Yom
Kippur
Why is
Yom Kippur the Happiest Day of the Year?
Yom
Kippur – the Gift of Forgiveness to Every Jew
We have entered
the solemn period of the Ten Days of Repentance when we prepare ourselves for
Yom Kippur. Now is the time for deep inner self-reflection and work to face our
fears.
At this auspicious
time, we dig deeply into our psyche to bring up our shadow sides to the
surface. Digging into our shadow side
and uprooting our spiritual weeds is no less daunting than the arduous toil of digging
deeply into the hard soil of the land, turning it, softening it, adding compost,
and getting it ready for the winter crop. Yet when the new crop sprouts forth
from the freshly turned soiled, we become filled with awareness and gratitude
that all the hard work was worthwhile. The work of Yom Kippur likewise bears
fruit. It sprouts forth our higher purified selves. Yes, it is hard to dig up
parts of ourselves that we may have repressed in the recesses of the crevices
of our souls. However, only by facing these exiled slivers of selves can we
dissolve the spiritual husks that block us from cleaving to our Divine source. Therefore,
on Yom Kippur – the happiest day of the year – our hearts must be filled with
simcha (happiness). This is because Yom Kippur extends a special gift of
forgiveness and atonement to every Jew. I’m grateful for this favorable day
when we become renewed and purified. There is no greater happiness than being
able to feel good about ourselves. Therefore, Yom Kippur is the happiest day of
the year as it states, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel
said, there were never days as good for Israel as the 15th of Av and
Yom Kippur. …Yom Kippur because it entails
pardon and forgiveness, the day that the second tablets were given (Babylonian
Talmud, Ta’anit 30b). Our Neshama (soul) feels this happiness
and becomes filled with joy and light on Yom Kippur. Rav Shlomo Carlebach offers
us a parable: Imagine, I owe the bank ten million dollars. All of a sudden, I
get a letter from the bank that they not only pardon me this debt, but they
moreover offer me a loan for another ten million dollars. Would I then continue
to walk around tearfully sighing because I didn’t pay off my debt from the
prior year? In truth, Yom Kippur is much more than this. On Yom Kippur when the
Kohen Gadol enters the holy of holies, each Jew has a spark in the depths of
our heart which enters the holy of holies with him. Entering the holy of holies
is beyond space (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 21a), just as Yom Kippur is
beyond time. On Yom Kippur we become aware that we can connect ourselves with
the highest place in heaven. This place is so high that there we cannot make
any more mistakes, as no evil abides there (Based on Rav Shlomo, Lev
Hashamayim for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, p.164 and 170).
On Yom Kippur, we celebrate not only the forgiveness granted to us but especially the closeness to Hashem this holiest day of the year offers us.
If we
Rectify the Blemish in the Upper Worlds, Hashem will Rectify our Souls
How does
the Vidui (Confession) Prayer Reflect the Two Stages of Atonement?
In the
Yom Kippur Torah Reading we learn about the essence of this auspicious day:
This verse paraphrases the two stages of rectification through teshuva: In the first stage, Hashem promises to cause us atonement by purifying our souls. The second stage describes our mitzvah to purify ourselves. This parallels the two parts of the Vidui (confession) that we recite repeatedly on Yom Kippur. In the first part, we confess our sins in the order of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, “We have sinned (ashamnu), we have acted treacherously (bagadnu), we have robbed (gazalnu), we have spoken slander (dibarnu).” This part of the Vidui refers to the blemishes we have caused on our souls, that Hashem will fix on Yom Kippur. In the second part of the Vidui the emphasis is on the sins we have committed before Hashem, thus causing the separation of the Shechinah: “For the sin which we have committed before You under duress or willingly. And for the sin which we have committed before You by hard-heartedness. For the sin which we have committed before You inadvertently…” This part of the confession applies to our responsibility to pray for the blemish above, and the return of the Shechinah below. Based on these two levels of purification alluded to in the two parts of the Vidui, we can understand the well-known dispute about whether the atonement on Yom Kippur only applies when we do teshuva, or that the essence of the day causes atonement even if we don’t repent (Mesechet Yoma Chapter 8). The view that Yom Kippur atones whether a person repents or not applies to the rectification that Hashem enacts for us: “He shall effect atonement for you to purify you from all your sins.” Yet, “Before Hashem, you shall be pure” applies to rectifying the separation between us and Hashem – the exile of the Shechinah and the upper worlds. That is our responsibility. For this part, we will only receive atonement through repentance. Since this is our main work on Yom Kippur the main tefilah (prayer) centers around “before Hashem you must become pure” and “Return to Me.” (Based on Rav Moshe Refael Luria, Ori v’Yishi pp. 274-275). Isn’t this the truest ‘at-one-ment?’
Gratitude
Focus for Yom Kippur
Tips on Recognizing and Thanking Hashem While Facing
Your Fears
In my experience, fear is the main block that blocks us from cleaving fully to Hashem and causes separation of the Shechinah. Therefore, as we pray and confess during Yom Kippur, we must not forget to take the time to meditate on our repressed fears that often manifest in our subconsciousness and cause various pains that block the Shechinah from residing within us. There is nothing Hashem wants more than for us to open ourselves to welcome His Presence in the deepest recesses of our soul as it states, “Make for Me a sanctuary and I will reside within you” (Shemot 25:8). As much as Hashem wants the rebuilding of the Temple as His Divine home, He yearns, even more, to dwell within each of us. “The Kotzker Rebbe was once asked: “Where does G-d dwell?” to which he replied, “Wherever you let Him in.”
- Allow Yourself to Tune Into the Feeling of Your Fear – When you experience fear, you feel it as a physical thing. Often fear feels like a constriction in the chest throat or head. Allow the movement of that fear to play upon the physical form in any way it wishes. Do not try to remove it, turn it aside, swallow it, or run from it. Be in a totally receptive state and allow it to move around inside you. When you start allowing you will observe that fear comes in waves. It is not an ongoing power, because it is not divinely motivated. Be grateful that this is so, for now, you know there is a way to overcome your fear. First of all, allow the fear to play upon you.
- Center Yourself – When you feel the thoughts between the waves of your fear, stay centered in the awareness that fear is present. Please do not say “I am afraid.” The statement should be “Fear is present.” There is an important difference between those two statements. The “I” of you is not afraid, and fear does not define its nature. At the same time, center yourself as deeply as you can in the areas of the heart. Center yourself with all the determined will you can muster and stay there. Simply sit there!
- Observe the Motion of Fear – Interesting things will happen if you are determined to observe the motion of fear. The more time you spend centered in this area, the greater your power will be when you are in real difficulty. Make the most use of the days when you are free of fear, for there will come times when you will need to be centered.
- Focus on Your Heart Center – As you sit quietly within this awareness, and observe the movements present, you will see that the heart center is where all your fear fades. As you dwell there, you will find more and more of your days and nights filled with a dynamic quality that frees you from your own illusory creation. Humanity calls this dynamic quality Love. It is the power within the center of your heart that allows you to know your connectedness with Hashem and with everything and everyone. There is nothing outside of you; all is within, so there is nothing to fear.
- Tap into the Unconditional Love You Seek – that lies quietly waiting within the center of your being, and when you have tapped into it, fear will vanish. Love fears nothing because all fears are illusions that block Hashem’s loving light.
- Spend as Many Moments of Your Days as You Can, Quietly Resting –in the center of your being, not allowing your fears to pull you away, and you will experience the dissipation of your fears (Based on I Come As a Brother: A Remembrance of Illusions by Bartholomew, Mary-Margaret Moore, Joy Franklin, and Jill Kramer).
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