Jews of Twitter: Welcome to the day after Yom Kippur!

I know that it was hard not being able to pray alongside each other yesterday like we do every year. But I wonder if there was an unexpected gift in being shown that Yom Kippur isn't just A Thing That Happens in Synagogues...

Apologies and forgiveness, repentance and restitution, etc. etc. etc. - none of that stuff is supposed to begin or end at the doors of your shul.

In fact, that's *literally* the point of the haftarah we read from the Book of Isaiah. It is a fiery, angry text in which the prophet is telling all of us: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

"You think you're pious? You think you're faithful? You think you're doing what God wants? You think THIS is fasting?" Isaiah does not have time for your mess.

Regret, repentance and restitution aren't supposed to be lovingly preserved in your synagogues like specimens under glass. You need to hear the call for justice, for righting the world's moral equilibrium, wherever you go.

That's why I was especially proud of the visual companion we put together for our congregation's recitation of the reading from Isaiah this year. It helps us remember that there is nothing old or obsolete about those prophetic imperatives.

I want to share some of these images with you here, in the hope that they will help fuel your fire a little bit. The biblical text will have special resonance for folks who include Isaiah in their scriptural canons, but I hope that others will appreciate them too...

"Cry from the depth, says God - do not hold back, lift up your voice like the shofar! Tell My people their transgression, and the House of Jacob their sin."

That's the good news/bad news proposition of Yom Kippur.
The good news is that change is attainable and forgiveness is possible.

The bad news is that none of this stuff will work - the songs, the prayers, the breast-beating and fasting - none of it, unless we are willing to roll up our sleeves and do the work in the real world.

So, yidden, this is the first day after Yom Kippur. The slate is clean. Where are you going to make your mark in this new year? How are you going to work to set things right? Will you vote? donate? agitate? demonstrate? write? sing? lobby? dance? phone-bank? study? boycott? pray?

Whatever calls you: Make a choice and make a plan.
That's the way that "your light will shine through the darkness, and your night become bright as noon."
That's the endgame for everything you did yesterday.

I'm proud of you for all of the heart and soul that you put into the holy days. I know you dug deep and worked hard. And I can't wait to see what you do next!

Just don't wait until next Yom Kippur, ok? The world needs you.

[P.S. I need to acknowledge my brilliant colleague @fixler for the design wizardry behind these images. He's the best and you should follow him too.]