Why do so many Jews who may not walk into a synagogue all year feel compelled to show up on Yom Kippur?
Some might suggest that it is because they want to have their sins atoned for. There is certainly truth to that. But that explanation does not do justice to what is really happening.
Why would someone who rarely goes to Shul suddenly feel the need “to be there” on this one particular day?
Let’s look at the relationship between a parent and a child. There may be times when a child has been away from home for a while. Life gets busy and the child doesn't necessarily think about coming home. But then a birthday arrives, or an anniversary, or some other significant time of year. And suddenly, the child feels a tug. Something inside says, “I should go home.”
It isn't because someone told him to. It is because the relationship itself is being awakened.
And perhaps something similar happens every year during the Rosh Hashana-Yom Kippur season. It is a unique time when G-d makes Himself especially available and accessible to us. The door is open. He is reaching toward us.
That is why it should not surprise us when, during these days, a Jew suddenly feels a pull toward something Jewish. It may be the thought, “I should go to synagogue this year.” It may be an unexpected conversation, a moment of inspiration or an encounter that seems to happen by chance. But perhaps there is something deeper taking place: G-d is taking the first step.
He is reminding us that no matter how far we may have wandered the relationship is intact. And when we feel that tug and respond by showing up, we are responding to His invitation to come home.
Yom Kippur is the one day of the year when we can uncover that deeper relationship with G-d. Beneath our successes and failures, beneath everything we have done right and wrong, is an essential bond between G-d and His children that cannot be broken.
Through fasting, prayer and other Mitzvot, we align ourselves with the holiness of the day, allowing ourselves to be lifted above the negative energy of the past year and reconnect with something deeper.
Perhaps that is why so many Jews show up on Yom Kippur. They sense that G-d is looking for them.
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We look forward to welcoming you in the days ahead. Come pray with us, reconnect and experience the warmth and meaning of being together. From our hearts to yours, we wish you and your loved ones a year filled with health, happiness, peace, purpose and abundant blessings.