Yom Kippur: The Day of At-One-Ment

On Rosh Hashana we experience birth

The creation of ourselves and the Universe

And now ten days later the stage is set

On Yom Kippur, we go through death,

Depriving ourselves of sustenance

Reminding ourselves through abstinence

Of this shimmering light we might see glimmer inside

It’s dim sometimes but we might see a sliver in the mirror

Of the face of our brother or sister

Who was made to teach us this lesson

I need to make a confession

Yes, I missed the mark

And let the spark go out

Or so it seemed, but do I dream

Or is this most surprising scene

Of people standing on their feet

And calling from their sacred deep

Showing me the way at last

I think I’ve found the path

I’m feeling such a healing I could float right through the ceiling

There’s a secret beyond words that these people are revealing

And when the High Priest

Came into the Inner Sanctum

He knew the people prayed for him,

He didn’t need to thank them

Cos they knew if he was true

That he was focused, through and through

On achieving their redeeming

And I do the same for you

And you for me

And she for he

And us for we

And maybe this is how it works

That we can somehow earn

What we know that we don’t deserve

If we yearn for each other enough in love

This marriage of heaven and earth