Bob Schwartz

So the day of self-reflection and modest (or dramatic) aspiration on Yom Kippur is over. The break-the-fast meal has been gladly eaten. You go to sleep and wake up.

Who are you today, the day after?

It is like an amplified New Year. On the civil and secular calendar, the New Year arrives, a big or small celebration, and some people make resolutions. Yom Kippur is the culmination of ten days of New Year, more if you add the preparatory contemplation of Selichot, and instead of a party is a deep dive. Not a cruise ship with entertainment floating on the surface of the ocean, but an exploration—maybe reluctant exploration—below into the dark places.

Having thought about better and worse, will you be better? Is it possible, is it bearable, is it advisable, for every day to be Yom Kippur?