Yom Kippur

What is Yom Kippur? The holiest day of the year. Fasting and atonement, solemnity and joy... http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/177886/jewish/What-is-Yom-Kippur.htm

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year--the day on which we are closest to G‑d and to the quintessence of our own souls. It is the Day of Atonement--"For on this day He will forgive you, to purifyyou, that you be cleansed from all your sins before G‑d" (Leviticus 16:30). For nearly twenty-six hours--from several minutes before sunset on Tishrei 9 to after nightfall on Tishrei 10--we "afflict our souls": we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather footwear, and abstain from marital relations. Before Yom Kippur we perform the Kaparot atonement service; we request and receive honey cake, in acknowledgement that we are allrecipients in G-d's world and in prayerful hope for a sweet and abundant year; eat a festive meal; immerse in a mikvah; and give extra charity. Late afternoon we eat the pre-fast meal, following which we bless our children, light a memorial candle as well as the holiday candles, and go to thesynagogue for Kol Nidrei services. In the course of Yom Kippur we hold five prayer services: Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the eve of Yom Kippur; Shacharit--the morning prayer, which includes the reading from Leviticus followed by theyizkor memorial service; Musaf, which includes a detailed account of the Yom Kippur Temple service; Minchah, which includes the reading of theBook of Jonah; and Neilah, the "closing of the gates" service at sunset. We say the Al Chet confession of sins eight times in the course of Yom Kippur, and recite Psalms every available moment. The day is the most solemn of the year, yet an undertone of joy suffuses it: a joy that revels in the spirituality of the day and expresses the confidence that G-d will accept our repentance, forgive our sins, and seal our verdictfor a year of life, health and happiness. The closing Neilah service climaxes in the resounding cries of "Hear O Israel... G-d is one." Then joy erupts in song and dance (a Chabad custom is to sing the lively "Napoleon's March"), followed by a single blast of the shofar, followed by the proclamation, "Next year in Jerusalem." We then partake of a festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a Yom Tov (festival) in its own right.

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Back to Research Work

I had started my professional career with the research streak. My project supervisor fetched a Research Officer confirmation letter for me down from Islamabad. The best computational linguistics scholar in Pakistan, Dr. Sarmad Hussain invited me to be a lab instructor at my own university after graduation. But still, I had left for some bitter exposure of industry. After much ado, I only became more mature for coming back to pavilion. I have rejoined my research work with the old project supervisor, Liaquat Majeed Sheikh, who has contacted Sarmad Hussain for me.

We are going to lay our hands at developing a suggestive model for cohesive essay writing in our English Language Lab. This is a hot topic of research in US nowadays. SAT's use manual cohesive and coherrence checks at essays and we are set up for automating cohesion. Thats something worth the ado.

My professional career had stared with academic research in the field of data mining. When I returned to Text Mining Research at FAST-NU, it was taken with mixed feelings of protest and excitement. My mentors protested on my early leaving the university for industry when they had convinced the higher echelon of the university for a good research officer post for me. But once I convinced them that I needed one thump of exposure for maturity in development from industry, they were satisfied. More than that, they assured me of quite a few options available for working and studying at FAST-NU. I could work as a research officer for the English language training lab, as a lab instructor for English Language and Computer Science and as a Masters student. I was to have Masters free if I be a lab instructor. This is the best I could have.

Recently, one of my friend I had met at hospital returned from Korea. He showed me the option of studying abroad. My mentors were happy to refer me and leave me for higher studies abroad, but I later found my offer at FAST as better than any in Korea. Even Korean students I recently saw studying at FAST-NU. And one of them was of the opinion that FAST was more suited to him than any university at his own country. Now that Ms Sumaira Sarfraz and Liaquat Majeed Sheikh are promising me income with free Masters education, I have all the reasons to join FAST once again as a student and as faculty.

Coming into the market

After two years of experience in the "Job" patience industry, some sublime feelings are that one's own work is better grounded and more prosperous way of leading a safe and healthy life. After I was laid off from my Software Quality Assurance job, the Human Resource Officer admitted my unearned credits in the company but they should go without saying now that I was out of work. With promises of recommendations and affirmations, some more interviews couldn't open my eyes into the real world of business. I needed to get ill again and become as patient as Job.

In the hospital I could contemplate what was going wrong, where should I head to now and what are my strengths and weaknesses that go along with wherever I go. I started marketing my own created art masterpieces and while in the market, I came across this office for online marketing. It started my new reason for hard work with excitement and happiness. I am now in the world of trade, commerce and fine arts.

See these links for my new pursuits:

http://tinyurl.com/securebusiness

http://acsmagazine.tripod.com/allah