 The Laws of Resting on the Tenth of Tishrei 1) You should rest on Yom Kippur
2) You should not do work on Yom Kippur
3) You should afflict yourself on Yom Kippur
4) You should not eat or drink on Yom Kippur
Chapter 92
“You Shall Rest on Yom Kippur”
Source Verses
“It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall afflict yourselves; an eternal decree.”
“It is a day of complete rest for you and you shall afflict yourselves; on the ninth of the month in the evening – from evening to evening –shall you rest on your rest day.”
We are commanded to cease all work and to make Yom Kippur a holiday.
A Holiday of Rejoicing
The paragraph in the Torah that deals with Yom Kippur as a holiday begins with the word, “Ach.” The usual translation is, “But,” however, we will see that it is latent with meaning and cannot be accurately translated.
The day itself brings atonement , “but,” you will still receive reward beyond the atonement for making it a holiday. It is simple to forget that Yom Kippur is a holiday just as is Pesach. We are so involved in confessing our sins and begging for atonement that we are distracted from the day as a holiday. The Cohen Gadol would make a party for his friends for having left the Temple safely. Everyone who was in Jerusalem would parade behind him as he went home after the service.
We can understand that everyone would be thrilled at the conclusion of Yom Kippur because the Cohen Gadol had been successful in the service, and they had a literal sign of atonement from God that they were forgiven; a strip of red wool was tied atop the Sanctuary entrance, and when the he-goat reached the wilderness the strip of wool whitened, as it says in the verse, “Even if your sins shall be like a crimson thread, they will become white as snow. ”
The parties were not just for atonement, in fact, Yom Kippur was one of the two happiest days of the year! Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said; “There were no two days as full if rejoicing as Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av. On those days, the young unmarried women would borrow white clothes from each other and go out into the vineyards and sing and dance (in front of single young men.) They would sing; ‘Young men, lift up your eyes! What do you choose?’” We must remember that Yom Kippur is a holiday, a day of rejoicing, not just for atonement, but for the holiday itself.
This One Time
“Ach” can also mean, “This one time.” When Abraham was arguing with God over the fate of Sodom and its sister cities, he had negotiated God down from fifty righteous people saving the cities to twenty. “So he said, “Let not my Master be annoyed and I will speak, Ach Ha’pa-am, but this once,” and he proceeded to negotiate for ten. He had pushed and argued and pleaded with God, and he was obviously tentative about beseeching God for an even lower number. He used Ach Ha’Pa-am, but this once, to smooth the way for one last desperate prayer.
Yom Kippur is introduced with the same Ach to remind us that this day is the last desperate opportunity to receive atonement for absolutely everything we have done. The Torah is teaching us that this is exactly the approach we must take to the prayers of the day; they are our ultimate appeals for atonement. We dare not forget this opportunity and rejoice in it.
Pharaoh also used this approach and it worked! When God sent the plague of locusts, “Pharaoh hastened to summon Moses and Aaron, and he said, ‘I have sinned to God, your Lord, and to you. And now, please forgive my sin Ach Ha’pa-am, just this once, and entreat God, your Lord, that He remove from me only this death.’” Pharaoh knows that he has sinned against God. He knows that he has received numerous warnings and he has suffered through nine plagues. He has no delusions that he has the right to ask Moses and Aaron for anything, and certainly not God. Yet, he uses Ach as the magical word to help his plea.
The Ach that introduces Yom Kippur in the Torah is a reminder that we are in a situation very similar to Pharaoh’s. We too have sinned, and have been warned and taught what is right. We have ignored everything and continued to sin. We, too, can use Ach to God, “I have sinned to You. However, just this once, please forgive me for absolutely everything I have done.” The Ach approach will work for us as it worked for Pharaoh, so Yom Kippur is a holiday of rejoicing.
Gideon, the Judge of the Jews, also used Ach in his dealings with God. He was hesitant to assume the responsibility of leading the Jews, and he was doubtful that God would save the nation. The only way that Gideon would take on the task was if God sent signs. By the time he had witnessed two signs from God, Gideon was hesitant about requesting a third, yet he still had his doubts; “Then Gideon said to the Lord, ‘Let not Your wrath flare against me and I will speak Ach Ha’Pa-am, just this once.” Gideon knew that he was pushing the limits of God’s patience; he had already called for two signs and God responded. He needed one more sign. He still felt insecure. He wanted more, so he used the Ach approach; this will be the last sign I request before accepting the leadership of the Jews.
Yom Kippur begins with an Ach to remind us that we too can use Gideon’s approach. We can plead that we need more from God. We need atonement just this once in order to go on with our lives as Jews. Although God has given us much, we can use Ach to ask for more. This is why this is a day of rejoicing; we can use this day to implore God for more blessings in our lives.
Samson used Ach to beg God for one moment of miraculous strength to be used for vengeance against the Philistines. He was desperate, all his miraculous strength was gone because of his sins, he was blinded; he was humiliated and used for illicit purposes by the Philistines . Samson was being used as sport in a temple of idol worship. He was now entreating God for a miracle despite his sins and humiliation; “Samson called out to God and said, ‘My Master, God, the Lord! Remember me and strengthen me Ach Ha’Pa-am, just this one time, O Lord, and I will exact vengeance from the Philistines for one of my two eyes.” It worked.
The Ach of Yom Kippur allows us to plead with God in the same way as Samson. Despite our sins and problems with life, perhaps even humiliation, we can beg God for a miracle. We may, just as Samson, ask for our own purposes. Even if we want atonement for ourselves, our own conscience we can ask today, Ach Ha’Pa-am, just this once.
