Harvard Jews Fast, Attend Services to Celebrate Day of Atonement

The somber melody of Kol Nidre, the centuries-old prayer of atonement, resonated off the walls of Memorial Church Tuesday evening as more than 200 people marked the observance of Yom Kippur, Judaism's most sacred day.

Service leaders urged attendees to look beyond the rote recitation in ancient prayer books and to search for spiritual significance in their own lives.

"All of you at home have a Jewish book that you've meant to read, but laundry or studying has got in the way," said Rabbi Pamela Barmash, a student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. "Yom Kippur services are long--bring that book with you [and read it]."

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is an opportunity for Jews to repent for sins committed over the past year.

"It's an important holiday in terms of self reflection," said Joshua E. Penzner `00, chair of the reform prayer group at Hillel. It is a day of "looking where you've been in the past year and where you're looking to go, how you've treated your friends and family and the relationships you've built," he said.

Yom Kippur "is a day for people to evaluate all their actions," said Benjamin W. Dreyfus '01, and a time to "think about how to improve those actions for the coming year."

Rabbi Barmash departed from traditional religious mantra in emphasizing the importance of finding a personal route to spirituality, whether or not that route involved organized religious services.

"For many of us God's presence is elusive if we feel it at all," she said. "Go at your own pace."

Barmash encouraged students and community members to take time each day for self-reflection and thanks, adding that spirituality is most often found at those rare moments when people free themselves from the stresses of daily life.

Student reactions to the services were positive.

"I liked the suggestions for personal reflection," said Fiona S. Graff '02. The sermon "was open so you could interpret it."

Laura D. Babkes '02 praised the message conveyed in Tuesday night's services.

She said she left planning to "do something to get more connected," and with a new understanding that "you don't have to send all your time and effort to be a spiritual person."

In accordance with the traditional Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur lasted from sundown Tuesday evening until sundown last night.