Atonement

Image by Daniel Grizelj

My favorite Jewish holiday, ever since I was a kid, has always been Yom Kippur. Maybe it’s because – like every other liberal leftie – I spend a fair amount of time feeling guilty, and it’s nice to have an entire holiday dedicated to your self-reflective, guilt-ridden personality type. From the day I started writing, I’ve never missed an opportunity to blurb this unique holiday. So this year, instead of writing another five-star review of the Day of Atonement, I decided to read out a short, tough story that I wrote more than thirty years ago and have never before read aloud, not even to myself.

Story translated by Miriam Shlesinger 

Intro translated by Jessica Cohen