Dear Kippur Keepers:

Returning to Omaha Central High School for my brother Bruce’s induction into the alumni Hall of Fame gave me an opportunity to reflect on the halcyon days of secondary school. It was around this time of year that several of my classmates were absent for the celebration of Yom Kippur. (For over 100 years, my alma mater has been racially and ethnically diverse; my mother’s graduating class of 1941 mirrored my own, thirty-seven years later: 45 percent African American, 30 percent Jewish, 10 percent Hispanic and 5 percent Native American). Every fall for two days, nearly one-third of the students were missing.

I was reminded of this autumn rhythm a few days ago when I looked at the calendar and realized that Yom Kippur