It's Yom Kippur and I'm blogging.

"Howbeit on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; there shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD."

-Leviticus 23:27

The first Yom Kippur that I can recall was when I was maybe 4 or 5 and still went to an Orthodox Hebrew School. After the kids' morning service at the house/synagogue, we were led to the backyard, which I remember being barren of grass. We kids stood in a circle around our Rabbi who held in his arms...a live chicken. 

The Rabbi explained that a part of Judaic tradition (though, it's not widely practiced or popular or even that ethical) is something called Kaparot. Basically, the chicken is swung around your head while you say prayers and, later, meets his maker.  This poor foul supposedly dies for your sins. Kind of like Jesus, except he can't fly, much less walk on water.

Over the years, my days of atonement have become less rigid. There are 5 rules to Yom Kippur, I usually keep 3 or 4. And I usually don't involve chicken torture. 

Let's see how I did this year...

1. No eating or drinking (ken)

2. No wearing of leather shoes (ken)

3. No bathing (ken)

4. No perfumes/lotion/makeup (lo...but have you seen what I look like without eyeliner?)

5. No marital relations (ken but on a side note, how does the Torah feel about pre-marital relations?)

4 out of 5 isn't bad, though I've been washing my hands after I go to the bathroom because, I'd rather not get Hepatitis from the bathrooms at UG. 

The other one that I broke is probably the most important, since it comes straight from the Tenach. Yom Kippur is supposed to be a day of rest, so we can reflect on all the wicked things we've done, apologize to Hashem, torture ourselves with the thought of food and water and, by dusk, be able to say that we have truly repented. Today, I went to two classes and now I'm blogging. Happy holidays, everyone!