Q&A: Difficulty with the Yom Kippur Prayers
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Difficulty with the Yom Kippur Prayers
Question
After Yom Kippur has passed, every year I find myself struggling to understand the prayers and liturgical poems that repeat themselves over and over, and also saying verses seven times, 12 times, and so on (for example: “God, King, seated on the throne of mercy,” “Mighty and radiant,” etc.)—when to sit, when to stand. What is the purpose of all this? Is this really God’s will? Have the prayers become exaggerated (not only on Yom Kippur) beyond what they were supposed to be?
Answer
In my opinion, definitely yes. At this point it is a custom, and custom has binding force. But there is no need to overdo it, and you can certainly cut corners here and there.