Chaired by Dr. Ellier Russ. This committee coordinates programs and classes to engage members in lifelong learning. Events include our yearly Scholar in Residence program, Talmud Study, and more. Guest speakers, online webinars and Shabbat morning discussions additionally provide congregants with opportunities to expand their knowledge of Judaism and living a Jewish life.

Yom kippur 5785: Road to repentance

Shabbat Shalom Weekly

by Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig  October 12 , 2024
YOM KIPPUR  Leviticus  (16) Triennial 

GOOD MORNING! Yom Kippur begins this Friday evening, October 11th, and ends around an hour after sunset on Saturday night. As mentioned last week, the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah begins on Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur. This period is commonly translated as the “Ten Day of Repentance.” In actuality, the word teshuvah refers to a “return,” and it is this process of “returning” to the Almighty that defines the “repentance.”

Thus, the Ten Days of Returning culminate with Yom Kippur – aka the “Day of Atonement,” which is often referred to as the holiest day of the year. This ability to “return” to the Almighty is an absolute kindness and a gift from God. In this way, teshuvah or “repentance” offers mankind the one thing no one really believes is possible to achieve: The ability to change the past. 

Maimonides, the great medieval philosopher and codifier of Jewish law, rules that it is a mitzvah – a positive commandment – to repent. In other words, the Almighty Himself is asking us to return to Him. As we shall see, there is an enormously powerful message here, one that we must try to internalize. Indeed, the very success of accomplishing the essence of Yom Kippur can only be achieved by understanding this concept.

Q & A: WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF YOM KIPPUR AND HOW DO WE OBSERVE IT?

“This shall be an eternal decree: […] on the tenth of the month you shall afflict yourselves and all manner of work you shall not do, neither the native born nor the convert amongst you. For this day, he [the Kohen Gadol – the High Priest] shall atone for you to purify you from all of your transgressions – before the Almighty you shall be purified” (Leviticus 16:29-30).

As mentioned above, the Torah states that we shall “afflict ourselves” on Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. According to Jewish law, there are five “afflictions” that we must observe on Yom Kippur. We are prohibited from 1) eating and drinking 2) wearing leather shoes 3) marital relations 4) anointing the skin with salves and oils, and 5) washing for pleasure.

Yom Kippur is the anniversary of the day Moses brought the second set of Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai. This signified that the Almighty forgave the Jewish people for the transgression of the Golden Calf. This day was thus decreed to be a day of forgiveness for our mistakes. 

However, this refers to transgressions against the Almighty. Transgressions against our fellow man require us to correct our mistakes and seek forgiveness. If one stole from another person, it is not enough to experience regret and ask the Almighty for forgiveness; one must first return what was taken and ask the injured party for forgiveness. Only after that is completed may one ask the Almighty for forgiveness.

The actual process of teshuvah is comprised of four parts. 1) Regret: We must recognize what we have done wrong and regret it. 2) Cessation: We must stop doing the transgression. 3) Confession and Restitution: We must verbally confess and ask the Almighty to forgive us. We must correct whatever damage that we can, including asking forgiveness from those whom we have hurt – and making restitution, if due. 4) Resolution: We must accept upon ourselves not to do it again in the future.

A key component of the liturgy of the Ten Days of Repentance (Returning) and Yom Kippur is known as the Thirteen Divine Attributes of Mercy. The ancient source of this prayer is rather astonishing: The Almighty Himself taught it to Moses for him to teach it to the Jewish people as the path to seek forgiveness:

“And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, ‘Hashem, Hashem, omnipotent, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin […]’” (Exodus 34:6-8).

The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 17b) states, “There is a covenant (between God and His creations) that any prayer that contains the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy will never go completely unanswered.”

Even more remarkably, the very same passage in the Talmud describes the scene that unfolded between God and Moses: “Rabbi Yochanan said ‘had it not been an explicit verse in the Torah it would be impossible to even utter’ – the verse is coming to teach us that the Almighty wrapped Himself in a tallit (prayer shawl) like a shliach tzibbur (a cantor who leads a congregation in prayer) and demonstrated to Moses the order of the prayer. Hashem then told Moses; ‘Any time that the Jewish people sin they should recite this prayer, and I will forgive them.’”

The Talmud is teaching us the essence of teshuvah. Of course, it is exceedingly difficult to conceive of the Almighty dressing up like a performer and giving a demonstration of how to seek forgiveness from Him. Yet, that is exactly what happened. We are left to wonder what exactly was the point of God dressing up and acting it out for Moses. Why would Moses need a visual demonstration? What message was God conveying to Moses?

Generally, seeking genuine forgiveness from someone is very difficult. It requires an admission of wrongdoing or, at the very least, communicating that the intention was not to harm. But the most daunting part – and a common reason why people procrastinate asking for forgiveness – is the uncertainty of how the injured party is going to react.

Will the injured person yell at me? Or worse, will they try to use my admission of guilt to take advantage of me in some way? The anxiety over these potential consequences can prevents a person from making the effort to mend fences.

Now consider a different scenario: How would you feel if someone came to you and let you know that the person you injured feels badly because this incident has created a rift in the relationship and they just want to talk and make up? Suddenly, it becomes a lot easier to make that phone call.

It is for this very reason that the Almighty took the extraordinary steps of performing the path to forgiveness. The purpose of the “show and tell” demonstration was so that Moses would understand and convey to the Jewish people that God Himself is leading the path to His forgiveness. In other words, God – the injured party – is willing to lead the congregation in prayer because He wants, more than anything, for His children – the Jewish people – to return to Him.

The Almighty is communicating to Moses that there should be no barriers to asking for His forgiveness because He Himself wants to fix the relationship. It is for this reason that a proper prayer of forgiveness will always be answered. God is letting us know that He is always waiting for us to come home to Him and waits expectantly for us to return.

One last point on the subject of Yom Kippur; after making a concerted effort to seek forgiveness from those whom we have injured, making restitution, and seeking forgiveness from the Almighty, we must then ask ourselves the following questions:

• What can I do in the future to improve my relationship with the Almighty and my observance of His commandments?
• What affirmative steps can I take to build a better connection to the Almighty?
• How can I become a better person, spouse, parent, or child?
• How can I contribute to help build my community?
• What can I do to help my brethren worldwide?

Obviously, the answers to these questions are always going to be a work in progress. But that is the true beauty of our lives – the ability to grow. We do what we can to overcome the mistakes of the past and we always strive to reach ever greater heights.

Wishing my readers all over the world a most meaningful fast and Yom Kippur experience, and a Gmar Chatima Tova (may you have a good and final sealing in the Book of Life) to you and yours!

TORAH PORTION: HA'AZINU
October 4, 2024     3 Tishrea  5784
Torah   Deuteronomy 32:1 - 52   Triennial   Deuteronomy 
  Haftorah:  SHUVA:

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