Unapologetically Alive: A Yom Kippur Intention

Here we are, racing to the Gates of Heaven.

As we approach Yom Kippur, I invite us to take a breath, sing a blessing, and reflect.

On Yom Kippur, we refrain from eating, drinking, anointing, bathing, and intimacy. These five acts aren’t random — they echo the experience of death. The kittel, the white garment we wear, reminds us of this — it’s what we wear on Yom Kippur, at weddings, and when we are buried. Yom Kippur, in many ways, is a rehearsal of death, allowing us to brush up against mortality. And through this, we emerge more fiercely alive.

At the close of Yom Kippur, we cry out the Shema, Baruch Sheim K’vod, and Hashem Hu HaElohim, declaring our faith and commitment to life. When the shofar sounds, we don’t ask to merely survive — we demand to live. We declare in our own way what the Psalms did, “I will not die but live. (Ps. 118:17)”

Despite the world’s brokenness, we are still here, committed to fighting for life, for love, and for a better world. Yes, children on bicycles in Tel Aviv (a modern, uniquely Tel Aviv, Yom Kippur tradition) will be reminded what do if they hear a warning siren that a missile has been fired at them. But they will ride. We ride on, just like them.

This was a ravaging year. Let Yom Kippur remind us that we don’t have forever, so we will not wait. We must live fiercely, unapologetically, and passionately, with the knowledge that we’ve got heavy work to do. There’s blessing in that as well.

May these next 25 hours connect us more deeply to purpose, to community, and to the gift of life itself.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah — May we all be signed and sealed for life. And may we build a world where life is celebrated and protected, where hope isn’t just a dream but a collective sacred oath.