President Isaac Herzog hosted a traditional eservice at the synagogue of the President's Residence in honor of the High Holy Days.
The service was accompanied by singers Lior Elmaleh and Uriel Shay.
מוזמנים להצטרף לאירוע סליחות, הערב בשעה 22:00 pic.twitter.com/5yUVP6rGRR
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) September 9, 2021
It was joined by local residents, students in mechinot (pre-military academies), and IDF soldiers.
"The Yom Kippur service will mark the climax of many weeks of Selichot services and prayers," said President Herzog.
"It is a long service, centering on the Vidui, the confession, which reads: 'But, indeed, we and our fathers have sinned. We have trespassed. We have betrayed. We have stolen. We have slandered.' For many years now, I have been preoccupied by the question: why is this prayer recited in the plural? Is it an attempt to evade a genuinely personal confession?
"The Jewish confession, recited in the first-person plural, embraces the sinner and tells him: You have sinned, but you are still part of us. We have sinned. We are all guilty, all of us. We know the sense of guilt engulfing you and we want to tell you: We are with you. You are not alone. All of Israel are responsible for one another."
President Herzog said in his concluding remarks: "I want to offer a prayer in the spirit of my inaugural address: May we choose to triumph together, not over each other.
May we choose to be gracious, to be generous with love of Israel. May we choose to be united not only in our values and principles, but also in our hopes and dreams. May we choose to put an end to the fissure tearing us apart, all together. And may all our wishes come true. Shanah Tovah, well over the fast, and may the whole House of Israel be inscribed in the Book of Life."