After Fast…
Yom Kippur went surprisingly well. Wrote my letter to G-D, read a book, took a long walk through Golden Gate Park and lit a candle at the AIDS Memorial Grove and broke fast with friends at the Mission Minyan.
For the last 11 years, I’ve spent Yom Kippur alone, reading, writing thinking. I started this tradition in 1995, where, as a miserable junior reporter for the Baltimore Jewish Times, I didn’t want to spend the day of attonement doing anything but thinking about how miserable I was. I’ve spent the day in that mold since.
But that was a long time ago. I’m developing a Jewish community here in San Francisco. I have places to go on holidays. And really, what good is having a Jewish community if I spend the holiest day of the year away from it?
At the end of the Passover service it’s customary to say “Next year in Jerusalem.” At the end of this Yom Kippur service, I’m saying “Next year in public. With friends.”