Good morning, it’s Friday. Phew. This was a WEEK. A lot of heavy stuff. Oct. 7 anniversary. Milton slamming the already storm-weary Florida Gulf Coast. New York City government in free fall.
I’m sure this list could go on, but you get the idea. I’m exhausting myself just reliving it all.
Truth be told, I’m both looking forward to and a little bit dreading sundown, which will mark yet another heavy moment – the start of Yom Kippur. The culmination of the Days of Awe, which kicked off with the Jewish New Year (AKA Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement, as Yom Kippur is known, is a very somber affair.
The whole “whole shall live and who shall die thing” can really weigh on your mind, you know?
The idea is that through teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah (prayer, repentance, and justice/charity), according to Jewish tradition, one can influence their place in the Book of Life, swaying G-d’s hand when it comes time to make a decision about one’s fate for the coming year. I’m not fully convinced I’ve done as much as I could or should have this past year, but it’s a little late for that.
This holiday commemorates the day Moses returned from Mount Sinai, where he had retreated to pray to G-d to forgive the Israelites, who had worshipped a golden calf. (Remember: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” – Commandment No. 1 of 10; No. 2 is “You shall not make for yourselves an idol”).
Yom Kippur starts with a prayer called Kol Nidre, which translates from Aramaic to “All Vows”.
It’s a hauntingly beautiful prayer that is intended to recognize that humans are weak and often unable or unwilling to fulfill the vows and promises we make to G-d and others. Kol Nidre releases us from the broken promises we made in the past year, enabling us to move into the rest of Yom Kippur with a clean slate, so to speak, able to fully repent and renew our resolve.
Kol Nidre is chanted three times. As far as I’m able to tell this is to make sure anyone late to services (ahem, this is also something of a tradition – at least in my congregation) is sure to hear this important start to the holiday.
It really is more of a 25-hour fast (no water OR food unless you’re pre-Bar or Bat Mitzvah, very old, pregnant, or ill) than a 24-hour fast because you’re supposed to be done eating and in synagogue AS the sun is setting, which means around 6:15 p.m. or so, and then the closing prayers go past sundown on the following day.
Also, this particular Yom Kippur falls on a Shabbat, which adds an extra element of prayers to the mix. But also means there will be a Havdalah service – one of my favorites – as well as blowing of the Shofar to round out the holiday.
There’s a lot to reflect on, much of it not so great. But a lot to be thankful for, too. Being alive, even in this challenging and damaged world we call home, is better than the alternative – as far as we know. I’l be wrestling with my own demons, but also grateful for a 25-hour respite from some of the mundane day-to-day worries (and phone calls, endless phone calls) and screens, and petty grievances, etc., that tend to consume us.
For those who observe, G’mar chatima tovah (may you be sealed in the Book of Life), and I hope you have a tzom kal (easy fast). I’ll catch up with you all on Monday, refreshed and renewed and hopefully ready to take on the coming year.
It will be a beautiful fall day today, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s. The weekend is shaping up to be a mixed bag, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures again in the low-to-mid 60s on Saturday, but rain and chillier temps – in the low 50s – on Sunday.
In the headlines…
Hurricane Milton cut an uneven path of destruction and killed at least 12 as it tore across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, largely sparing the densely populated cities around Tampa Bay but spawning deadly tornadoes far from its center.
Power outages in Florida have dropped to about 2.6 million customers, down from more than 3.4 million earlier on Thursday, according to poweroutage.us.
“The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. He noted Milton weakened before landfall and the surge “as initially reported has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”
There’s been a deluge of online misinformation about back-to-back hurricanes. Viral posts ranged from questions about forecast legitimacy and rescue efforts, to false claims – repeated by Donald Trump – that hurricane relief funds are being spent on migrants.
Experts warn that weather-related disinformation can rapidly escalate into real-world risks and distract from aid.
President Joe Biden publicly admonished Trump, telling his predecessor to “get a life, man” and try to help people impacted by a pair of devastating hurricanes rather than spreading misinformation about the federal response.
The hosts of ABC’s “The View” clapped back at Trump yesterday – a day after the Republican nominee for president insulted co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg.
Trump was roughly an hour and a half into a nearly two-hour speech to the Detroit Economic Club yesterday afternoon before he got to his main new policy proposal: a call to make car loan interest fully tax deductible.
Vice President Harris yesterday worked to court Latino voters with a town hall hosted by Univision, an American Spanish-language network, fielding questions on immigration, the economy, and reproductive rights.
Former President Barack Obama campaigned for Harris in Pennsylvania yesterday, taking the opportunity to slam former President Trump as polls show the two candidates deadlocked in the battleground state.