Atonement and Nothing Else
“Ach” also means this, and nothing else. “For the Children of Israel and the Children of Judah have been doing Ach nothing else but what is wrong in my eyes since their youth; for the Children of Israel Ach, only anger Me with their handiwork-the word of God.” The Ach that introduces Yom Kippur teaches us that it is a holiday dedicated to atonement and nothing else. The entire existence of the holiday is for God to grant us atonement even if we have been acting as the Children of Israel in the verse above.
Everything on This Day
“Ach” teaches us that all the atonement will happen on this day. The day is comprehensive. The atonement is not a process that begins the day before or ends a day later. The day is complete onto itself. Even if we have not taken advantage of Rosh Hashanah, the Fast of Gedaliah and the Ten Days of Teshuva, we can receive atonement on Yom Kippur. Ach, absolutely everything happens on this day. This is another reason why we celebrate Yom Kippur as a holiday.
Celebrating Our Abundance
The Manna did not fall on Yom Kippur, just as it did not fall on the Sabbath. We learn this from the verses that describe Yom Kippur as Shabbat Shabbaton, a Sabbath of Sabbaths. A double portion of Manna fell on Friday in honor of the sanctity and blessing of the Sabbath, and a double portion fell on the eve of Yom Kippur in its honor. We entered Yom Kippur with a sense of abundance.
The Seuda Hamafseket, the feast before Yom Kippur is designated as a time of sensing God’s blessings and the abundance He has granted us. It is not simply a meal to prepare for the fast. It is rejoicing in our plenty.
It is essential to enter Yom Kippur with a sense of abundant blessing from God. That sense will help us remember that God wants to bless us, He wants us to succeed. He will grant us atonement.
Three Books
Three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah: One for the completely wicked, one for the completely righteous, and one for those in between. The completely righteous are written down and sealed for life immediately. The completely wicked are written down and sealed for death immediately. The verdict of those in between remains tentative from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. If they merit, they are written down for life. If they do not merit, they are written down for death.
What is the definition of righteous, wicked and in between? Maimonides says; “Each and every person has merits and sins. A person whose merits exceed his sins is termed righteous. A person whose sins exceed his merit is termed wicked. If his sins and merits are equal, he is termed a Beinoni, in between. Accordingly, throughout the entire year a person should always look at himself as equally balanced between merit and sin. If he performs one sin, he tips the balance.
Rashi and Nachmanides maintain that it is impossible to see our merits and sins as simply numbers as we do not know the merit of a Mitzvah or the damage of a sin. The definition of righteous or wicked is dependent on which Mitzvot have been performed and their quality.
Abravanel holds that everything is determined by the quantity and quality of a person’s Teshuva.
We celebrate Yom Kippur as a holiday because of the opportunity to “tip the scales’ in our favor. We cease any distraction and focus solely on our relationship with God, hoping to earn the title of Tzaddik. We can define and redefine ourselves. We can change the way that God relates to us individually and as a nation. We focus on earning more and more merit for us, for all Jews and for the entire world.
A Day of Teshuva
The word Ach is generally used by the Torah to limit the discussion. The Ach of Yom Kippur means that it brings atonement to those who repent and does not for those who refuse to do Teshuva. This also relates to the phrase, Shabbat Shabbaton, which compares Yom Kippur to the Sabbath. Shabbat shares the same root as Teshuva. They share more than the root; the Sabbath is actually a day of Teshuva.
When Adam first saw Cain after the murder of Abel, he was shocked. Adam knew that he was punished with death for eating from the Tree of Knowledge and he could not imagine that Cain would receive anything other than immediate death as punishment for his terrible sin. He asked his son; “How can you possibly still be alive? Why did God not kill you?” Cain answered, “I did Teshuva.” Adam was shocked, “Is that the power of Teshuva?” He immediately broke out in song to God and sang, “A Psalm for the Sabbath day. ” Adam was so moved by Cain, that he did Teshuva, and that day was Yom Kippur!
Why would Adam sing about the Sabbath upon learning the power of Teshuva? They both serve the same purpose and function in the same way. The point of Judaism is to become independent, powerful and in touch with the unlimited potential of being a human being. The more independent we become the more distant we are from God. We begin to believe that we are our own masters. This is why creation culminated in the Shabbat. Creation became more independent with each stage. Each form of creation was higher than the preceding until it culminated in the most independent being; man. There is a terrible tension. The snake accurately described us as, “and you will be as powers .” The Shabbat is the restoration of the connection between the creation and its Creator. This is why Shabbat shares the same root as Teshuva, to return. Our relationship with God is restored. We run around all work earning a living and being in control. On Shabbat we cease all creative work, the greatest expression of our independence, and remember that God is the only source of Power.
When we sin we have not only damaged our souls, we have created distance between God and us. We went against God’s will. We are similar to a child who has ignored his parents’ wishes for a long time and is now distant. God always called to us from the distance through His prophets; “Seek God when He can be found; call upon him when He is near. Let the wicked one forsake his way, and the iniquitous man his thoughts; let him return to God and He will show him mercy; to our Lord, for He is abundantly forgiving.” “And now come near to here.” “Peace, peace, for the far and near, said God.” God calls to us from across the distance to return to Him. He actually assists in the Teshuva process; “One who comes to purify is helped by heaven.” “Open up your hearts the space of the eye of a needle and I will expand it to help you return to Me.” We may experience distance from God, yet God is calling to us to return to Him and is also offering His help. He is not distant from us. The distance is only in our minds, it is imaginary. He loves us and cares for us and helps us no matter how distant we imagine ourselves to be.
Teshuva and the Sabbath remind us that the distance is imaginary; God is always present and accessible. God is most available on Yom Kippur. It was on Yom Kippur that God taught Moses the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that allow us to maintain a relationship with Him no matter how distant we perceive ourselves to be, and allow God to maintain His presence among us despite our sins.
