September 14, 2013
While I am technically Jewish, I never grew up practicing or celebrating the holidays. But, then I married a Jewish man...and we've been incorporating some of those traditions into our lives. So, on Yom Kippur this year, we attended wonderful services with the
Portland Chabad community.
Yom Kippur is the "day of atonement," the day that all the sins from your past year disappear (kinda like a super-duper confessional, for all those familiar with the Catholic faith). It's a very insightful holiday, which involves fasting and self-reflection about who you are (and have been) for the past year.
While fasting & attending services, I realized that it had been too long since I last volunteered in the community. In college, I participated in a "
Fast-A-thon" during
Ramadan. I loved the idea of fasting for a greater cause--not just as a religious practice, but also to experience what so many others live, day-to-day. The sensation of emptiness is a great reminder of how fortunate I really am to have truly unlimited access to food; a reminder that too many live without this luxury.
So, to that end, Eliav and I fasted, but also decided to pass on our good fortune, if only for one day. We made hundreds of sandwiches & bought countless snacks, and we visited some areas around Portland with higher concentrations of homeless individuals.
We made an effort to meet some new people in our community, to listen to their stories. I recently saw
this video, which was an important reminder that members of the homeless community are someone else's parent, brother, sister, child. The most significant complaint I heard time and again from this population was the feeling of being "invisible."
This is a tradition that we hope to incorporate into our lives each year for Yom Kippur--but also on a more regular basis.
 |
| Collecting supplies |
 |
| Turkey sandwiches |
 |
| PB&J...with a kitchen in disarray (excuse the mess) |
