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148 ∂ yoM kiPPUr ‫נעילה‬ ‫שעת‬ ‫ב‬ ֵּ‫ל‬ ַ ‫ה‬ ‫ח‬ ַ ‫ת‬ ָּ ‫פ‬ִ‫י‬ ֹ‫ו‬‫ת‬ ָ ‫יל‬ ִ ‫ע‬ ְ‫נ‬ ‫ת‬ ֵ ‫ע‬ ְּ ‫ב‬ .‫ֹם‬‫ו‬ּ‫י‬ ַ ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫נ‬ ָּ ‫פ‬ ‫י‬ ִּ ‫כ‬ ,‫ה‬ ֶ‫נ‬ ְ ‫פ‬ִ‫י‬ ‫ֹם‬‫ו‬ּ‫י‬ ַ ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬ ֶ‫נ‬ ְ ‫פ‬ִ‫י‬ ְ‫ו‬ ‫ֹא‬‫ו‬‫ב‬ָ‫י‬ ׁ ‫ש‬ ֶ ‫מ‬ ֶּׁ ‫ש‬ ַ ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬ ָּ ‫ק‬ ַּ‫ד‬ ‫ה‬ ָ ‫מ‬ ָ ‫מ‬ ְּ‫ד‬ ‫ֹל‬‫ו‬‫ק‬ ְ‫ו‬ —‫יר‬ ִ‫ו‬ ֲ ‫א‬ ָ ‫ה‬ ‫ת‬ ֶ ‫א‬ ‫א‬ ֵּ‫ל‬ ַ ‫מ‬ְ‫י‬ ,‫ר‬ ָּ ‫ב‬ ְׁ ‫ש‬ ִּ‫נ‬ ַ ‫ה‬ ‫ב‬ ֵּ‫ל‬ ַ ‫ה‬ ‫ל‬ ֶׁ ‫ש‬ֹ‫ו‬‫ֹל‬‫ו‬‫ק‬ ‫ב‬ ֵּ‫ל‬ ַ ‫ה‬ ‫ל‬ ֶׁ ‫ש‬ֹ‫ו‬‫ֹל‬‫ו‬‫ק‬ .‫ח‬ ָּ ‫ת‬ ְ ‫פ‬ ִּ‫נ‬ ַ ‫ה‬ N’ilah: Closing of the Gates ç 149 Closing Hour May the heart open even in the hour of its closing for the day draws to an end. The day turns, the sun turns away, and a voice of slender silence rends the air— sound of a breaking heart, sound of the heart breaking open. The closing of the gates is a central metaphor of the N’ilah (“locking ”) service, which concludes Yom Kippur; it recalls the literal locking of the Temple gates at the end of every day. At the close of N’ilah, the metaphorical gates are said to be locked, sealing one’s fate for the coming year. However, rabbinic teaching also maintains that one always has a chance to do t’shuvah; in this sense, the gates are never “locked.” The first four lines of this re-creation parallel the language of one of the traditional N’ilah prayers.The last stanza turns the image of locking on its head. ...

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