Shabbat Shabbaton;The Gate of the Holy of Holies
A Shabbat of Shabbats is seven times seven; forty nine. This represents the forty nine of the fifty levels of Binah, Divine Understanding, that were used to create the universe. Moses pleaded with God to achieve the fiftieth level, at which absolutely all existence fits together as pieces of an enormous puzzle. “And now, if I have found favor in Your eyes, make Your way known to me.” “Show me now Your glory.” God denied the request, but said, “I shall make all My goodness pass before you, and I shall call out with the name God before you; I shall show favor when I choose to show favor, and I shall show mercy when I choose to show mercy. He said, ‘You will not be able to see My face, for no human can see My face and live.’ God said, ‘Behold! There is a place near Me; you may stand on the rock. When My glory passes by, I shall place you in a cleft of the rock; I shall shield you with My hand until I have passed. Then I shall remove My hand and you will see My back, but my face may not be seen.” It was at this point that God revealed the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy to Moses. He showed Himself as a Shaliach Tzibbur, an agent leading a congregation in prayer, wrapped in a Tallit, praying the Thirteen Attributes. “Whenever Israel sins, let them perform before Me this order of prayer and I shall forgive them.” They are the closest we can come to the highest level of Binah.
Yom Kippur is Shabbat Shabbaton, seven times seven. Seven represents the physical world which was created in seven days. Yom Kippur takes us to the highest level of Binah that a human being can reach. This level is called Sha’ar Kodesh Kodashim, The Gate of The Holy of Holies.
The Cohen Gadol enters the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. He crosses the threshold into the 49th level, but he immediately places the incense on coals to create a cloud of smoke , to symbolize that he cannot perceive the fiftieth and highest level of Binah.
When we recite the first verse of the Shema we are speaking of God on a level beyond human comprehension, the level of Higher Unification . We are describing God as if we were standing with Moses in the cleft of the rock and with the Cohen Gadol in the Holy of Holies. Just as God shielded Moses with His hand, and the Cohen Gadol filled the Holy of Holies with smoke, we cover our eyes, as if to say, this is a level we cannot possibly grasp. This is more of a reality on Yom Kippur than any other time because it is Shabbat Shabbaton, the Sabbath of all Sabbaths, the time when God will grant the potential to reach the 49th level of Divine Understanding.
Shabbat Shabbaton;The World of Souls
Much of the functioning of this world is a direct reflection of how things function in the heavens; “The Kingdom of this world is a reflection of the kingdom in the heavens.” The service of the Cohen Gadol on Yom Kippur is acting out the service of the angels in the highest heavens. The Cohen Gadol is actually functioning as an angel; For the lips of the Cohen should safeguard knowledge, and people should seek teaching from his mouth; for he is a Malach , an agent of God, Master of Legions.” An angel is a spiritual being. He must “dress” himself in a physical body in order to appear on this world, as did the angels who appeared to Abraham in the guise of men . An angel can only serve one mission at a time. The angel will wear his physical garment only once, for that one mission, then he will discard it. The Cohen Gadol too, may only wear the clothes of Yom Kippur once; they may never be worn again. He is an angel on Yom Kippur, dressed in physical garments in order to fulfill his mission. When he is finished he must discard the garments, never to be worn again.
On Yom Kippur, all of Israel elevates itself to the sin-free level of angels. We recite Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto le’olam va-ed aloud, as do the angels. We do not eat or drink, nor do we have relations because we are like angels who have none of those physical needs . We stand much of the day just as the angels stand in front of God.
Human beings are more powerful than angels. They cannot sing their praises of God until we do. We mention God’s name after two words; “Shema Yisrael, Hashem,” while they cannot recite God’s name until they have first recited three words; “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Hashem…” Yet, when we recite the Kedusha, we aspire to sing with them; “We shall sanctify Your Name in this world, just as they sanctify It in heaven above.” “We will revere You and sanctify You according to the counsel of the Holy Seraphim…” We are happy to be compared to angels on Yom Kippur. Why do we seek to be angels if human beings are more powerful?
We have Free Choice and the angels do not. They have no Free Choice because they stand so close to God, they are so aware of God, that they do not have the possibility of sin. We aspire to reach their closeness to God. We want to achieve a level of awareness of God that parallels theirs. On Yom Kippur we act as angels, we refrain from human work and from eating and drinking, so that we can access the level of awareness that is being granted to us; the level of Shabbat Shabbaton, the highest of levels, the world of souls that stand close to God.
Chapter 93
“You Shall Not Work on Yom Kippur”
Source Verses
“But on the tenth day of this month it is a day of atonement; there shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall afflict yourselves; you shall offer a fire-offering to God. You shall not do any work on this very day, for it is a Day of Atonement to provide you atonement before God, your Lord.”
“You shall not do any work.”
Focused Only on Atonement
We are prohibited from doing any work on Yom Kippur. Any activity that is forbidden on the Sabbath is forbidden on Yom Kippur even if it is only a rabbinic decree. What ever may not be handled on the Sabbath may not be handled on Yom Kippur. Whatever may not be said or done from the start on the Sabbath is likewise forbidden on Yom Kippur. The only difference is the punishments for breaking the law. Even if someone has not done Teshuva he is still prohibited from doing work on Yom Kippur.
The work of Yom Kippur is to achieve atonement. We should not be occupied with anything else. We should concentrate all our attention and thoughts to plead for atonement from the Master of the World, Who has set aside this day since the beginning of creation, for us to be granted atonement.
