Yom Kippur 5778


Holiday #2 (228)

Yom Kippur 5778

September 29-30

From the Holy Ari of Safed From the Chasidic Masters From the Rebbes of ChabadSome Laws and Customs
 
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From the Holy Ari of Safed

When one returns in Teshuva, he releases all the holiness that he put into the forces of evil and returns them to holiness. This is [true] repentance, that one restores a thing to its rightful place. His reward [for doing so] is multiplied greatly because he subdues the forces of evil and releases the holiness from within them. He [thus] gives power to holiness when he brings it inside himself. With this will we understand what our Sages have taught (Yoma 86b) that, "one's sins are turned into one's merits."
(Sha'ar HaYihudim 3, 11, 40b - translated by Ariel Bar-Tzadok)


From the Chasidic Masters

When Yom Kippur Falls on Shabbat
Binyomin Adilman


"Moshe assembled the entire community of Israel and said to them, "These are the words that G-d has commanded for you to do. You may engage in work during the first six days f the week, but Saturday must be kept holy as a Sabbath of Sabbaths to Hashem."" (Exodus 35:1-2)

"This shall be an eternal law for you. Every year on the 10th day of the 7th month, you must fast and not do any work, whether it be the native citizen or the proselyte. This is because on this day all of your sins will be atoned for, so that you will be cleansed. Before Hashem, you will be cleansed of all your sins. It is a Sabbath of Sabbaths to you, and a day on which you must fast. It is an eternal law." (Lev. 16:29-31)

We know that the Torah has a concept called Shabbos. From these two verses, we can see that both the Shabbos and Yom Kippur are called Sabbath of Sabbaths (Shabbos Shabboson), the ultimate expression of Sabbath. When the two come together the stakes are bound to be high.

The Gemarra (Tractate Shabbos 118b), states, "If only Yisrael would keep two (consecutive?) Sabbaths, they would be immediately redeemed."

The Noam Megadim (Parshas Emor), from R' Eliezer Ish Horowitz, a disciple of R' Elimelech of Lizhensk, offers a compelling interpretation of the passage in the Gemarra. He say that two Sabbaths refer to two Sabbaths which comes together. That can only be when Yom Kippur falls out on Shabbos. Therefore the possibility for immediate redemption of our people is at hand. We only need to observe them, putting ourselves into the service of the day with a full heart and keep from becoming distracted.

Actually the possibility for speedy redemption is inherent in every Yom Kippur. The Holy Zohar (Parshas Noach) states that even if the people in only one Beit Knesset (Shul) did complete Teshuva on Yom Kippur, then all of Yisrael would be immediately redeemed!
All the more so then on this special year when the two ultimate Sabbaths come together at the same time. Indeed a special opportunity!!

 

Eating and Fasting
". . .and you shall afflict your souls in the 9th day of the month in the evening . . ." (Vayikra 23:32)

The Talmud, Tr. Brachos 8b, asks what does it mean to fast on the 9th day? Don't we fast on Yom Kippur itself, on the 10th of the month? The Talmud answers that if one eats and drinks on the 9th day of Tishrei, the eve of the awesome day of Yom Kippur, and then fasts on Yom Kippur, it is regarded as if he afflicted (fasted) himself on both the 9th and the 10th days.

Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, the Noam Elimelech, asked why eating on the 9th of Tishrei should be regarded as fasting? He answered his own question saying, "If on the eve of Yom Kippur, one were to contemplate the awesome and holy character of the approaching day, how his repentance is hanging in the balance, he certainly would not be able to put a bite of food in his mouth. Therefore, observing the mitzvah to eat on the 9th day is indeed a hardship and an affliction."


(From B'Ohel Hatzadikim, Yom Kippur 5758)


From the Rebbes of Chabad

Locked In

One of the fundamental elements in the service of the High Priest on Yom Kippur was his entry into the Holy of Holies. It is written of this entry: "No man shall be in the Tent of Meeting." The Jerusalem Talmud states that this applies even to those about whom it is said, "The likeness of their face is like the face of a man," i.e., the Holy Chayot, the highest level of angels. When the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies, not even the angels may be present. This implies that Yom Kippur involves the essential bond between G-d and the Jewish people, as represented by the High Priest who serves as their agent; "Israel is alone with G-d."

The High Priest also entered the Holy of Holies in the era of the Second Temple as well, even when the Holy Ark was not there. It is as if the High Priest entered into a bond with G-d that is above even the level of engraved letters in the Torah.

There is a level of teshuvah mandated by the Torah and a level of teshuvah above the Torah. The teshuvah mandated by the Torah reflects dimensions of the soul and of G-d which are revealed. The teshuvah which transcends the Torah, by contrast, points to how the soul is bound up with G-d's essence, and is above all revelation.

In the era of the Temples, the Jews' essential bond with G-d was revealed through the entry of the High Priest into the Holy of Holies. Our Sages teach that our prayers take the place of the sacrifices. As such, it is our prayers which today express this connection.

Yom Kippur is the only day of the year on which we are obligated to recite five different prayer services. These five services reflect the five levels of the soul: nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah, and yechidah. Neilah, the fifth prayer service, which is recited only on Yom Kippur, thus reflects the level of yechidah, the aspect of the soul which is bound to G-d with singular oneness. At this level, nothing besides G-d and the souls of Israel is of concern.

This is the mystical meaning of the word neilah - (that the gates are) locked: no one else is allowed in. The Jewish people are alone with G-d!

This degree of connection is revealed in the Neilah prayer. In a more general sense, however, it applies throughout the day of Yom Kippur too, for Yom Kippur is "a day on which five prayer services are required." Although each service has its time (the evening service, the morning service, etc.), the entire day is "a day on which five prayer services are required," i.e., the fifth level, the level of yechidah shines throughout the day.

(Adapted from a talk and a discourse by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 5723)


Some Laws and Customs

 

THE FIVE ABSTENTIONS

A distinctive feature of Yom Kippur is its designation in the Torah as both a 'Sabbath' and a fast day.   Fasting on Yom Kippur (from before sunset until after dark the following night), which the Torah expresses with the term ‘affliction,’ is a broader concept than a mere abstention from food and drink.  The Sages (see Yoma 76a-77b) derive from Biblical exegesis that affliction implies abstention from five activities: (a) eating and drinking; (b) washing one's body; (c) anointing oneself with oils; (d) wearing leather shoes; and (e) marital relations.  In addition, all labors that are forbidden on the Sabbath are forbidden on Yom Kippur as well.     (from Artscroll)

 

"Out with the old year and its curses!

In with the new year and its blessings!"

L'shana Tova tikateiv v'tihateim

MAY YOU BE INSCRIBED AND SEALED
FOR A GOOD AND SWEET YEAR

OF HAPPINESS AND GROWTH!

The ASCENT staff

Last year's Yom Kippur page

 


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