[HANASHIR:3004] Water on Yom Kippur

[Ethan Leigh Bueno de Mesquita <mesquita...>]

I think that the discussion of water on Yom Kippur points to an underlying
problem with the tenuous distinction we make between aesthetic experiences
and religious ones.  Music, in the religious context, is a tool to the
religious experience and has, in my opinion, no other purpose in worship.
Prayer is not an aesthetic experience. 

Fasting, like music, is a tool for hightening the religious
experience.  And, it seems to me, fasting is an essential tool of Yom
Kippur.  We should not be overly concerned with the music on
Yom Kippur sounding just right (that is, we should not be overly
concerned with the aesthetic) especially if it comes at the cost of
sacrificing the fast. People can still experience the power of Yom Kippur
with slightly cracked notes.  But, for me, the idea of seeing (or even
knowing) that the Chazzan was breaking the fast would be quite disruptive.
Further, I think that a Chazzan who chooses not to fully observe the fast
probably robs him/herself of some of the power of Yom Kippur.

On a related note to the one mentioned before, the Chazzan serves as the
Shaliach Tzibor for the entire congregation.  I would imagine that many
congregants would feel that a Chazzan who was not fully observing the fast
was, in fact, not praying the Yom Kippur liturgy with genuine kavanah.
And if this is the case, according to Tradition, it is as though the
congregants themselves have not said the prayers, because the shaliach did
not have the proper kavanah. Given the gravity of the day, I don't think
this is the sort of decision that should be made unilaterally by anyone. 


Ethan 
mesquita (at) fas(dot)harvard(dot)edu


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