10-05-03

By EDWARD CONE
News & Record 

As Yom Kippur begins at sunset this evening, I'd like to invite the rest of the country to join right in with your Jewish neighbors in marking the Day of Atonement. Pull up a chair and have a little nothing to eat, and let's all get started.

From shortly after the end of this afternoon's Panthers game until just before tomorrow's first Simpsons rerun, Jews will be observing a millennia-old tradition of fasting, sober reflection, and rigorous self-appraisal. Sounds fun, doesn't it? I think it's time we made it a national holiday.

Not a religious holiday, although for Jews it is the holiest of occasions and would remain so, but a regular event on the autumn calendar that honors the values of Yom Kippur while preserving our historic separation of synagogue and state. We have a national day of Thanksgiving, which all Americans are free to flavor with as much or as little of their own particular religious seasoning as they like, and this could follow the same model.

Yom Kippur is a day of introspection and not eating, and if there was ever a culture in need of introspection and not eating, we're it. Raised on hedonism and credit cards, Americans make every day a holiday and every meal a feast, to the point of devaluing actual holidays and feasts. We have name-branded golden calves and a television show called American Idol. At the same time, we are encouraged to think of ourselves as victims, not to take responsibility for ourselves. We could all use some of the dermabrasion for the soul that Yom Kippur promises.

On Yom Kippur, the idea is to take responsibility for who you are, and how you conduct yourself, how you treat other people, and how you are planning to do better at all those things in the year ahead. You are obligated to make things whole with those you have wronged, and to come to terms with those who have wronged you. This is the occasion to get right with God, which traditionally involves hours of  prayer and fasting, along with a semi-annual visit to temple for twice-a-year Jews.

Our new American holiday should probably have a new name to differentiate it from the religious observance, and to keep from confusing the sacred and the profane. We could go with something catchy, like YKUSA or Fast Times, or follow the thematic lead of Thanksgiving by simply calling it Atonement.

Whatever it's called, this is one holiday that will be very hard to commercialize. Sandy Koufax once sat out a World Series game to observe Yom Kippur, so the whole watching sports on the couch thing won't be appropriate. And even in a country that sells itself anthropomorphized, eat-me-please turkeys and markets the profound beauty of Easter with egg-bearing rabbits, coming up with a cute little cartoon character to embody scathing self-awareness and spiritual cleansing presents a real challenge. McBreak-Fast happy meals, though, are a real possibility.

Think of the changes this one day might make. Think of the peace and quiet it would  bring. On the national day of atonement, newspapers could publish only corrections, apologies, and specific information on the ways similar problems will be avoided in the future. TV pundits and radio talkers would turn their bluster on themselves. Elected officials would release detailed summaries of their voting records and public positions, cross-referenced with their campaign promises.

Yom Kippur is a serious and sober day, and a joyous one, too, because with atonement comes renewal. All of us, Christian and Jew and Muslim and other, could stand a little atonement, renewal, and joy. Until it is recognized as a national holiday, you can just try it yourself at home.

Ed Cone (www.edcone.com, efcone@mindspring.com) writes a column for the News & Record most Sundays.

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