September 28th, 2017 8 Tishrei, 5778 My kittel for Yom Kippur, a white button down dress, has been hanging in my office for the past few weeks. As Im writing sermons or working on e-mails at my desk, I often see it in my peripheral vision. While on
September 28th, 2017 8 Tishrei, 5778
My kittel for Yom Kippur, a white button down dress, has been hanging in my office for the past few weeks. As I’m writing sermons or working on e-mails at my desk, I often see it in my peripheral vision. While on a pragmatic level it’s been a reminder of how close the holidays are, on a spiritual level it’s been a constant reminder of what we’re trying to accomplish together. We seek to create spirituality together, a place of deep holiness, and a place where on these Yamim Nora’im, we can find the strength to renew ourselves for good.
There's a meditation offered in our machzor when putting on of a kittel, but really it can apply for anyone wearing white. It reads as follows: "Just as I clothe myself in this garment, so may You purify my soul and my body, as the prophet Isaiah said, 'Even if your sins are like crimson, they will turn snow-white.' (Isaiah 1:18)
While wearing white won't trick God into granting us forgiveness, the tradition understands that sometimes the garments we clothe ourselves in affect the way we feel. They can alter the way we carry ourselves.
And so too with Yom Kippur. Wearing white signifies this isn't just another day in Shul, this is a day where are trying to start over with a clean slate. White is pure. We are reminded that we are, too; we can also be made new. As the High Priest would put on his white garments when entering the Holy of Holies, when preparing to intimately approach God, we too put on different clothing to approach God. Additionally, our white clothes on Yom Kippur nod to the shrouds that we will each be buried in upon our deaths. Yom Kippur seeks to remind us of, and perhaps even mimic, our own deaths, in the hopes that confronting death will affect how we choose to live our lives.
Come tomorrow evening, we will all stand together at those gates. I hope you’ll consider joining me in wearing white. But regardless of what we are wearing, we stand as one. We will seek to walk through those gates as a community as we reach out towards God, and hope that God reaches back out towards us.
Wishing you each a G’mar Chatimah Tovah, Rabbi Sarit
***When you come to Beth Sholom for Kol Nidrei, I encourage you to bring non-perishable food items for our collection for the hungry.***
