A Day of Joy? - Yom Kippur 5786

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Yom Kippur!  There is hardly a Jew in the world who does not relate to this day in some way.  For many, it is a day of prayer, fasting and forgiveness.  For some it is a long, boring day sitting through the prayers and sermons.  (A young boy was bored during the Musaf service on Yom Kippur after many hours of services.  He walks out to the synagogue lobby and starts reading the names on the memorial board.  He notices that several of them have American flags next to the name.  A congregant sees him and tells him:  You know what the flag means?  Those are people who died in the Service.  The boy’s eyes open wide and he says:  Which service, Shacharit or Musaf?)  For some it is a day of sadness and for others it may not mean much, but as our Sages teach, every single Jew’s soul is somehow moved on Yom Kippur.

I believe that Yom Kippur is a day of great joy, and relevant to everyone.  The first recorded event on Yom Kippur was when Moshe came down from Mount Sinai with the second set of Tablets.  This was a sign that Hashem had granted complete forgiveness for the event that caused the first Tablets to be broken, the worshipping of the Golden Calf.   


Some say that because of this event this day became an everlasting day of forgiveness and atonement.  Another way of looking at it is that since this is a day of forgiveness and atonement, this is the day that Hashem showed His forgiveness.  In other words, Hashem created the world with a day of atonement built in, so that we always have an opportunity to move past our mistakes and start again with a clean slate.  The power of forgiveness of that day brought atonement even for the egregious sin of idol worship a short 40 days after the Torah was given.


This is not just lip service.  Yom Kippur is a beautiful gift Hashem has given humankind, and the spiritual energy of the day itself is all about Divine forgiveness.


I say it is a great joy, even though it would seem that we are spending a lot of the day banging our chests and confessing sins.  The reason for this is because on Yom Kippur, Hashem’s essential light, described in Kabbalah and Chassidus as that which is above and beyond the entire chain of creation, is revealed on this day.  This also impacts the human, whose essential inner core soul is revealed on this day.  On that level, we are always connected to Hashem, because our soul is part of Hashem.


So rather than thinking “I am terrible, shameful, a sinner,” we realize “I am a part of Hashem, I have an infinite soul that is untainted and holy.”  This realization on Yom Kippur brings us to realize that the things we have done wrong are beneath us and not who we really are.  While we certainly need to acknowledge our mistakes and accept responsibility for them, when we approach Teshuvah from that perspective, it brings great joy to know that even if we have sinned, those sins will be forgiven if we just go back to our true identities.


This applies to everyone.  We fast and minimize our involvement with the physical world so that the physical would not interfere with that intense spiritual flow.  And if someone may think that they have gone too far afield, we are reminded that it is a Mitzvah to do Teshuvah, especially on Yom Kippur.  A Mitzvah applies to everyone, and just because a person may not have done other Mitzvot, it doesn’t mean they can't do this one.


I wish you a meaningful, uplifting and joyous Yom Kippur.  (I didn’t say not hungry, but it’s worth it.)  May we all experience a true renewal of bond with Hashem and a recognition of who we are and what our power is.  And may we all be sealed for a good year with life, peace and tranquility, and all the blessings that our heart may desire.

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