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Holy Days -
Yom Kippur
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Written by d fine
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Yom Kippur seems to have two contradictory natures to it. On the one hand there are five afflictions prescribed on Yom Kippur, but on the other hand the gemarra calls it one of the two happiest days in the year, and some Rishonim learn that there is a mitzvah of simchas ha’chag even on Yom Kippur. How can one balance simcha and affliction? The idea seems to be that both the simcha and the affliction stem from the same point here. As the gemarra says, the simcha of Yom Kippur is due to the fact that it is the day when we cleanse ourselves of sin, as well as the fact that this is the day we received the second luchos. Likewise, the five afflictions are aimed at removing ourselves from the contaminating distractions of the physical world (distractions which take us away from our real selves) and allow us to focus on the spiritual nature of the day - thus facilitating our Teshuva. So, the simcha and the affliction are not contradictory at all - on the contrary, they stem from the same point; atonement and purity.
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Holy Days -
Yom Kippur
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Written by d fine
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Where are you heading?
Rav Shalom Schwadron used to say over the following idea in the name of his father-in-law, Rav Chaim Leib Auerbach (father of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach). He asked why it is that at kol nidrei/ma’ariv at the start of Yom Kippur, when we are most full of food and least into the purity of the day, we say the baruch shem kevod malchuso…of the Shema out loud in resemblance of the angels - whilst at the ma’ariv immediately after Yom Kippur is out, when we have been through 5 tefillos and have thoroughly woven the purity of the day into our characters and made solid commitments to better ourselves, we stop being like angels and thus say baruch shem… quietly? Shouldn’t it be the other way round? He answered that at the start of Yom Kippur our thoughts, aims, and attentions are directed towards the awe of the day and to sincere Teshuva, whilst at the very end - ma’ariv on motzei Yom Kippur - we are looking towards the food we shall be breaking our fasts on. Thus, even though at the start of Yom Kippur we have not yet become part of the day’s kedusha, since this kedusha is our mental focal point and destination, we are like angels. Whilst, since at the end of Yom Kippur our direction is towards food and material thoughts, we loss that angelic level and thus return to whispering the baruch shem… The message here is that one is defined by where they are heading and where their goals and perspective lies.
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Holy Days -
Yom Kippur
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Written by Administrator
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We would love to read your vort. Click "Submit your Vort" to send us your vort.
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Holy Days -
Yom Kippur
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Written by Daniel Fine
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Sometimes when one asks a question, he receives a mediocre answer and is told ‘the question is better than the answer.’ Other times, the answer is better than the question. And other times still, the question is not really a question at all but the answer is a great answer! The following is probably an example of one of those (last category) types. There are two things that kick off the yom kippur service before ma’ariv of
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Holy Days -
Yom Kippur
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Written by Whitefield Times
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During the afternoon Mincha services, we read the entire Book of Jonah, which teaches us that you can't run away from Hashem, and that Hashem always accepts Teshuva (repentance) even from an entire city of sinners. The story is about the Navi (Prophet) Jonah, who is told by Hashem to go to Nineveh and teach the people there to do Teshuva, otherwise Hashem will destroy the city. Jonah does not want to go, and tries to run away from Hashem by boarding a boat
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