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GUIDE TO SERVICES cont'd
By Rev. Dr. Louis C. Gerstein Yom Kippur For the service on the eve of Yom Kippur the congregation arrives just before sunset, and the men, many of whom come in full dress with white tie and tails, cover themselves with the tallith. This is the only service when the tallith is worn at night for the precept of the "fringes" is one relating to the day, and for that reason services read in the evening do not require the prayer shawl. On the eve of Yom Kippur the service begins before sunset, while it is still day, and therefore the tallith is worn on this occasion. Before the Kal Nidre is read, the scrolls, covered in cloaks of pure white, are carried from the Ark to the reading desk by a number of men of the congregation, dressed in formal attire in beautiful and solemn procession. They remain at the "tebah" while this most holy prayer is intoned. Thereafter a number of blessings are recited and then the scrolls are returned to the Ark. The most solemn day of the year, Yom Kippur, is a fast day spent entirely in the synagogue. There is no intermission between one service and another, and the prayers are read from early morning through until sunset. Directly before the Nei'lah service, the time of the "closing of the gates," the rabbi mounts the pulpit, offers a prayer and then returns slowly to the Ark, covers his head with the prayer shawl and solemnly opens the door of the holy Ark. This is a moving moment in the service that brings to an end this day of affliction of the soul, when we discipline ourselves by abstaining from partaking of food and drink. The Yom Kippur service comes to a close with the phrase, "The Lord is our God" proclaimed seven times in a rising crescendo of sound which ends with the sounding of the shofar. It may be added that the very large attendance at the High Holy Day services makes necessary an overflow service which takes place in the L. Napoleon Levy Auditorium. This is set up as a synagogue in which the services are read in the same manner as in the large synagogue. < Previous | Next > |
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