Levels of Atonement
The day is called Yom Hakippurim, the Day of Atonements, in plural. There are different levels of atonement, dependent on the level of Teshuva and the intensity of our prayers. The degree of atonement is dependent on how much work we put into achieving the purpose of Yom Kippur. We cannot distract ourselves from this work lest we forfeit the opportunity of the day. If you are involved in creating something for you it contradicts the idea of asking for forgiveness from God. You do not create forgiveness. Getting forgiveness from someone else is not going to be a result of what you are giving. It is going to be a result of what you are asking for. So any creative work is actually going to contradict the fact that today you are not super human being but you are somebody who is setting and requesting something from your Creator.
Purification
In fact we are requesting more than “just” atonement; Rebbe Akiva says that Yom Kippur is a day of purification. He is telling us that there are two different things that happen on Yom Kippur; one is atonement, but atonement is not purification. Atonement means that I have been forgiven from what I did. Forgiven means that God is not going to hold it against me but it does not mean that the damage it has caused is out of my system. If I do something wrong I may be forgiven for it, meaning that God will not punish me for it, but it still has damaged my soul, meaning it has restricted or stifled the full development of my soul because I took an opportunity that I could have used for growth and used it for something that would hurt my growth and development as a spiritual being or as an intellectual being. Therefore atonement is not enough. It is really a day of Taharah, purification. The purpose of Yom Kippur is actually to be recreated in a state of total purity.
Teshuva
Most people are under the impression that Teshuva means I did something wrong, I regret that I did it wrong, and therefore I am repentant. I regret it, I feel guilty , and therefore I repent. You must realize that the verse which describes Teshuva explicitly says, Acharei Shuvi – after I did Teshuva – Nichamti – I regretted what I had done. Meaning the regret does not lead to Teshuva, Teshuva leads to regret. Teshuva does not mean I feel guilty over what I have done; it is a common misconception that is the Christian idea of repentance, it is not the Jewish definition of repentance. It is not, “You know, I did that, I feel guilty, I do not know how to deal with it,” that is for your therapist. The idea of Teshuva is simply an awareness that I went against God’s will. Teshuva is not “How could I have done that, I cannot believe I fell so low, I cannot believe I did such a thing.” It is, “I was in love with this person and I felt so close and so attached, and he was so good to me, and I have hurt him.” Teshuva is an overwhelming desire to be close to God and repair any damage to the relationship.
Therefore Maimonides says, that if there is a person who did something wrong, a year of rebellion, rejected all religion, and then comes back, does Teshuva, and says, “You know what, it was terrible what went wrong but it was really good for me. Because I learned from it, I grew from it, I became aware of different passions and things like that and I knew about life and it changed my whole religious outlook and it was really great for me. But I did Teshuva.” He is mistaken, he did not do Teshuva. He is looking at it only in terms of himself. He is not looking at it in terms that he went against God’s will. And the more a person says, “You know I feel terrible, it was really bad, but I learned a lot from it, it was really great.” That is not Teshuva. The person is looking at it only from that person’s own perspective. It is frightening because what has happened is that we have become this crying and weeping people only about what we have done to ourselves. But it should be about what we have done to our relationship with God. That is why all the prayers on Yom Kippur are all God oriented. The point is that this day of Teshuva is a day of enhanced awareness of God.
This day has been set aside by God to be close with His children. Whoever works on this day is rejecting God’s desire for and offers of, intimacy. If we work on this day we sacrifice our right to function the rest of the year. It is as if the person is saying; “I stand outside the realm of God.”
Yom Kippur is actually a day of opposites; we suffer over our sins and we rejoice over our atonement and closeness with God. If we would work we would distract ourselves from both which are essential parts of the day.
Melechet Machashevet
Moses came down with the Second Tablets on Yom Kippur. They were a sign that we were forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf and that the relationship had been restored. The First Tablets were carved by God; “When He finished speaking to him on Mt. Sinai, He gave Moses the two Tablets of Testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.” The stone on which the Second Tablets were written were carved by Moses; “God said to Moses, ‘Carve for yourself two stone tablets.” It was human work that helped achieve atonement. This human effort continued with the construction of the Tabernacle and the work involved was called Melechet Machashevet, work of thought, with a designed purpose. That is exactly the work that is prohibited on Yom Kippur. The atonement and purification that come on Yom Kippur are not the result of our physical labors. They are beyond human ability. Atonement and purification can be only be achieved through Teshuva and prayer, understanding that they are a gift from God and reaching to God for those gifts.
Chapter 94
“You Shall Afflict Yourself on Yom Kippur”
Source Verses
“But on the tenth day of this month it is a day of atonement; there shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall afflict yourselves.”
“This shall remain for you an eternal decree: In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and you shall not do any work, neither the native nor the proselyte who dwells among you.”
Laws
Besides the commandment to rest from work on Yom Kippur, it is also a positive commandment to refrain from eating and drinking. Similarly, our tradition teaches us that just as eating and drinking are forbidden on Yom Kippur, so too are washing, anointing oneself, wearing leather shoes and engaging in marital relations. This is derived from the seemingly repetitive phrase, Shabbat Shabbaton; Shabbat alludes to refraining from eating, while Shabbaton alludes to refraining from the above mentioned activities.
Body and Soul
On Yom Kippur, by fasting, we are breaking down our physical bodies which constrain our souls. The body and soul are in a constant state of battle; if the soul prevails, it not only elevates itself, but elevates the body as well, and the individual thereby attains his destined perfection. If he allows the physical to prevail, on the other hand, then besides lowering his body, he also debases his soul. Such an individual makes himself unworthy of perfection, and thus divorces himself from God. He still has the ability, however, to subjugate the physical to his soul and intellect, and thereby achieve perfection. On Yom Kippur we want to return to God and we have to subjugate our physical needs to our souls. When we afflict ourselves through fasting and the additional afflictions, we are asserting the power of the soul over the body and attaching ourselves to God.