Obama suggested that black men are opposed to Harris simply because she is a woman while dissing the Democratic nominee for not producing “the same kinds of energy” as his campaign
The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election case against Trump approved a limited release of a compilation of evidence against him, but stayed her order for a week in case the former president’s legal team wants to challenge the disclosure.
Control of the Senate appears likely to flip into GOP hands this fall, as one of the nation’s most endangered Democrats, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, trails his challenger in his bid for re-election, according to a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College.
Tester, who first won election to the Senate in 2006, is winning over moderate and independent voters and running far ahead of the Democrat at the top of the ticket, Harris. But as of now, that does not appear to be enough to survive in Montana.
Gov. Kathy Hochul insisted that she won’t aid Mets owner Steve Cohen’s bid for a coveted New York City casino license — after sources told The NY Post she intended to introduce legislation that would benefit the billionaire.
Hochul announced the unveiling of a $16.5 million advanced University-based AI supercomputer at the University at Albany.
A pair of Brooklyn-based businesses ripped off the state’s controversial Medicaid homecare program, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), to the tune of $68 million, federal prosecutors alleged this week.
Federal agents reportedly searched the offices of the Police Department’s School Safety Division as part of an inquiry into a possible bribery scheme involving city contracts, one of four federal investigations swirling around Mayor Eric Adams.
The agents also seized the cellphone of the School Safety Division’s former commanding officer in actions related to a company called SaferWatch, which sells panic button systems to schools and police departments around the United States, sources said.
New York City’s interim police commissioner, Thomas Dolan, is on his way out just weeks after he stepped into the job, a mayoral spokesperson confirmed.
Likely candidates to replace Dolan reportedly include New York City Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch and former NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Ben Tucker.
The New York City mayor is fighting corruption charges, some related to campaign contributions, as officials prepare to release the results of his latest fund-raising efforts.
The judge presiding over Adams’ campaign corruption case has dedicated much of his career to defending fair elections.
Adams has introduced a new effort to address homelessness in New York City’s subway system by pairing outreach workers and clinicians with transit police officers to offer shelter and services to those in need.
A group of Big Apple business community members and public safety advocates rallied this week in support of Adams — saying he deserves his day in court as he faces historic federal corruption charges.
The New York City Council is setting its sights on reforming the city’s process for hiring vendors, as Adams faces questions around the city’s business dealings along with his own indictment on federal bribery and fraud charges.
The Council is demanding records from Sheriff Anthony Miranda after he testified that his deputies were not seizing cash from unlicensed cannabis shops. The statement contradicts accounts from deputies and smoke shop owners, two members say.
A Council bill would bar Adams’ office from unilaterally limiting the amount of space individual news outlets can take up in the City Hall press room — a move that has the potential to roll back a controversial policy implemented by the mayor’s team this summer.
A new law to allow artwork directly on scaffolding and construction fixtures could soon make New York City’s streets more colorful.
Departing New York City schools Chancellor David Banks is already lining up his next act: a book based on his experiences leading the nation’s largest school system.
The nephew of former senior mayoral adviser Tim Pearson, who was promoted to detective with just two arrests in his four-year career, has reportedly been placed on desk duty.
New York House Republicans have an easy target in criminally indicted Adams. But criminally convicted Trump stands in their way.
The Department of Correction’s compliance head filed a police report against her agency’s top spokeswoman after they got into a caught-on-camera dustup at Gracie Mansion that ended with a cell phone being flung across the room.
A new effort is building to reform New York’s system that tracks alleged acts of abuse or maltreatment of children as state data shows the majority of calls are unfounded — putting thousands of families through unnecessary investigations.
New Yorkers were treated to a rare light show last night as the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, spread an ethereal smear across the sky.
On social media, people as far south as Washington, D.C., and Kentucky reported seeing the lights, which in pictures seemed to vary in color and intensity from neon pink to a subtle hazy purple.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lent her star power to Rep. Pat Ryan, the Hudson Valley congressman facing a difficult reelection campaign, yesterday in Kingston less than a month before Election Day.
Billy Joel is selling his Long Island mansion – the asking price is $49.9 million.
The now-shuttered College of Saint Rose has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its board of trustees announced.
The owner, general manager and head chef of track-season favorite Siro’s are developing a new, Italian-themed restaurant at 43 Phila St. in Saratoga Springs – a building with a long restaurant history.
The Town of Malta’s $14.3 million purchase of Saratoga Water Services, as well as a $200,400 boost in funds to the town’s three fire companies, will push the town’s 2025 budget beyond the state’s 2% tax cap.
But in response to a Times Union Freedom of Information request for bodycam footage, Bethlehem Police censored more than 36 minutes of their handling of a recent school shooting threat.
A memorial outside Colonie Village Hall has been dedicated to Sheila Allen, who was abducted and killed in 1970 when she was 16 years old in a case that shocked the region.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
