Who shall I say is calling?

Contrary to expectations, Yom Kippur did not quite live down to expectations. The first reading for Kol Nidrei is one of my favorite passages:

Behold I set before you this day
life and death, blessing and curse.
Choose life, that you and your children may live. (Devarim 30:15, 19)

This is pretty much the first message anyone with cancer is told, choose life, don't give in to despair, you can beat this thing.

Unetanneh Tokef came and went. Such references to God as "Master of life and death," and phrasings "seal us in the Book of Life,"and "Seal our fate in the Book of Life" had poignancy they never held before. Occasionaly these passages provoked self-reflection and at times led me to think of my place in the congregation (Beth Shalom, Columbia) among people who did not know me or my family's situation. To me, it gave added nuance to the readings about our transgressions, our "Missing the Mark" (we gossip ... we insult ... we quarrel ... we are unkind). It made me think of how we treat others, often in complete ignorance of their personal circumstances. I have found this whole experience since April a humbling, sackcloth and ashes narrative. As for Yom Kippur, it was probably the most meaningful one.

Faina slept far later on Yom Kippur morning. She woke up with a decent energy level. In the afternoon we took a walk around Lake Elkhorn. Very shortly after we got inside the rains came pouring down. Tuesday morning will be a trip to Hopkins. Just a check in with the nurses.


Below - Leonard Cohen's version of Unetaneh Tokef, Who By Fire.