Erev Yom Kippur 5776 Poem by Shalom Freedman

EREV YOM KIPPUR 5776

I will pray all day tomorrow
I will try to please G-d
I will love the prayer
And feel joy in much of it
I will be tired bored hungry thirsty impatient
I will wonder if I can make it through
I will be moved in tears in memory
Of those I love no longer here-
I will pray for my family in the coming year
And for Israel and the Jewish people
And for the better situation and less suffering of humanity-
I will pray to atone for my sins
I will try to understand what my sins have been
I will wonder at all the sins I do not have-
I will wait for it to be over
To the time when I can drink and eat again
I will feel uplift and joy at the end
I will remember the praying of previous years
The great last courageous Neilah of my teacher Rabbi Chaim Pearl
I will remember Yom Kippur in Shaare Tefillah shul in Troy New York
I will feel grateful I am davvaning in Yerushalayim
I will wonder if I and who will make it through to the next year
I will pray for my family for the coming year
I will wait for the Shofar
And for the last uplifting word
לשנה הבאה בירושלים
I will fear God and try to love God and wonder about God -
I will pray with all my soul
I will pray for a New Year of blessing
For all of us-