The Drift
Happenings in the week of October 10
The Holiest Day on the Jewish Calendar—October 12 is Yom Kippur, which is Hebrew for “Day of Atonement.” This is the day the Jewish community seeks to atone for the sins of the past year. Modern Yom Kippur is observed through fasting, prayer, charitable donations, and abstaining from things like makeup and sexual relations. Many Jews will attend services at a Synagogue for most of the day. The Day of Atonement began in Leviticus 16. While it is not typically celebrated by Christians, imagery from the day of atonement, as described in Leviticus 16, makes multiple appearances in the New Testament. Hebrews 9 and 10 connect and explain the sacrificial blood of Christ and his role as mediator to the Old Testament rituals of Yom Kippur. The author of Hebrews outlines the Christian understanding of Jesus Christ as the one who atones for our sins by showing us how the Old Testament Yom Kippur was a type of the death of Christ and our salvation through him. In 2014, Christianity Today published a set of short articles on the topic of atonement in the Old Testament.
Accessible Virtual Reality—October 13 is the day dreams become, well, more vivid dreams: the Playstation Virtual Reality headset becomes available. This isn’t the first VR headset, but it is one of the most accessible so far. (Google also released their headset last week.) At the $399 price point VR is moving more to the masses, or at least to the upper-middle class. Demand for the Playstation VR is expected to be as big as the headset itself (read: huge). If you are looking for a professional opinion, The Verge recently released a thorough review.
Voter Registration Deadlines—We bet you know there’s an election coming up. But do you know if you’re registered to vote? This week marks the last day to register to vote in the 2016 presidential (and local) elections for twenty-four different states (and DC). Which ones? These: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Register here.
