Repentance and atonement

Tonight begins Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. We spend the day fasting and praying, asking God and one another for forgiveness. The fast includes abstaining from eating, drinking, washing, wearing leather and sexual intercourse. In short, we deny ourselves the pleasures of life in order to focus on our souls.

The prayerbook says, "On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed: who will live and who will die." This is especially meaningful when one has advanced cancer. I have written before that people with cancer believe we know what will kill us, we just don't know when. Every time I recite this prayer in synagogue, I am reminded that I too believe I know that my cancer will kill me, but not when.

So I hope to be written and sealed in the book of life for this coming year. I wish you all the same: g'mar chatimah tova (a good conclusion), an easy fast, and to be sealed in the book of life for a sweet year of health and prosperity.