Self-affliction and fasting heightens awareness of our bodies; at the same time, it helps us to transcend our immanent selves. This tension was embraced by the 6th century poet Yannai in his qerova, who beseaches God to forgive Israel both out of pity for their wretchedness and on account of their resemblance to angels.Yom Kippur 2020 is today.
A qerova is a genre of piyyut poetry. For more on the poetry of Yannai, see here and here (also a brief mention here).
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