AS COUNTLESS OTHERS before her have done for centuries, Michelle Boorstein recently sought rabbinic advice on a difficult decision she faced. Boorstein, who has been the religion reporter at The Washington Post since 2006, had decided she was going to report on Pope Francis’s historic visit to Washington, rather than reporting to synagogue for services on Yom Kippur, the culmination of the Jewish High Holidays and one of the year’s holiest days. But she wanted guidance on how she could observe the holiday, at least in spirit.*
“I had two reactions at the same time. One was: I’m the religion reporter here, and this is a major, major news event. There’s no question I’m covering this,” Boorstein said. “At the same time, I’ve never worked on Yom Kippur in my life, and it’s very disorienting to be working on Yom Kippur and during Kol Nidre,” the day’s inaugural prayer.
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