Where’s the Outrage?

This morning I attended the Yom Kippur service at Houston Hillel. Houston Hillel serves Jewish college students throughout the Houston area. The Rabbi is Kenny Weiss.

I am not Jewish. My wife is Jewish.

Yom Kippur is the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement.  It is seen as the most important day on the Jewish calender. Jewish folks, such as the wife, fast on Yom Kippur. I had clam chowder for lunch.

When I arrived at the service I was handed a book. I love to read. The book was called a machzor. This is a special prayer book for high Jewish holidays.

At one point were were told to stand and to read silently a 26 page section of the book. That’s my kind of service.

There was plenty of singing at the service. A young woman cantor sang prayers from the machzor in Hebrew. I was not always able to follow where in the book she was singing from, but I did feel I was getting the drift.   

The room the service was conducted in had a big window and was full of light.  

There were both many college students and elderly folks at the service. This mix was good as it spoke to the future and to the importance of the past. It spoke of the ability of the Jewish faith to draw new people and remain relevant for entire lifetimes.

The text of the machzor asked me to confess of the misdeeds I have committed in the past year and to learn from these errors for the year ahead. I am a misdeed a day type of person so I found the words to be relevant.

Nobody asked me if I were Jewish or not. Nobody seemed annoyed by the small baby in the room who made a little noise at times. The Rabbi was both welcoming and clear that the service had meaning.

Good luck to my wife and to all Jewish folks in the year ahead. Good luck to all.

Here is some history of the Jewish religion.

Tags: Religion //