Atonement. Ithaca Style.

Cornell United Religious Work*

We are trying Jewish lite this year. Almost 20 years of observing Yom Kippur with my husband has ranged from getting all dressed up for services like we were running for the presidency to me sending him to synagogue alone because I had to go in to my office for fear of losing my job working for Nazis.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year and so you are supposed to refrain from work and fast from sundown to sundown. "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement" and the idea is to free yourself up so you can spend the day atoning for your sins of the past year.

The good news is that I don’t have to share my sins with anyone but me, myself and I. God was right there with me when I was committing the sins so it’s no big news as I go through my list today.

Here in Ithaca, we are taking it easy--just a bunch of us carving out time for ourselves and our families. The best part of the day, for me, is almost here--when the sun sets and you clink your champagne glass and kiss your loved ones and know that you have a perfectly clean slate with the big guy.

*Cornell United Religious Work (CURW) is comprised of twenty-nine affiliated communities, offers programs of worship, study, and social life, as well as opportunities for students to engage in interfaith dialogue.

Each weekend Catholic Masses, Protestant worship services, Jewish Services, and Muslim prayers are held.