Yom Kippur 5868; By Rabbi Denise L. Eger
This week Shabbat coincides with Yom Kippur. The day known as Shabbat Shabbaton the Sabbaths of Sabbaths is this year the Ultimate Shabbat. Yom Kippur is the most holy day of our calendar year and the Sabbath day each week is the most powerful day of the week. Together they make for a day bursting with holiness and strength and Divine Light.
The message of Yom Kippur is to take the power and holiness of the day into our lives and utilize it to purify ourselves from the sins and transgressions of the pasts. The Divine Light which flows freely on this Day into our hearts and souls helps us to root out the darkness of our sins. This is a day to seek forgiveness from God and self and others. We are to think seriously about the ways in which we failed to do the ‘right’ thing. Most importantly we are to ask forgiveness from those we harmed in the process of our sin. And then we are to take our new purity of self and commit to living a life free of transgression and healed from the errors of our previous ways.
This isn’t necessarily easy to do. Old habits are hard to break. And yet we say before God – ךנלפ תנוחש אטח על Al Cheyt Shechatanu L’fanecha ---for the sin we have sinned before You O God,
ונל רפכ ונל לחמ נול חלס Slach lanu, machal lanu, kaper lanu, Forgive us pardon and grant us atonement.
We ask for Divine help to support us in the process of change and true repentance. And we look to the Eternal One of Blessing to grant us relief from our guilt and shame of our personal sins and failures of character. The Light of God and the Power of this year’s Yom Kippur should assist us in this process.
There is a wonderful story that was told by the Baal Shem Tov as written down by Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Komarno, in Chumash Heichal HaBracha, Otzar HaChaim, Naso 33c.
“A person comes into a store where they sell many types of delicacies. The first thing the storekeeper does is give him a sample of each kind, in order that the customer should have an idea what to buy. When she tastes it and sees how good it is she wants to sample more. But the storekeeper says, “You have to pay for what you take. We do not give away anything for free.”
The free sample is the Light that a person experiences when he or she begins to draw close to God on these holy days. Through this taste of light, a person should subjugate all evil and sin and bring everything back to good. This is the “free sample” we are given so that we will realize the taste of true worship and forgiveness. A taste of this remains after the light is withdrawn so that we will know what to seek.”
On Yom Kippur the free sample is the holiness and light of the Divine that reaches towards us with forgiveness. We can use these Days of Awe and Yom Kippur to taste a sample of holiness and purity and strength to live our lives in the New Year drawing closer to God. This Yom Kippur draw the light and power of the day towards your spirit and your soul. May you be Inscribe in the Book of Life and Light .
Posted by Aaron at September 17, 2007 09:13 AM