The soul, which is associated with the body, is darkened and dimmed. Through the good deeds that one has done, the soul might have earned in itself perfection and excellence, but this cannot be expressed. The soul cannot shine with radiance appropriate to the excellence that it actually attains, but it all remains concealed in the soul’s essence until the time comes for it to be revealed. On Yom Kippur we have the opportunity to break down the barriers the body has imposed on the soul, and to allow our souls to shine with the full radiance of all they have achieved. All of us should experience more of God’s light simply because of all the good deeds we have done. But we don’t feel all that we have accomplished. We do not experience the full power of all the good we have done. Our spiritual lives often feel stifled. We wonder whether we have achieved enough. But it is our physical life that is constraining our souls. Yom Kippur is an opportunity to experience our full spiritual radiance if we are able to break through the walls that our bodies have imposed. We withdraw from our physical lives and focus only on our souls so that they can shine and return to God and cross the chasms that we have created with our sins.
God decreed a period of separation and repair for the body and soul. The soul enters the Soul World to experience all of its radiance. The body must decompose to break down its connection to the physical world and to prepare it to be rejoined with the fully radiant soul which will perfect the body according to its achievements in this world. We act out this separation of body and soul on Yom Kippur. We even wear a Kittel, the white coat in which we are dressed before burial. We are pleading with God to allow us to achieve the necessary separation, repair and eventual rejoining and perfection, on Yom Kippur, when He grants us purification.
We ask that what we have given up of our bodies should be considered an offering on the altar of the Temple.
The Five Parts of the Soul
There are five self-inflicted afflictions on Yom Kippur; 1) we do not eat or drink, 2) we do not wash, 3) we do not anoint ourselves with oils or creams, 4) we do not have marital relations and 5) we do not wear leather shoes. These five correspond to the five levels of the higher soul (from highest to lowest); 1) Yechida, 2) Chaya, 3) Neshama, 4) Ruach and 5) Nefesh. The verses of the portion in the Torah about Yom Kippur mention the word “soul” five times corresponding to the five levels of the higher soul. The Cohen Gadol immerses five times in the Mikvah, which also correspond to the five parts of the higher soul.
If we succeed in breaking down the barriers of our bodies we can actually perfect all levels of our higher souls.
Approaching the King
The Abudirham explains that the phrase, “And so…” that we recite to introduce the three paragraphs that are inserted in the third blessing of the Amidah, is based on Esther’s saying. “And so I will come before the king.” Esther knew that she was loved by the king more than all the other woman of the kingdom, and that he would summon her in the near future. However, she was unwilling to wait for him; she wanted to go immediately after her preparations. But as opposed to the first time that she went into the king after a year’s preparation with perfumes and beauty tips, this time she would go into the king after three days of fasting, when she would not be at her best. She was willing to risk everything to approach the king. She was desperate to save her people and to take advantage of the opportunity that God had given her. So too, we, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are desperate to save ourselves and to take advantage of the day, and we are not willing to wait for God to summon us. We will risk everything and go directly to Him although we are certainly less than well-prepared. We will go to God while we are physically weak, at less than our physical best, in order to show Him how desperate we are to be close with Him.
Isaac and Jacob
The Zohar says that when Isaac summoned Esau to go and hunt for him so that he could give Esau a blessing, it represents the time of the year when God, represented by Isaac, sits on the throne of judgment. Isaac, who is always a representation of judgment, summons Esau, who is the representative of Satan, and says; “Go out and hunt,” meaning bring me the sins of the Jewish People so I can consume them and give you the power to destroy them. This is because from the perspective of pure justice no one deserves to exist. So Esau goes out to hunt for the sins of the Jews. Rebecca, who is the maternal representation of God, goes out and calls the Jewish people and says, “Listen, your daddy is angry and your daddy is going to kill you. I want you to take your sins and instead of waiting for Satan to bring your sins in go and put your sins on your shoulders and go into Isaac and tell Isaac “Here I am. I confess that I act no differently than Esau. I admit that I am evil. And I want you to bless me despite that because I want to be close to you.”
This means that the Jewish people have to say to God, “Here we are, with all of our sins, and we know that coming to face You while You are sitting in judgment, even though You may destroy us in pure justice. Despite that risk we want to be here with you.” So God, represented by Isaac, says, “Do you really want a relationship so much that you are willing to risk everything?” God is so moved that, Isaac gets off the throne of judgment and goes and sits down on the throne of mercy, and blesses Jacob.
We are acting out the story of Isaac, Esau, Rebecca and Jacob. We are going into the king, as did Esther, wearing the clothes of Esau, admitting everything we are, and saying to God that we want a relationship with Him. We know that we are undeserving. We know that if He dealt with us with pure justice that He would destroy us. We want the relationship anyway. We do not wash ourselves. We do not anoint ourselves. We do not even wear shoes when we enter the King’s room. We have bad breath from fasting. We are weak. We do not beautify ourselves in any way as we approach God. We do not pretend to be anything other than what we are. We know the risks. We are willing to take them just to have a direct relationship with God.
Even the Deniers
The Midrash asks, what was it, what was the final thing, that made Isaac decide to bless Jacob? It says, “Vayarach et Reiach Begadav,” he smelled the smell of his clothes. The Midrash says, “Al Tikri Begadav,” don’t read it as ‘his clothes’ read it as; Bogedav, his deniers. Meaning, that Isaac smelled that Jacob would have children who would deny God’s existence and said, “I love it,” and gave him a blessing. “How is it that he smelled that Jacob would have children who would deny God’s existence and this is what made Isaac bless Jacob?” The Midrash answers with the story of Yosef Meshisa.
When the Romans decided to destroy the second temple, they were a little nervous, because they were scared of this God, this Jewish God. So they were scared to go in to ransack the Temple before they burned it. So they made an announcement that any Jew who would go in to the Temple could take whatever he wanted from the Temple and take it home to keep. Can you imagine that they would find a Jew, so low, that he would be willing to go into the temple of Jerusalem and ransack it to take something home? They did find somebody; his name was Yosef Meshisa. He said, “I will go in,” and he went in.
