HOLI-DAY I Yom Kippur I Before the Bell Rings with Rev. Bobby Belton

🔔 BEFORE THE BELL RINGS | YOM KIPPUR SPECIAL EDITION What can Christians learn when the school calendar itself invites us to recognize the sacred traditions of our neighbors? In communities across the country, including New York City, public schools close in observance of Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish year. For Jewish students, educators, and families, this is not simply a day off. It is a sacred time of fasting, prayer, repentance, reflection, and reconciliation. 🙏🏾 TODAY’S SPECIAL PRAYER Yom Kippur: A Day of Atonement Prayer Focus: Repentance, Sacred Interpretation & Our Jewish Neighbors In this special edition of Before the Bell Rings, we honor our Jewish neighbors while reflecting on the meaning of atonement within our own Christian faith. We also pray about how we read Scripture. Much of what Christians call the Old Testament is rooted in the Hebrew Bible and emerges from Jewish history, culture, language, and tradition. What might we understand differently when we resist reading these sacred texts without attention to the people, contexts, and traditions from which they came? Today, we make room for humility: to repent, to listen, to learn, and to examine interpretations of Scripture that may have caused harm. As we pray for our educational ecosystem, we pray for Jewish students, educators, families, and communities—and for schools where the faith traditions and sacred identities of our neighbors are met with understanding and respect. Prayer changes how we see. What we see changes how we show up. 🔔 JOIN THE JOURNEY Get the FREE 21-Day Prayer Guide: beforethebellrings.us/21day