Ahead of Yom Kippur, Rabbi David Stav says this year’s fast day is less about private reflection and more about a shared national moment.
Speaking on the ILTV News Podcast, the chief rabbi of Shoham and co-founder of Tzohar tied the mood to two years of war and the trauma of October 7.
“I believe that 80 or 90% of the Jewish people will pray this Yom Kippur for the releasing, redeeming of the hostages that are kidnapped in Gaza,” he said.
Stav stressed that participation isn’t one-size-fits-all.
“Of course, I’m not judging nobody… even if you don’t practice, even if you don’t go to shul, even if you don’t fast, but take a break. Take a break to think again," Stav said. "What should be done different in the next year?”
Prayer, he added, matters for believers and skeptics alike because “the fact that you pray puts this issue … on your agenda.”
Watch previous ILTV podcasts:
Communal responsibility is front and center, as well.
Stav said many synagogues will read the names of fallen soldiers and hostages, and he urged Jews everywhere to hold their families close and ask forgiveness.
Looking beyond the fast’s final shofar blast, he framed Sukkot as living out the renewed bond forged on Yom Kippur: “Sukkot is the honeymoon.”
His bottom line: Yom Kippur is a call to identity and action in a hard year.
“As long as we have an opportunity to breathe, there is an opportunity to fix," Stav said.
Watch the full podcast:
PODCAST - Rabbi David Stav
(ILTV)
