All raps, poems, songs etc available at: http://www.danielraphaelsilverstein.com

Yom Kippur is often hailed as the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, but what does this holiness mean? Is it abstract, is it heavenly, is it somehow above us?

Far from it - in ancient Israel, Yom Kippur was one of the most joyful days of the year, when the maidens would wear white dresses and dance before the young men, inviting them to weigh their choices carefully, and to make life-decisions that affirmed the deep joy of sharing and celebrating this most earthly Life with family and community.

This is also the day when we Hwbrews are finally forgiven for the episode of the golden calf, and so receive the tremendous gift of the beautiful second tablets, which were a partnership between G*d and man and represented the need and invitation for human creativity in the enterprise of Torah.

Crucially, the first, broken tablets, were not simply forgotten about or discarded, but remained in the holy ark of the covenant, next to the second, whole tablets - a reminder of the process of our relationship with Life and all those around us: progressing, making mistakes, sometimes even breaking the very foundation of the relationship, and eventually seeing the relationship, and ourselves, be healed, and continue on even stronger, wiser and even more whole for having been broken and repaired.

May we all make wise choices, that affirm Life, and that lead us closer to fulfilling our own unique potential.

Thanks to Dani & Al for the video :)

Love

Daniel

dannyraphael@gmail.com

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