9/21/09

Glenn Beck Declares Yom Kippur a Day of Fasting and Prayer

Gee thanks Glenn. You are a piece of work.

We get referred to with a link on Huff Post by Aaron Keyak but he forgets to mention us by name ("a blogger"). Hard to bear.

Glenn Beck: The Grinch Who Stole Yom Kippur

Last April, a blogger asked if Glenn Beck is Jewish. If there were any doubt, Beck's tweet from Rosh Hashanah morning (last Saturday and the start of the Jewish New Year) puts that to rest. At 10:37 a.m. on September 19th @GlennBeck tweeted:
Sept 28. Lets make it a day of Fast and Prayer for the Republic. Spread the word. Let us walk in the founders steps.
Instituting "a day of Fast and Prayer for the Republic" may not exceed Beck's capacity as a Fox News talk show host, but co-opting Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, may be beyond even Beck's highest powers.

In the spirit of Rosh Hashanah, I've sought to understand the thinking behind Beck's decision and I have come up with three possible explanations.

First, perhaps this is an attempt by Beck to connect with his Jewish brethren. In this scenario Beck sees a parallel between the greatest day of atonement for the Jewish people and his newly invented holiday. In fact, Beck may borrow from the Yom Kippur liturgy:
When the High Priest emerged from the Holy of Holies unharmed, having successfully achieved atonement for the people, he would offer a moving prayer for them. ... [L]ater he would prepare a celebration to thank the Almighty for allowing him to complete his monumental task.
Of course, as the founder of this new holiday, Beck would fill the airwaves in the role as High Priest of Fox News, in all of his greatness.... more...

No comments: