Spring Hill synagogue gets ready for Yom Kippur

SPRING HILL — Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish new year, was marked on Sept. 18 by Jews around the world, including members of Temple Beth David.

"At Rosh Hashana, people greet each other by saying 'Shanah tovah,' which means a good year," Rabbi David Levin said about the holiday's traditional Hebrew greeting.

"When the Jewish year begins, each of us wonder what this year will bring. Will it bring good fortune or misfortune? In the synagogues all over the world, the Jewish people gather to pray, and the most important thing is to ask for a life of health and prosperity and probably a little joy."

The 10 days following Rosh Hashana are called Yamim Noraim, or Days of Awe. The days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur have been used for thousands of years by observant Jews as a time of introspection.

Yom Kippur, which begins this year at sundown Sunday and lasts until sundown Monday, is the Day of Atonement.

"The most important holiday in the Jewish calendar is the Sabbath," Levin said. "Yom Kippur is like a very special Sabbath. It's very important."

Marlene Shaw Praglor, the membership chairwoman for the temple, said it is the time when Jews repent.

"After 10 days of introspection, spiritual renewal and prayer, Yom Kippur is the culmination, the day when we repent for all of our sins, say prayers seeking God's forgiveness and give charity to mitigate God's decree," she said.

Yom Kippur requires a time of fasting in order to "heighten our awareness of spiritual discomfort with our behavior during the past year," Praglor said. "It is important to note that if one has sinned against another human being, God will not forgive the sinner until he has sought forgiveness from the person he has injured."

"Not even water is taken," Levin noted about the period of fasting.

Levin said a lot of people who don't belong to temples and synagogues feel obligated to attend Yom Kippur services, and he emphasized that they are welcome to join with the Temple Beth David congregation in celebrating.

A Kol Nidre service will be sung at 8 p.m. Sunday.

"This haunting prayer asks God to nullify all vows made under duress," Praglor said. "During each service the Vidui (confessional) prayer is repeated several times."

Services Monday begin at 10 a.m. and include regular morning services, the Vidui, Kapperot (atonement) and additional poems and stories of commemoration. The Torah and the Haftarah are read during the service and again at the afternoon service, which begins after a brief break at 3 p.m. The book of Jonah is read, and at about 4:30, a Yiskor service is held.

"When we do the Yiskor, it's a holy tradition," Levin said. "The Jewish people offer special prayers for the departed members of their family, and we honor the memory of our dearly departed ones and we feel very close to them again."

Levin said that is a part of his religion he loves.

"They are gone but not forgotten," he said. "We have a wall where we remember every year any family member that's passed away. We have a little light on our memorial board and we light the light for the year when they've passed away and mention their names. They live on in our hearts and that's a wonderful thing to see."

After the Yiskor, there is a Neilah service.

"At the end of the Neilah, the shofar, a ram's horn, is blown. Juice, wine, challah, honey cake and pound cake will be served to break the fast," Praglor said.

The Temple Beth David choir, led by Elaine Ticotin, will participate in the High Holiday services, and the service Monday afternoon will be sung by cantorial soloist Gloria Goldman.

"When I'm up on the bimah, which is the stage where the ark contains our Torah, our holiest of books, and I give my voice up to God, a wonderful feeling comes over me," Goldman said. "It's difficult to explain. It's as if I know I have made a direct connection with God and all else around me and in my life disappears. It's just me and him listening to my prayers. It's a very cleansing and peaceful experience."