The atoneme moment

摘要

On yom kippur, the Day of Atonement and holiest festival in Judaism, worshippers beseech God's pardon. Striking their breasts, they repent of the sin of slander, the sin of arrogance, the sins of stubbornness and of bearing false witness. They atone for any wrongs that would have incurred the four fearsome death penalties imposed in the age of the old Temple: stoning, burning, beheading and strangulation. They plead to be inscribed in the book of life, as the gates of heaven close.