There’s a great Jewish joke that I think of every Yom Kippur. I am not sure of its origins and apologise to those who have heard it before..

Shlomi was a devoted golfer - some would say obsessive. He woke up early every morning to drive to the golf course and would play with the same group of his Jewish friends. Rain, hail or shine he was on the golf course.

The morning of Yom Kippur arrived and Shlomi woke up and thought about starting to prepare to go to shule. However, deep inside him he had a yearning to go and play golf. He knew this was wrong and began getting dressed for shule but ultimately decided that a quick 9 holes wouldn’t hurt.

Shlomi sheepishly arrived at the golf course wearing a big hat and sunglasses so no one would recognise him. He teed off on the first, and for the first time in his life, got a hole-in-one. The same happened again at the next hole and the next.

In heaven, an infuriated angel addressed this with God. “Why aren’t you smiting him? He is defiling the holiest day of the year? Instead you are rewarding him with hole-in-one after hole-in-one! How does this make sense?”

God responds with a wry smile and says ”Aha! But who will he tell?”

The joke is funny because it identifies the insincerity of Shlomi’s religious practice. His motivation to engage in Yom Kippur is not about finding meaning or aiming at self-improvement, it is about appearances. He does not own his actions but sneaks around and wears a disguise. And so, the perfect punishment from God is not to deny him success, but rather to grant it to him but deny him the benefit of raising himself in the eyes of others.

Inherent in this joke is an understanding that a better way to relate to Jewish life and practice is from a place of authenticity. Can we find ourselves in the ancient rituals of Yom Kippur? For some, this is about wearing white, avoiding leather, fasting from sunset to sunset and spending the day deep in prayer and thought. For others, this might look different, and yes, might even involve a round of golf.

As a Progressive Jewish school, we know that many connect with the idea that authentic practice comes from a place of informed choice - that through knowing and understanding the rituals, liturgy and explanatory meaning our students are empowered to make a meaningful decision about practice that resonates with them.

For me, I weirdly love fasting. This is not because I am a masochist, but rather, that I find an incredible sense of unity of Jewish peoplehood in knowing that across every corner of the globe Jews of varying backgrounds are honouring the day in this way, and that this practice connects me to my forebears who would also have fasted every Yom Kippur.

This year will be more pronounced for me as I will have the opportunity to mark the day in Munich as part of a roots trip through Germany and Poland. I look forward to observing what is similar and different but am sure that my sense of unity and belonging will be enhanced.

I hope that all of our community members find a way to mark the day that proves meaningful to them.

Shanah Tovah u'Metukah and G’mar Chatima Tovah