Atonement Dance

            In synagogues throughout the world, at the end of the Yom Kippur prayers, before breaking the fast, Jews dance around the synagogue singing “next year in Jerusalem.”

            Tzror haMor (Rabbi Avraham Saba, a kabbalist among the Jews expelled from Spain) explains the reason Jerusalem is referred to as “Fair in situation, the joy of the whole earth” [Psalms 48:3] thus:

A sinner experiences sadness and fear as the result of his sin, and when he achieves atonement, he rejoices. Therefore Jerusalem is called “Fair in situation, the joy of the whole earth,” since with the Temple there was atonement and (hence) joy.

            Based upon this insight, Israel’s custom takes on added significance. At the conclusion of the Day of Judgment, Israel expresses its hope that our sins have been forgiven, as well as the hope that the Temple, the place of atonement and joy, will be rebuilt.