This is the season of repentance. According to the rules, Jewish people have to first approach those whom they have wronged before they can stand before Gd on Yom Kippur and ask for divine forgiveness. For some—including me—this is a powerful time of year. And it is a serious time of year. (But it doesn’t mean that we can’t laugh at what we do or who we are, as Stephen Colbert does on Comedy Central).

Most people think of the December season as the time which is fraught with challenges for interfaith families. Perhaps this is the time of year where we can prevent those challenges from taking place. Maybe this is the time of year for Jewish family members to approach those from other religious backgrounds and apologize for past behaviors, for being exclusionary and xenophobic. Let’s make this Yom Kippur a true day of atonement.