you have.
Happy 5783 to you, your loved ones, your communities, the Jewish people and all the world.