The Day of Atonement
Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of “starting over”. The fast itself is not about self-denial for its own sake, but about reclaiming our moral sensitivity. By stripping life to its bare essentials, the day exposes how easily we anesthetize ourselves to suffering, injustice, and responsibility. Fasting becomes a form of protest—against distraction, against spiritual laziness, against the illusion that life can be lived superficially. Standing before God without defenses, we are forced to ask, not whether we have made mistakes, but whether we have truly lived—and whether we are willing to change.
10 Tishrei 5787
Begins at Sundown on Sunday, September 20, 2026
Ends at Nightfall on Monday, September 21, 2026
In Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are a protest against the most dangerous of all human character traits: the curse of indifference—they are a protest against taking life for granted.
A Eulogy for a Christian Who Helped my Religiosity
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Liturgy & Ritual and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
I was asked to eulogize an acquaintance from my childhood and youth in Holland—the mother of friends of mine. As I prepared the eulogy, I realized how much she and her family, and other devout Christians I knew, had influenced me. Despite the clear and definite differences between our religious outlooks, their sincerity and intent inspire me.
The Curse of Indifference
In Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Our greatest challenge is that, living under miraculous conditions through no merit of our own, we fall prey to the curse of indifference--indifference to the miserable and impossible situation of our fellow humans who are threatened by suffering and death.
The Confrontation with Our Undeserved Lives
Yom Kippur leads us to realize life itself is a gift and that gifts confer obligations. The more we receive, the more we become obligated to respond adequately.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The day after Yom Kippur, the synagogue service really should be a completely different experience from what people are used to. Yom Kippur should still be in the bones of all synagogue participants. Its spirit should still be felt with every prayer. It should be completely impossible for synagogue services to return to their old ways, in which prayers are said as if “nothing happened.”
On Yom Kippur, even a Jew with only the slightest Jewish affiliation knows that he needs to annul his vows to radical secularism and other non-Jewish ideologies. Something deep in his soul tells him that, even for just a moment, he needs to return “home” and be part of his people and its faith.
Are we Worthy
In Rav Kook and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
This awesome thought is the focal point of Yom Kippur. Am I worthy to have a claim on life? Or, have I been born but lost my right to live? This is by far the most important question for man to ask. The trembling of the earlier generations on Erev Yom Kippur was indeed that of great pachad (fear) – not fear of punishment or death, but of not rising to the challenge of living in God’s presence and fulfilling one’s destiny!
In Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
To be given the opportunity to do teshuvah is an enormous privilege. It is a joy to be able to say I am sorry. In fact, it is one of the great gifts that Judaism has given mankind: the knowledge that we can change.
In Parashat Bereshit and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Judaism is a warning not to yield to total pessimism, an admonition to endure truth and to choose life.
Starting is more important than completing
Moshe Rabbenu teaches us that real religious life is not defined by where one finds oneself spiritually, but rather by how hard one tries to get there!
In Purim and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Our sages suggested that Yom Kippur is "a day like Purim". To suggest that Yom Kippur is like Purim is a most unusual way of looking to this awesome day.