Yom Kippur

…In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work … For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the L-RD.

—Leviticus 16:29-30

Raised in a traditional kosher home, Kirk Douglas (1916 – ) b. Issur Danielovitch, recalls his impoverished childhood, yet warmly remembers preparations for Shabbat: his beloved mother Bryna cooking traditional Jewish food, baking challah, Shabbat bread, and kindling the Shabbat candles.

Nevertheless, like so many Jews of his generation, Douglas was deeply conflicted about Judaism.

More than anything young Issur yearned to be a real American, and, like so many Jews of his generation, that meant rejecting Torah Judaism in favor of an all-consuming secular humanity. In fact, when Douglas first came to Hollywood he claimed to be half-Jewish. But as he matured as an actor and gained wisdom as a man Kirk Douglas reevaluated his relationship with Judaism.

In his compulsively readable memoir, The Ragman’s Son, Douglas reveals his sense of awe during Yom Kippur.

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