We moved our clocks back last Sunday morning, so Yom Kippur finished just before 6pm. I've just downed my fourth post-fast cup of tea and am now ready to start building the succah.
The weather has at last changed from unremittingly hot and sultry to pleasantly warm here in Ra'anana. Inside my shul, however, the air-conditioning temperature was set at "as freezing cold as it can possibly be" mode, making it essential to include a sweater, shawl, or even a winter jacket along with a machzor on your shul checklist.
The High Holidays represent the high season for Israel’s bicycle stores. Traditionally, there are no cars on the roads on Yom Kippur; even the most secular Israeli would drive only in an emergency. The lure of wide expanses of empty roads proves irresistible to cyclists to such an extent that Yom Kippur is known locally as yom ha offanayim – bicycle day. After the Kol Nidre service, thousands of shul goers stream out on to Ra’anana’s wide main road, taking care not to be run over by the hundreds of cyclists, rollerbladers and skate-boarders who are already there.
The other feature of a secular Yom Kippur is DVD and video rental. At my local Blockbusters, the manager told me that every single DVD and video would be taken out on loan before the holiday. "Now is the best time to clean the store for Pesach," she added drily.
Despite this somewhat unholy aspect to Yom Kippur, a surreal, tranquil atmosphere does pervade the country. Let's hope we have a similarly quiet and peaceful year ahead.
Shana Tova.