Yom Kippur My Way
Tomorrow night begins Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jewish people around the world. It’s the day on which “we are closest to G‑d and to the quintessence of our own souls.”
It is the Day of Atonement -“For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before G‑d” (Leviticus 16:30).
For nearly twenty-six hours—from several minutes before sunset on 9 Tishrei to after nightfall on 10 Tishrei—we “afflict our souls”: we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather footwear, abstain from marital relations and…refrain from all forms of Social Media!
Oh that last part is mine and you know why? Cause I’ve learned that when it comes to religion, everyone’s got their own version; what it means, what’s do be done and how so…
On this Yom Kippur, the holiest of all holy days, I have decided that instead of abstaining from food and water (which I do every year and wonder why) or leather footwear (I think not!) I will abstain from all forms of Social Media. Now those of you who know me know that this is the greatest form of sacrifice that I can make and one that will be harder than any fast I could endure and require restrain like I haven’t had to exhibit since…well, that was just the other day when I almost slapped someone but didn’t so I know I can do this!
Tomorrow at sundown, I will toast a festive meal with a crisp Chardonnay as I sign off of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest and AlyaBuzz and spend the next 24 hours connecting with my Family. Saturday, I will begin the day with a steamy hot espresso but I won’t stop to post it on Instagram or, tell you about it on Facebook or, pin it to Pintarest or…oh no, I’m already getting the sshhaakkeess…
Yes, I will do it my way because I don’t believe that you need a day to be cleansed of your sins. I believe that you should live everyday to the best of your ability and therefore, have no need to ask anyone but yourself for forgiveness.
For those of you fasting, I wish you an easy fast.
For me? If anything, it will provide me with uninterrupted quality time with my family during which, I hope that Jacob forgives me for all the times I was on my phone, laptop or tablet Socializing!
Here are 10 reasons why you might want to consider a break from social media:
1. Someone says something funny in a conversation and your first thought is, “I need to Tweet that.”
2. You hear something compelling and instead of applying it to your life, you make it your Facebook status.
3. You are tired of updating people about your life via 140 characters.
4. You have nothing new to tell your friends when you see them cause it’s all been shared via. Facebook, Twitter, etc. etc.
5. You only know what is going on with your friends because you saw it on social media.
6. You check Instagram five times an hour, even though no one is posting new pictures.
7. When you get in bed, instead of resting, you turn on your iPad to skim through Twitter one more time.
8. You post pictures of what you read during your quiet time on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
9. Your spouse asks you a question, and you are clueless about how to respond because you were distracted by what you were reading on your phone.
10. And just for a bonus round, you should probably take a break from social media if you attended a concert and watched it through your smart device’s screen.
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