The High Holy Days of Judaism surround us. Rosh Hashanah 2024, the Jewish New Year, started before sundown on Wednesday, Oct. 2, and ended after nightfall on Friday, Oct. 4.  Then, one week later, Yom Kippur 2024 begins before sundown on Friday, October 11, and ends after nightfall on Saturday, October 12.  As Christians, we can pray with and for our Jewish brothers and sisters on these holy days.  We can learn from their time of devotion and reflection.

Yom Kippur is, of course, the “Day of Atonement” and the holiest day in Judaism.  The Jewish people recognize their need to repent and turn back more faithfully to the one who is God.  Fasting, prayer, and dress characterize this somber occasion.

But did you know that the Book of Jonah stands as the central reading of the midday prayer of Yom Kippur?  It is read in its entirety at the service!  The reasons for that choice and the lessons of this book can prompt worthwhile consideration on our part.  Let me highlight two of them.

First of all, we remember that the book begins by God sending his servant Jonah to Nineveh to announce the destruction of the people.  As one of the ancient enemies of Judaism, predicting its destruction might be considered a joy for Jonah.  Yet, Jonah chooses to flee in the other direction from Nineveh. (Why?  The conclusion of the book provides that answer.)  We have the story of him sailing away on a boat, being cast overboard, and then being swallowed by a whale.  The whale spits Jonah upon the shore and he finally makes his way to Nineveh.

The call for obedience and repentance emerges clearly in this first half of the story.  Although, we can attempt to flee from God, God always pursues us and calls us back to his way and his purpose.  (One can think of the “Hound of Heaven.”)  God seeks out his children and calls them to a change of heart.  Jonah does repent his flight and returns to the task assigned by the Lord—announcing the destruction of Nineveh.

In the second half of the story, as Jonah travels through the city, he proclaims boldly: “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4).  Yet, after only one day of such an announcement, Nineveh hears the word of the Lord and does repent in sackcloth and ashes.  The king mandates:

“By decree of the king and his nobles, no man or beast, no cattle or sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast alike must be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; they all must turn from their evil way and from the violence of their hands.  Who knows? God may again repent and turn from his blazing wrath, so that we will not perish.” (Jonah 3:7-9)

The lesson of the second half of the story holds out the promise that it is never too late to repent.  If the hated and wicked Ninevites had heard the word of the Lord and turned from their evil ways, then anyone could.  God is always ready to forgive.  As our modern Jewish brothers and sisters hear these words, they are encouraged in their repentance and in their willingness to turn from sin to come home to the Lord.

The appropriate place of the Book of Jonah in the celebration of Yom Kippur becomes clear.  The two lessons are powerful.  First, God consistently seeks out his children and calls them to repentance; and, secondly, anyone can turn from their sin and be granted God’s pardon.  As for our Jewish friends, these lessons remain important for us today.

1. The story of Jonah teaches us how no one is beyond the reach of G‑d’s hand. Just as Jonah’s endeavor to escape G‑d’s providence was unsuccessful, so, too, we are incapable of eluding divine justice for transgressions we may have committed.
2. On a more uplifting note: G‑d spared the people of Nineveh although He had already decreed that they would be destroyed because of their evil ways. This teaches us that no matter our past behavior, G‑d’s benevolence and mercy awaits us if we only repent full-heartedly.

The Story of Your Life
By Shais Taub

The Book of Jonah, read in its entirety during the Yom Kippur afternoon services, is the story of your life. This is what the Kabbalah says.

I know what you’re thinking. “This has got to be a metaphor, because I have never boarded a seafaring vessel bound for Tarshish to escape prophecy, gotten caught in a storm, had the crew throw me overboard and been swallowed by a fish.”

You’re right. Those things haven’t happened to you. And they probably won’t happen to very many of us. But, still, the Zohar says that this is the real story of your life.

You are Jonah. The real you, for “Jonah”—in Kabbalistic parlance—is another name for the soul. Hence, the story of Jonah is the story of a soul’s journey here on earth. Thus, on Yom Kippur, as we examine our lives and consider our purpose in this world, we remember the historical Jonah whose real-life narrative symbolizes our spiritual odyssey.

Your story begins at birth. A soul from on high is plunged into an earthly body. Before its descent, the soul lived an angel-like existence, basking in a glow of spirituality, intimately bound to its Creator. But the soul must leave its home. It is confined to a material vessel, its senses overwhelmed by the brash stimuli of this world. “Jonah,” the soul, “boards the ship,” the body. And where does this ship take its passenger? “Away from the presence of G‑d.” Indeed, the very name of Jonah—closely related to a Hebrew word meaning “aggrieved”—alludes to the unique frustration of the soul confined to the body.

The soul, Jonah, the hapless passenger, has traveled far away from G‑d. Yet, where can one go and be far from the One? Where is it that the Omnipresent cannot be found? Has the soul—upon entering this coarse, physical realm—really left G‑d behind? Just as G‑d was with Jonah at the moment of his first prophecy in the Holy Land, so too was G‑d with Jonah as he languished on the high seas.

And yet, we, like Jonah, delude ourselves into thinking that our journey to this earth has somehow taken us “out of range” of our relationship with G‑d. Like Jonah, we take this perceived distance as an indication that we have somehow been dismissed from our mission. But no; the soul does not escape G‑d by coming down to this earth. To the contrary, it is an agent of G‑d, a representative of His will charged with imbuing sanctity into the mundane and perfecting an imperfect world.

Sooner or later, the false lure of material satisfaction comes to its inevitable conclusion, and the physical life to which the soul had resigned itself grows unruly and fierce. “The Almighty rouses a furious tempest.” Not to punish, heaven forbid, but to shake the soul from its complacency, for “Jonah had gone down to the inner part of the ship . . . and slept.” The soul is numb.

“So the captain came and said to him, ‘What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your G‑d!’” A voice of conscience stirs from within. “What is your occupation?” What have you done with your life? Why are you here? Why were you sent?

The moment of truth. The soul must acquiesce. G‑d is here too, and I am none other than His very messenger. My life has a purpose. “I am a Hebrew, and I revere the G‑d of Israel!”