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Atonement in my own hands

Today is the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It marks the end of the High Holy Days, also known as The Days of Awe, which started ten days ago with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year celebration. Yom Kippur is considered the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar, and it is all about atoning for one’s sins. But, I have a quick question. When do I repent for the sins I committed? I’m not Jewish – rusty Catholic with a lot of questions is a better description – so what do I do about atoning for my bad behavior? (Sin is a three letter word for me – like God, so pardon me if I use it sparingly.) And what is atonement, anyway?

I searched “atonement” on Google this morning because I’m not 100 percent sure of its meaning. Judging by the first results page of results, it’s a super-pop-star book and movie. On the second search page, I found the Catholic Encyclopedia’s Doctrine of Atonement which defines the meaning as:

“the verb ‘atone’, from the adverbial phrase ‘at one’ (ME. at oon), at first meant to reconcile, or make ‘at one’; from this it came to denote the action by which such reconciliation was effected, e.g. satisfaction for all offense or an injury.”

A little further down I clicked Dictionary.com’s link. They defined it as:

1. satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) Theology. the doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and humankind, esp. as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.
3. Christian Science. the experience of humankind’s unity with God exemplified by Jesus Christ.
4. Archaic. reconciliation; agreement.

Merriam-Webster’ said pretty much the same.

Then, I found Religious Tolerance.org. According to this site many Christian sects believe that God was so pissed at Adam and Eve for eating that sweet, savory, but uber-forbidden apple that the only way he could be appeased was through the Gibsonesque torture of his only son, Jesus Christ. However, the site claims that since the New Testatment doesn’t clearly explain how this works, the sects have been arguing since the second century. I just discovered this today – by accident. I may have been in the deepest of comas during CCD classes, but that Jesus’ life and death bridges the gap between God and the forbidden fruit eaters through atonement sounds very odd.

OK. Now I have a better understanding of how Christians view atonement. But that is not where I was originally headed. I typed “atonement+Yom Kippur”.

The first Google entry led to Judaism 101’s site and a definition of Yom Kippur. Here’s a quote from the Bible highlighted on the Judaism 101 page:

“..In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work … For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the L-RD. -Leviticus 16:29-30”

Well, I’m sort of working so I’ve pissed most Jews off and I just insulted the Pope by expressing yawn-filled skepticism about Catholicism. I haven’t eaten since last night because I’m sort of not really doing the fasting thing and I haven’t even begun to confront the thousands of misdeeds I’ve racked up over the past year.

My sins are waiting and I’m running out of time and I’m still unclear on what atonement is. So here’s an explanation copied and pasted from Judaism 101’s page (another sin, that of laziness? – blessed Lordy, I certainly hope not!):

“The name ‘Yom Kippur’ means ‘Day of Atonement, and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to “afflict the soul,” to atone for the sins of the past year. In Days of Awe, I mentioned the ‘books’ in which G-d inscribes all of our names. On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.”

I’ve heard that on Yom Kippur, some Jews visit those they’ve wronged to make amends in person. I would need a month and ten grand for travel expenses so that is not an option. Instead, I will focus on apologizing to the ones closest to me – and this means talking to my cats and whispering to my houseplants too. Instead of fasting, I’ll eat a lot less today. Instead of coffee, I’ll drink water. Instead of whirring about in all directions, I’ll sit and think about what I’ve done over the past year.

I think the atonement concept is a solid one. You don’t have to be a person of faith to do it. I think it’s a good idea to make amends with those whose lives you’ve negatively affected on a much more frequent basis. It’s important for me to stop, and think, as opposed to always rushing ahead on my faulty autopilot.

Maybe there should be a national day of atonement. If more people had stopped to think about who they were screwing over in order to buy stuff that has ended up in storage units, this economic meltdown would be confined to the dark fantasy realm of doomsayers and cranks (like me) instead of crossing over to the real world.

© 2008 Splendid Marbles.