Why Yom Kippur is my favorite Jewish holiday

This story originally appeared in Hey Alma.

I get a lot of odd looks when I tell people that my favorite day of the Jewish year is Yom Kippur.

As Jewish holy days go, Yom Kippur exists at the complicated intersection of community observance, intense liturgy and heavy-hitting ritual expectations that can be - and for many people, is - a perfect storm of anxiety, pressure and guilt.

From the traditional fast to the powerful language of the readings, Yom Kippur can bring up complicated feelings and unpleasant associations. There's a reason that there is such a growing movement to expand and adapt...