The holiest object in the Second Temple was the Menorah. Yosef Meshisa picked up the Menorah, swung it over his shoulder and he walked out. The Romans were shocked by his audacity and they said to him, “Is that not a little disgusting? It is your God and you take the Menorah. When we said you could take whatever you want we did not mean that you could take the Menorah!” They were worried that the reason he was not struck down by lightning was because he was carrying the Menorah, and they assumed that the Menorah protected him.
The Roman soldiers made a second offer to Yosef; “We will keep the Menorah, it belongs to a King. Go back in and take something else.” Yosef said, “No!” They said, “Don’t be difficult, go back in.” He said, “No.” So they said, “We have a lot of ways, we will make you.” So he said, “No, you won’t.” They offered large sums of money, but he still refused. The Romans were so desperate that they stretched Yosef out on the cross and they began to torture him. He was screaming in pain and eventually he died. The Midrash says that a Heavenly Voice came out and said, “Do not think that Yosef Meshisa was crying because of the physical pain. He was crying because he realized that the Romans were right; he was a terrible person. He could not understand how he could have had the chutzpa to take out the Menorah.”
This, the Midrash says, is what Isaac smelled in Jacob, and he said, “Even the deniers of Jacob, the worst Jews, such as Yosef Meshisa have a spark of clarity. These are the people who deserve a blessing from God.”
The point of Yom Kippur is not to pretend that we are super holy Jews for one day. The point of Yom Kippur is that we forget that we have this very powerful spark inside. And it is good to remember that that spark is there and that it is a real part of us. We accept all the afflictions in order to sense and nurture that spark deep inside our souls.
Suffering From Our Sins
One of the reasons that we have these laws of affliction is to remind us that people suffer from their sins when they are conscious of them.
At the end of the movie Schindler’s List there is a powerful scene in which Oskar Schindler cries because he could have saved more Jews. That scene is not true. Schindler often broke out into a sweat over the fact that he could have saved more Jews. It wasn’t a momentary cry; it was heard by “his Jews” quite often. He constantly suffered over the fact that he could have done more.
When we recite the confession ten times, we are saying that we are not having a momentary pain over our sins. We carry the pain with us. The pain is constant. We can break out into a sweat over our sins. That is why we have all the afflictions. We suffer physically to show that we suffer emotionally over our sins; not a momentary suffering but constant.
Related Laws
There are other important concepts that are introduced in the Torah through this Mitzvah that apply to many other areas in Jewish law. The law of adding on to the Sabbath and Holidays is derived from the verses that command us to afflict ourselves on Yom Kippur. The laws of rebuke ; which Mitzvot demand that we rebuke others who are breaking it and when do we consider a person’s reaction to rebuke, are all included in this positive commandment to afflict ourselves on Yom Kippur.
This is a Mitzvah that teaches us to transform the physical into spiritual, which also includes adding from the mundane weekday onto the holiness of the Sabbath and Holidays. We are altering the ordinary into sanctity.
When we rebuke someone we are also breaking down barriers between that person’s physical and spiritual lives. However, we must do it in a manner that does not create barriers of resentment. Therefore, many of the laws of rebuke are derived from this law.
Chapter 95
“You Shall not Eat or Drink on Yom Kippur”
“For any soul who will not be afflicted on this very day will be cut off from its people.”
This is the negative side of the previous commandment. We are forbidden to eat, drink, wash, and anoint ourselves, to wear leather shoes or to have marital relations.
Distractions
Food and drink and other physical pleasures will draw a person closer to the physical world and those drives which led him to sin. They will distract him from searching for truth and serving God. It is also inappropriate to come and face the King on the Day of Judgment all wrapped up in immediate needs and drives. We are also judged as we are at that moment and therefore we should be entirely focused on our spiritual life.
We do not eat or drink because we are acknowledging that without the atonement of this day we forfeit the right to our physical pleasures the rest of the year. One who doesn’t fast is denying that God has accepted personal responsibility for every detail of each individual’s needs, and is determining this day of attachment between the Sustainer and His Creations. We stand in spiritual purity for one day to show God and ourselves that although we are not capable of living at this level every day of the year, we wish we were able to live a spiritual life of constant closeness to God. We do not eat or drink in order to show that we are able to deny the physical in order to achieve spiritual goals.
War
There is a ferocious battle between the body and soul on Yom Kippur. There is an equally serious battle between Satan and the Jewish People. The law is that when we go into battle we must fast in order to merit Divine assistance.
The First and Second Tablets
Something happened at Revelation, before Moses even went up to Sinai; “Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended. They saw the Lord of Israel, and under His feet was the likeness of sapphire brickwork, and it was like the essence of the heaven in purity. Against the great men of the Children of Israel, He did not stretch out His hand-they gazed at the Lord, yet they ate and drank.” The fact that they were willing to eat and drink even when they merited such powerful Divine Revelation, weakened the nation and contributed to the sin of the Golden Calf which led to the destruction of the First Tablets.
We do not eat on Yom Kippur, the day we received the Second Tablets, and the day on which we too can achieve great spiritual heights, in order to fix the sin of; “Yet they ate and drank.”
It is absolutely necessary to treat spiritual awareness with the greatest of respect. If we are casual in the midst of receiving spiritual heights and intimacy with God, we lessen all that we are accomplishing. We do not eat or drink in order to honor the spiritual heights of Yom Kippur, and to show that we will not be casual when receiving such an incredible opportunity.
The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
The first negative commandment was also a prohibition on eating; “but of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, you must not eat thereof; for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.” Yom Kippur is our opportunity to repair the sin of Adam. We do not eat in order to fix Adam’s mistake.
