The other day,
my son and I were talking about Fasting on Yom Kippur. He is 10 and he is at
the stage of life where he always wants to know what I did when I was 10, what
his grandfather did when he was 10 or what his great grandfather (his Zeidy)
did when he was 10. So he asked me if I fasted when I was 10. I answered that I
couldn’t remember but I probably fasted until the middle of the afternoon. He
wondered if he should fast. Then he asked about the meal before the fast. He
wondered if it should be like a big feast. I reminded him that because Yom
Kippur is on Shabbat, the meal that precedes the fast should be tantamount to
Shabbat dinner. Regarding the meal he was relieved to know that he would have
his mother’s cooking and taste Shabbat. He was a bit upset that he wasn’t going
to have any cholent this Shabbat. He explained that fasting made him sad and
that Yom Kippur is such a sad day. To his credit, he suggested that this Yom
Kippur would be odd because Yom Kippur was a sad day but Shabbat was a happy
day. I asked him why Yom Kippur was sad
if it is Yom K’ Pur – like Pur as in Purim – a happy day. I suggested that maybe
we need to rethink the assumption that Yom Kippur is a sad day.
This Shabbat, Jews throughout the world will be celebrating Yom Kippur –The Day
of Atonement. The name of the day does sound rather solemn. For most Jews, Yom
Kippur is considered a rather somber sort of day and a day in which we are
supposed to “afflict” ourselves. In Masechet Yoma (the Talmudic tractate that
focus on Yom Kippur), five afflictions are mentioned as part of Yom Kippur.
These five afflictions are: fasting (no food or drink from sunset to sunset);
washing; anointing; wearing of leather, and marital relations. While Shabbat is
the day we do not afflict ourselves, when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat, Yom
Kippur supersedes the laws of Shabbat. Only Yom Kippur supersedes Shabbat in
terms of importance. It is known as Shabbat Shabbaton – the Sabbath of all
Sabbaths. How can a day in which we physical
afflict ourselves supersede the one day of the week where we miraculously bring
the spiritual world down to our physical world?
Maybe we need to re-examine those afflictions
as well as what the objective on Yom Kippur is. The Midrash explains that Yom
Kippur is the day that Moshe Rabeinu
re-ascended the mountain and received the second set of the Aseret
Dibrot, the second set of commandments. Remember, the first set was destroyed
when Moshe saw Bnai Yisroel worshipping the Eigel Zahav, the Golden calf. In
his anger, Moshe smashed the first set of stone tablets. During this second revelation, this more
private sort of revelation, Moshe had begged God to be permitted to see God’s
face. While God rejected Moshe’s request, God did in fact allow Moshe to see
God’s back as God passed (Exodus Chapter 33).
During these 40 days and nights, (beginning on Elul 1 and concluding on
Yom Kippur), Moshe fasted. On the one
hand, he experienced a physical affliction due to the lack of food. On the other
hand, he had the opportunity to be as near God as was humanly possible. In that
moment he had become more spiritual than physical. Yes we afflict ourselves. However, the
“afflictions” are base on the desire to be more spiritual than physical. The
“afflictions” are based upon our desire to be as close to God as humanly
possible. Our “afflictions” are based upon our desire to experience God from
the exalted position of the Angels without care or concern to our physical
existence. The Atonement therefore is not the sole purpose of the day. The
ultimate purpose of the day is to be as close to God as possible. How can we be
close to God if we are ensconced in the physical realm? How can we be close to
God if we need to atone for our spiritual shortcomings (our Chetaim –sins)? Our
spiritual shortcomings are just that, short of God. Atonement allows us to be
closer. Closer to God is a good thing. Closeness to God is the main objective
of Yom Kippur. When we achieve this, we should be totally happy, at ease in utterly
in awed just like Moshe was when he descended the mountain the second time with
the second set of tablet. God’s
spiritual light emanated from Moshe. Who wouldn’t be happy if that happened to
each and every one of us?
Rather than thinking of Yom Kippur as so somber and serious, it is the
one day of the year where we purposefully supersede Shabbat. Rather than
bringing HaKadosh Baruch Hu down to us, Yom Kippur is the day that we elevate
our souls towards the Kadosh Baruch Hu. The experience should be much more
“awe” as in “awesome” instead of somber. That experience ought to fill us with
awe, joy, and leave us radiating light.
Gmar Chatima Tov -May we all be sealed
in the Book of Life
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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