Nightmares before Yom Kippur

Last night was the Slichot, the service ended with everyone standing in front of the ark and a shofar blast. Then the ark was closed and the rabbi whispered, “Go home.”

It was one of the coolest services I’ve been to yet. It was like how Act 1 might end on a minor chord. You want more, you need the rest of the story. Well, Slichot is the first chapter (or maybe the prologue) to High Holidays. It means Rosh Hashanah is around the corner and then Yom Kippur.

Ending on the Shofar blast–with no closing words or sermon. So cool. You wanted to tip toe out. People left more slowly than normal, because the air was electric. But the results? Nightmares. I had nightmares about Yom Kippur–that I kept forgetting to fast. I would just turn around and eat something or drink something. Damn, I’m supposed to be fasting.

In reality, that is what happened on Tisha B’Av. I came home from temple and mindlessly started eating oreos and then remembered that I was supposed to be fasting. What if that happens on Yom Kippur? It won’t because I’ll be at temple the whole time and there won’t be oreos.

So all night long, I kept breaking my Yom Kippur fast. I’m pretty sure that I’ll make it, but I’m nervous about it.