It is important to note that the negative commandment was not the first commandment given to Adam. The first Mitzvah was; “Of every tree of the garden you must eat.” If God commanded Adam to eat there must have been benefit to God from Adam’s eating. Each food that Adam ate and recognized that it came as a gift from God, expanded God’s Presence in the world, just as we accomplish each time we recite a blessing before we eat. The negative commandment was to remind Adam that everything that Adam could eat was a gift from God. The negative reflected back onto the positive.
The prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur is a stark reminder that when we do eat and drink, we are being blessed by God. We can take this lesson of Yom Kippur and use it to infuse our physical lives with spirituality throughout the entire year.
Appendix 1
The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
We are commanded to copy the ways of God. I have added a paragraph “Lihidamot,” to emulate God, after each of the Thirteen Attributes.
(1)
Hashem: Although God knows that a person is going to sin and damage God's creation, He continues to recreate the person each second, even as the person is sinning. Hashem represents Chesed which was the burst of energy at the moment of the creation which was to do good to another. The same level of Chesed is used each moment of existence as God continues to recreate us. Although an Aveira is against this very
Chesed, Hashem continues to give existence.
Lihidamot: Very often when one is struggling to grow and do Teshuva, he feels limited by the fact that he knows that although he is filled with remorse at this moment and sincerely wishes to never sin again, he probably will. He loses confidence in his Teshuva and himself. An application of this first attribute of mercy is to forgive
oneself even before he has committed a sin.
(2)
Hashem:
Even after a person sins and does Teshuva, Hashem continues to show him Chesed. The name used to describe Hashem's Chesed after the Aveira is the same name used pre-Aveira. This is to signify that although one has sinned and damaged the relationship, once he has done Teshuva, Hashem relates to him as if nothing wrong had ever happened. Contrast this with most human relationships. When one person hurts another, even after apology and forgiveness, it is difficult for the relationship to take up where it left off. There is a residual effect. This is not true in one's relationship with Hashem. Hashem continues to relate as if nothing had ever happened.
I am called by what I am. I am Hashem, by my attribute of compassion. I am called Hashem because I deal with my creations with compassion.
Just as I dealt with the Jews before the sin of the Golden Calf through Rachamim, so I will even though they have sinned .
Lihidamot: One has to be able to function free of guilt and treat his Teshuva as a reality. There is no element of Hashem not trusting the relationship because there was once a Cheyt.
(3)
Kail: The source of all power, even the power we use to sin. There is no power other than Hashem. A sin usually entails a rejection of this concept. If I was aware that even the power to commit this sin comes from Hashem, would I sin? We function with a certain amount of belief in our own power. This is a gift of Kail. There is another dimension which is that in reality we posses a certain amount of power, mainly that of free choice, the ability to make meaningful decisions. Our decisions have consequences for the entire creation. This power comes from Kail. The deepest expression of this power is expressed in the highest form of Teshuva which is the ability to redefine one’s self. This means that if a person sees himself a stuck, unable to overcome certain patterns of behavior, he can literally recreate himself.
This act is true teshuva.
The very ability to make Teshuva, to make one's self new, comes from kail.
When Esther was her most desperate, as she was walking into Achashveirosh unannounced, and she felt the Divine Spirit leave her, she cried out,
If not for the attribute of Kail that arouses creation, the world could not exist even for a
second because of the harsh judgments that are aroused everyday (through our sins.)
It is this midah of powerful chesed that battles the midah of Din. This is why we begin the recitation of the 13 Midot with Kail Melech Yoshaiv .
Lihidamot: To acknowledge that it is only with Hashem's help that I can do Teshuva.
(4)
Rachum: comes from the word rechem, or womb. This refers to the connection the Hashem has with us, similar to that which a mother has with a child. It is a connection that cannot be broken. It is also that which enables a person to return to his roots no matter where he has gone.
Lihidamot: The security that one has from one's mother. Bitachon.
(5)
Chanun: Hashem grants gifts to the undeserving. This goes beyond the first mida which refers specifically to the life one is given even though Hashem knows that he is going to sin. This mida describes Hashem as continuing to give us more and more although we are undeserving of even what we have. Hashem's generosity will not be stopped because of our Aveiros.
The gifts refereed to are not just gifts in general, but specific gifts that allow more gifts to come: According to the Abarbanel (Shemos 34:6) it refers to the gifts of Da'at specifically, as in "Chonen Hada'at". Daat is that which empowers us to choose, grow and do Teshuva. It is therefore a gift that allows for more gifts to follow. Hirsch (Bamidbar 6:25) describes Chanun as the granting of the spiritual potential necessary to receive other gifts from God. In our context this would mean that although we have misused our potential , Hashem will grant us even more of the potential necessary to grow. The Netziv (Ibid.) holds that Chanun refers specifically to the acceptance of our Tefillos. As the attribute of mercy, this would mean that it is chanun which enables us to daven even though we have sinned. The very ability to recite the Thirteen comes from Chanun.
When Hashem gives us something it is as a gift not because He owes us reward for our Mitzvot .
At the time that Hashem said these names He showed Moshe a treasure. “This is the reward saved for those who do Mitzvot.” God then showed Moshe an even greater treasure, “This is the reward for those who raise orphans.” Hashem continued to show Moshe one treasure after another until He showed him the largest treasure, “This is the source of good that I use for those who have no merit. ”.
Lihidamot: When we feel that we are undeserving to pray , or ask for more at the same time when we are confessing our sins, we should acknowledge Chanun, and thank Hashem for His beneficence.
If you see a person who speaks good of other people, you should know that the malachim speak good of him to God .
