Countywide : Jews Observe Holiest Day: Yom Kippur

Addressing themes from coping with economic crisis to retaining their ethnic identity, thousands of Jews throughout Orange County are commemorating their holiest holiday today by seeking forgiveness for their sins as well as keeping a hopeful eye toward the next year.

Yom Kippur, which began Tuesday evening, is the most sacred of Jewish holidays, when devout Jews seek atonement from God for the previous year. During the holy day, which lasts from sunset to sunset, they fast, abstain from work and attend services.

Although Yom Kippur is mainly a solemn day of judgment that focuses on repentance and remembrance of the dead, some rabbis said it is also used to reflect on the struggles Jews face in day-to-day modern life.

Eli Spitz, head rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Tustin, urged members of his congregation Tuesday night to retain their identity as Jews, which he called “the greatest challenge for the Jewish community in America.” He compared the “hidden” Jewish society of modern times with 500 years ago, when many Spanish Jews were forced to convert to Catholicism but secretly remained faithful to Judaism.

Spitz said although today’s Jews in the United States are accepted by the general community more than ever before, that is a mixed blessing.

“We are, unlike any community in Jewish history, at home in America, invited to participate in all levels of life. The down side of it is that the general culture is so overwhelming,” he said. “We have the same guests in our living room as our neighbors--Jay Leno and Michael Jordan and Madonna. The presence of the larger pop American culture greatly influences our sense of self, so unless we consciously vow to define our distinctiveness, it will simply merge.”

Unlike past years, when events in Israel overshadowed American news in its importance to many Jews, this year’s Yom Kippur is dominated by the dismal U.S. economy, said Spitz, who heads the Orange County Board of Rabbis. As a result, Spitz’ services today will help his congregation deal with the insecurity that festers during such uncertain times. It is the first time he has addressed an American domestic issue on Yom Kippur.

“I have never seen such financial insecurity as I have in the past year. I’ve seen a total cross-section of members having lost jobs,” he said. “Overwhelmingly, the fear of losing jobs has been a major mind set. Where things are out of one’s control, one must distinguish between that and one’s own failure. I’m concerned about people blaming themselves. Perspective is needed.”

Helping his congregation deal with the recession is one of the hardest issues Spitz said he has faced as a rabbi.

“It’s a tough one to talk about. The solutions people need feel very concrete. Will they have a job a year from now and should they buy a new set of tires? On a religious context, there’s a gap between the abstract and the concrete. Ultimately, what religion does provide is developing an attitude to cope with insecurity,” he said.

Another rabbi, Bradley S. Artson at Temple Eliat in Mission Viejo, gave a personal message Tuesday night to his congregation during times of strife. A father of newborn twin sons, he described for his congregation the type of world he hopes his boys encounter 50 years from now. On Tuesday, he urged his congregation to take religion seriously instead of just using it to accommodate their own needs.

In Judaism, today marks the end of 10 days of penitence, which began on Rosh Hashanah, or New Year’s Day. The elaborate liturgy for the holiday began Tuesday with a prayer that is a plea for absolution. Worshipers pray throughout today, with two readings of the Torah, and the end of the holiday is marked by the blowing of the shofar.

Orange County has an estimated 80,000 Jews. The Council of Jewish Federations estimated in 1990 that 86% of all Jews attend High Holy Day services.