One Small Change

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

Chazal refer to Yom Kippur as the greatest day for the Jewish nation (Taanis 26b). It is also called the nation’s greatest gift (Tanna D’Bei Eliyahu Rabba 1).

Let us try to understand the uniqueness of Yom Kippur. After all, teshuva (repentance) can be done throughout the year. What makes Yom Kippur so special?

The verse (Vayikra 16:30) describes Yom Kippur as a day that provides taharah (purity): “For on this day, He shall provide atonement for you to purify you; from all your sins before Hashem … purify yourselves.” What is this taharah, and how does it relate to Yom Kippur, the day of repenting and gaining Hashem’s forgiveness? When teshuva is discussed throughout the Torah, it is in the context of receiving Hashem’s forgiveness, but the word purity is never mentioned. Why is taharah stressed in relation to Yom Kippur?

Furthermore, it is hard to understand why the verse declares that Hashem will purify us, and afterwards, commands us to purify ourselves. Whatever this purity refers to, surely the command to do it should come before Hashem does it for us.

We can infer answers to these questions from the words of the Ramchal (Derech Hashem 4:5) and Maharal. They state that the order is reversed because the very day of Yom Kippur possesses an exceptional measure of kedushah, holiness, which has the effect of drawing people toward Hashem. This added pull toward spirituality makes it easier to accomplish teshuva, and also renders one’s teshuva to be more acceptable.

Why is teshuva more acceptable on Yom Kippur? The Gemara tells us (Yoma 86a) that teshuva for not fulfilling a positive commandment can be done the entire year. However, teshuva for disobeying negative commandments is not accepted until the day of Yom Kippur. The Maharal explains that strictly speaking, the person did not do anything wrong when transgressing a positive commandment – he simply failed to do something that he was required to do. Therefore, no spirit of impurity clings to him, and teshuva alone can correct his failing.

In contrast, violations of negative commandments cause the filth of the sin to cling to the sinner, and teshuva alone does not remove it. True, teshuva wipes out the transgression, but cleaning the filth requires Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, he is drawn toward Hashem and clings to Him, and this clinging cleanses and purges the sin’s filth from him. This is the unique, once-a-year taharah that only Yom Kippur provides.

The Beis HaLevy (Derash 15) shows us an additional aspect of this purification. He writes that the act of sinning gives rise to a desire to repeat one’s sin (as articulated by Chazal (Avos 4:2), “Sin begets sin.” Even after repenting, one may still possess the desire to sin. He will have to fight with all of his might to restrain himself from returning to the sin. However, Yom Kippur’s clinging to Hashem, and the intense radiance of Hashem’s kedushah, has the remarkable effect of removing one’s desire to sin again that was created by his previous sin.

What an awesome opportunity Yom Kippur provides! Instead of struggling throughout the entire year to overcome a desire that we want to get rid of so much, we can literally free ourselves of it in one day, through the purification process that exists only on Yom Kippur.

With this in mind, we can try to understand Rav Yisrael Salanter’s well-known piece of advice to those who have been unable to stick to their kabalos (resolutions to change themselves). He advises that one should take on just one very small kabalah. It should be one with the full intent (and a plan, and within one’s ability) to stick to permanently, as without that, one’s teshuva is not genuine. Rav Yisrael would say, “Even if it seems a miniscule act compared to one’s heavy load of sins – if this small kabalah is the best that one can do, it is nevertheless a level of genuine teshuva. This teshuva carries the merit to assist one in his spiritual tasks, and it rescues him from difficulty and suffering.”

Still, what sort of teshuva is this? Let us face it – the vast majority of one’s sins remain in place! In truth, though, it is as we have explained: the taharah of Yom Kippur really comes from Hashem. Our job is to ensure that our sins do not act as a barrier, shutting the radiance of taharah out. If we manage to make the most miniscule hole in our thick wall of sin, the awesome radiance of taharah penetrates through, bursting forth and inspiring us to continue. Ultimately, we can reach a complete teshuva for all of our shortcomings. All this comes from a small beginning which definitely is within our reach!

Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein noted that he knew a man who would make well-intended kabalos which always led nowhere. He could not maintain them, and inevitably, he reverted to his old ways. One year, though, he thought to himself, “I must make some sort of kabalah that I will be able to stick to!” Playing it as safe as he could, he resolved to take on the admittedly modest kabalah of saying ‘Modeh Ani’ in the morning with concentration.

Lo and behold, this minute kabalah not only proved to be something he could maintain, it began changing his whole day. From a positive start early in the morning, this man went on to change himself in many ways. Slowly, prudently, he took on more ambitious spiritual challenges, and he ended up building himself in ways that he had never dreamed possible. You never know what one kabalah can do!

May we be zocheh to purify ourselves this Yom Kippur!