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From The Rebbe's Tish: Yom Kippur |
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Written by Rabbi Shmuel Brazil
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 We have been reciting after Shacharis and Maariv [those who daven nusach Ashkenaz] the perek of Tehillim Ledovid Hashem ori veyishee. Our Chazal teach that the word ori describes the day of
Rosh Hashana while the word yishee describes Yom Kippur. What is the inner meaning of Yom Kippur being described as the say of yesha – salvation. Of course the greatest salvation for a Yid is to receive atonement for his transgressions thereby enabling him to be closer to Hashem. However, I feel Chazal can also be referring to another phenomenon that takes place on the holiest=2 0day of the year.
The Pirkei D’Rebbi Elazar [29] says the Avraham Avinu fulfilled the mitzvah of circumcision on Yom Kippur [see Keli Yakar [26]. The proof is learned from the fact that this act of milah performed by Avraham was described in the Torah [17,26] using the wordבעצם that in the essence of the day. Likewise this same word is used in the description of the fast of Yom Kippur. This is to hint to the fact that Avraham circumcised himself and his family on this day. What is the lesson that must be learned from this connection of these two mitzvos: milah and Yom Kippur?
The act of circumcision is to remove the foreskin which is called the ערלה. By removing the foreskin it is as if one removed the veil that covered the organ that connects one to a level of eternity. For by leaving children in the world it is tantamount to perpetuating one’s imprint and existence throughout the generations. The Maharal writes that the reason that this particular bris and covenant was given to Avraham was because he himself removed the ערלה the foreskin of the creation. For the world as well has a veil that does not allow and hinders the light of Hashem from penetrating easily. That veil is called nature. Scientists have proven the existence of definite laws of nature which “seem” to have rules and a life of its own. But man is obligated to pierce through this veil and recognize that even nature and its laws were divinely created and are constantly dependent 24/7 upon the will of its creator. Avraham Avinu was committed even to die for this belief which he openly spread to the world without fear of consequences. This our Chazal portray with the statement that until Avraham, Hashem was only known as the creator of the shamayim but through him, Hashem was recognized as the creator of earth as well. It is this covenant of bris that parallels his service and novel teaching to the world at that particular time in history. He personified in all his teachings the mitzvah of milah which is to remove the shell of nature and unveil the inner core of each atom and molecule which in the will of Hashem that sustai ns it. The power of eternal creativity which is revealed through the bris mila on the male organ parallels the avodah of Avraham Avinu.
Yom Kippur is symbolic of the mitzvah of bris milah. Yom Kippur is the day that one must come in contact with his inner being and self. It is a day when one must reach his עצם and core essence. He must shed from himself on his labels that surround him that give him his societal empty significance and false sense of belonging. Everyone might look like they are smiling and laughing during the party but inwardly they are miserable because that are actors not real people. Some of them have been acting for years and don’t even know the true experience of happiness. Yom Kippur is the time when one must throw in his costume and makeup, his lines and script that the outside world has given us, and start to become real and authentic.
Tosfos learns that when the gemarrah uses the term נית ישע the house of yesha it refers to a house where bris milah was performed. Connecting to Hashem which is the inner heartbeat of existence is the greatest salvation for man. Yom Kippur is called yishee because it is tantamount to undergoing a bris milah.
The five afflictions of Yom Kippur aid one to penetrate to reach one’s inner core. The Maharal explains that the letter ה which numerically equals to five is composed of two letters a dalet with a yud inside. The letter dalet [4] symbolizes the expansion to the outside to the four corners of the earth. The yud which is the smallest letter of the alphabet and is the letter which initially composes every other letter from the aleph bais, symbolizes the inner core. Every letter expands from the yud and the yud’s task is to harness the letter dalet so that is does not expand too much and lose sight of purpose. So too the yid which symbolizes the letter yud must harness his impulses and material cravings from expanding too much into earthliness. Just as the letter yud, the Yid must recognize that he is the inner purpose of creation and his life must be directed in unveiling spirituality within the expansive nature of the universe.
The Meshech Chachma comments that one should attain on Yom Kippur such a level of inner self realization that he feels not that it is prohibited to have the five afflictions such as eating and drinking but rather that he does not really need or desire them for he has risen above them. It is the neshama that now speaks to him and not his body When one contacts his essence which is his soul, he has removed the veil that blocks G-dliness from entering within himself. Yom Kippur is the day of atonement when Hashem is מטהר He cleanses and purifies us from our transgressions. Our neshamas are pure as we say in birkas אלקי נשמה נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא The real understanding is that we reach kapparah and taharah when we reach our inner core – the neshama.
סביב רשעים יתהלכון the wicked are always walking on the periphery. They always gravitate to the outside to the label and image that they must portray to other’s expectations. They do not live a live of who they really are and they will never find happiness being someone who they are not. Yom Kippur gives the Yid the opportunity to rediscover his essential being and become part of that eternity through a day of 24 hours of bris milah. On Yom Kippur there are no dress rehearsals because today we have stopped our acting careers and have become real.
We daven for rain on Succos which follows Yom Kippur. Maybe we can say that because on Yom Kippur we reached the level that we don’t even need water, Hashem says I will give you that same water that you happily forfeited as a matana. The middos of a person block out his inner core. On Yom Kippur we have penetrated the veil of all the earthly parts of the seven middos and elevated them to kedusha until we are even happy with the five afflictions of Yom Kippur. It is because of this level that we merit to ask for גשם. Note that 7 times the word מדה equals the numerical value of גשם . That is why that on the chag of Succos as we merit to request rain, the 7 Ooshpizin who correspond to the seven middos come to visit us in our succah. After becoming real we merit to be visited by real ovdai Hashem who lived in the inner core of their being. May we merit a complete kapparah and a year of geulah shelaimah
Gemar chasima tova
Rav Brazil
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