Now that we find ourselves on the other side of Rosh Hashanah, we are
faced with the daunting spectacle of the Aseres Yimei Teshuvah (Ten Days of
Repentance) and Yom Kippur. This week was set aside by Hashem as the time for
us to repent for our sins of the past year. While Yom Kippur is obviously the
most important day of them all, it being the date set aside by the Torah for
repentance, this entire period must be taken seriously, with each day an added
preparation for Yom Kippur. Because of this, Chazal recommended accepting
certain stringencies on ourselves for just this week. Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler in
his sefer Michtav MeEliyahu says that this might seem silly since we know that
starting the next week we won’t care about any of these laws. He explains that this week we are supposed
to try to familiarize ourselves with doing mitzvos and being Ovdei Hashem
(Servants of Hashem) as much as possible, if that means accepting a stricter
halachah for only one week, so be it. Even if we don’t keep the halachah afterwards,
it is worth it in order to put us in a “do-gooder” mood.
Let us try to understand Yom Kippur
itself. The pasuk says in Parshas Emor,” אַךְ בֶּעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי הַזֶּה יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים הוּא מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם וְעִנִּיתֶם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם” But on the tenth of this seventh month, it is a day of atonement, it
shall be a holy day for you and you shall afflict yourselves…” (Vayikra
23:27). On Yom Kippur, we are obligated to keep a few extra restrictions which
are known collectively as “עינוי”. עינוי (Inui), affliction, includes
no eating or drinking, no washing hands below the knuckles, no wearing leather
shoes, and a few other restrictions. The only one other day during the year on
which there is a concept of Inui is Tisha B’av, the day on which we mourn the
destruction of both Batei Mikdash. First off, it is very important to
understand that there is a very fundamental difference between these two days. Tisha
B’av is the saddest day of the year, the day we mourn the loss of the greatest
connection we had to God in this world. As
such, we treat ourselves like mourners who are obligated to pain themselves, Inui.
Yom Kippur, however, is completely
different. This day is one of the greatest
gifts Hashem has given us, a chance to wipe away all of our sins and start over
completely from the beginning. It is when we show Hashem that we are ready and
willing to become better people. In order to do that, we try to separate
ourselves from the material world as much as we can, till we reach the level of
angels. We hope that by acting like angels, Hashem will treat us like holy
beings and forgive us and believe that we will change. The way we separate
ourselves is by undertaking the ways of Inui, not to pain ourselves, but to
show that we have no need of worldly pleasures. Just like a malach (angel) has
no need of food, drink, or comfortable shoes, so too we do not need these
things. All we need is to bask in Hashem’s presence.
The majority of the davening on Yom
Kippur is dedicated to Vidui, confession, a part of the mitzvah of teshuvah. It
is a discussion amongst the various commentaries if Vidui and Teshuvah are two
separate commandments or one and the same, but regardless, everyone agrees that
without Vidui, which is specifically a verbal confession, your teshuvah is not
complete. The question becomes that how come an internal repentance is not
enough? What are you adding to the teshuvah when you confess out loud? R’
Samson Rafael Hirsch says that if you say verbally what and how you have
sinned, the sin becomes an external force which you can always look at to make
sure you won’t commit that sin again. Once you say something out loud, that
confession is now permanent, it cannot be erased. Even if you admit you were
wrong, but you don’t verbalize your guilt, you can always back out of it. Once
you commit verbally, it is a full exposure of your sin. Someone who can make
this type of commitment, is worthy of extreme praise. To show how important Vidui
is, Chazal placed it in every tefillah, including the minchah on Erev Yom
Kippur. If we can have the proper Kavanah (concentration) required during Vidui,
surely Hashem will have mercy on us.
While we are preparing for Yom Kippur
and everything that comes with it, there is a very important gemarah to
consider. “דרש ר' אלעזר בן עזריה (ויקרא טז, ל) ‘מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה' תטהרו’, עבירות שבין אדם למקום יוה"כ מכפר עבירות שבין אדם לחבירו אין יוה"כ מכפר עד שירצה את וחביר” “Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah learned out from the pasuk ‘…from all of your
sins, before Hashem, you will become pure.’ Sins that are between man and God
will be absolved by Yom Kippur. Sins that are between man and his friend are
not absolved by Yom Kippur. They will only be forgiven when the man pleases his
friend” (Yoma 85b).The meaning of this gemarah is very
clear, if we have wronged a friend over the course of the year, davening to
Hashem for forgiveness will not work in this case. We must seek out that person
and ask forgiveness from them. In some ways, this is harder than asking Hashem
for forgiveness. And even though Yom Kippur is not mechaper (does not atone)
for any sin against another person, these sins are still included in your
judgment! So it is extremely important to ask for forgiveness since they are
your only way of doing a complete Teshuvah.
Yom Kippur is our day, the day when we
are put in the spotlight for the events of the past year and are judged for
good or bad. We must take advantage of this time and do everything we can to
make the din (judgment) go in our favor. The one day the Satan has no power on
is Yom Kippur, this means that there are no outside forces opposing us and trying
to put us in a bad light. The only things present at the judgment when our fate
is decided are ourselves and our actions. At this final stage, it is completely
up to us. Let us all commit to live by the Torah and all of Hashem’s mitzvos
and with that we should all merit a happy, healthy year.
Gmar Chasima Tova!
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