(6)
Erech Apayim: Hashem is slow to anger. He patiently waits for us to do Teshuva. He patiently waits for the Godly in a person to wage battle over his physical urges. (See Hirsch, Shemos 34:6) This is the mida that describes Hashem as understanding us intimately. He is aware of our struggles, weaknesses, and emotional needs. His judgment of us is based on each individual. It is highly personal. This reflects Hashgacha Pratis (See HaKetav VeHakabal, Bamidbar 14:18)
When people argue they are often so focused on what they are feeling that they are unable to understand and thereby forgive the other. Hashem’s focus is entirely on what we are feeling and experiencing.
“Apayim” is plural for faces; one for Tzadikim and one for reshaim . For the Tzadikim Hashem saves their reward in Olam Habah, and punishes them in this world incrementally so that they will have no Gehinom. For the reshaim Hashem grants them peace in this world, and all of their reward here in Olam Hazeh . The reshaim receive their reward in this world only if they do not do Teshuvah .
Hashem looks at the good that people are going to do, and not their evil .
There is an angel of destruction called “Af”. Hashem sends him far away from us so that he will not hurt us .
Lihidamot: It is important to be aware of this mida when asking for forgiveness. When we are reviewing our behavior and feel overwhelmed by the numerous things we do to hurt ourselves, and by our destructive patterns of behavior that continue to appear year after year , we must understand that Hashem judges us as we are, and as what we are capable of becoming. Hashgacha Pratis means that Hashem is intimately involved in our lives, and knows us well.
(7)
V’rav Chesed: It is this attribute which overwhelms Din. (See Rabbeinu Bachya, Bereishis 18:33) More specifically, it is this mida which allows some good to come out of our sin. (See Rashi, Vayikra 20:17) The good can be the Teshuva which follows. It can also mean that although we have sinned it doesn't mean that we have forfeited our future opportunities to grow. The Chesed referred to here is eternal.(See Ibn Ezra, Tehillim 103 :8) The same Chesed which brought us into existence although we had done nothing to deserve existence continues to give us opportunities to earn our lives and Olam Habah. (See Kad Hakemach:Purim)
This is an indication of the ever growing and increasing Chesed of Hashem .
Lihidamot: We should not feel that since we have sinned so much that we have lost our opportunity to make the most of our existence. The opportunity of Teshuva is that it reopens all possibilities and potential to us.
(8)
Ve’emet: That which Hashem gives us is ours.(Ramban, Bereishis 32:11, & Ha’Emunah V’HaBitachon Chapter 23) The fact that we receive something as a gift does not detract from it becoming truly ours. Each act of Chesed is an expression of Truth. Therefore God is not waiting for us to repay Him for His kindness.(R. Bachya, Shemos 34:6) Hashem is reliable. God is a unity. Whatever God wants He wants as a whole being. He is not torn between forgiving or not forgiving, bracha or Klala. (Maharal, Nesivos Olam, Chapter 1)
Even the blessings we are granted are measured to insure that they can foster growth, and not sink us deeper into our holes. (Hirsch, Shemos 34:6)
Because the Chesed is an expression of Emet it does not forgive Bitul Torah! (Kad HaKemach, Kippurim) .
Lihidamot: We must understand that unlike people who must overcome themselves in order to forgive, God does not have to. The forgiveness and the blessings are complete expressions of His will. They are unconditional. When we picture God torn between His judgment and His kindness we are denying His unity and Oneness. Any picture we may have of such an internal battle is simply a reflection of our own mixed feelings. The more we focus on Emet the less torn we will be.
(9)
Notzair Chesed Lalafim: Hashem guards the Chesed that we do far beyond its immediate impact and effect. All our good is referred to as Chesed because it gives life.
Lihidamot: We do not always experience the good that we do accumulating. We do not necessarily feel that the mitzvos we have performed have strengthened us. We are not aware of its long term impact. This is especially true on Yom Kippur when we are doing Teshuva. We are often haunted by the very real possibility that we will repeat our mistakes. The Teshuva we do lasts, if not on its own, than through this Midah. (Hirsch, Shemos 34:7) We are different people because of the good that we have done, the Mitzvos we have performed, the Torah that we have learned, and the Tefillos that we have recited.
(10 - 12)
Nosei Avon vaFesha vChata’ah: Hashem carries the burden of our three major categories of sin; Avonos are those things we do deliberately because of our drives. Peshaim are those things we do simply to anger Hashem. A Chata’ah is a sin committed through a lack of awareness. (See Rashi and Da'at Zekenim MiBa’alei Tosafos, Shemos 34:7) (The Abarbanel explains the categories differently: Avonos refer to sins of action, Peshaim refers to sins of thought or weaknesses in faith, and he agrees that Chata’ah refers to Shogeg.)
Each sin that we commit creates an accusing angel of destruction that prosecutes us for that sin. (Or HaChayim, Bereishis 6:11) The sin also breaks the connection of our souls to the root of our neshama. The light that comes from the root is then pirated by sources of evil.(Ibid. Bamidbar 23:8) As long as we delay our Teshuva, God carries the accusations of the angel of destruction without punishing us. He also allows the source of good to be misused. He must bear watching a source of good be misused if He is not to destroy us immediately upon committing an Aveira.
Lihidamot: We must realize that our sins damage not only ourselves, but Hashem’s world as well. In His patience He, so to speak, bears the consequences of our actions! This Midah asks us to understand the other side of this relationship as well.
(13)
V’nakay: Although God does not ignore our sins, He cleanses us slowly from them. If one does Teshuva the sin is cleansed away entirely. The person who has done Teshuva,
is able to get on with his life as if nothing happened.
Lihidamot: Our suffering is usually part of our process of cleansing. The promise of a complete cleansing after Teshuva is an opportunity to begin one’s life all over again.
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