Special Features
for Yom Kippur
BARUCH SHEIM...
The well-known custom on Yom Kippur is to say Baruch Sheim K'vod Malchuto L'Olam Va'ed aloud in the SH'MA, whereas it is usually said quietly.
First of all, the sentence is the only part of Sh'ma that is not from the Torah. For that reason, it is generally said quietly, to distiguish it from the rest of the Biblical passages.
There are two origins attributed to Baruch Sheim. One says that it was Yaakov Avinu's whispered response of thanks to G-d when his sons proclaimed their complete faith and loyaly to G-d with the words: Hear Yisrael (the other name of Yaakov), G-d, our G-d, G-d is One.
The other source says that Moshe Rabbeinu intoduced it to us after he "borrowed" it from the heavenly angels. Because the sentence is not originally ours, we modestly whisper it throughout the year. On Yom Kippur, however, when the nature of the day and its prohibitions elevate us spiritually, we resemble the angels and only then do we dare say Baruch Sheim aloud.
This Moshe origin of the sentence fits with the Yom Kippur practice. The Yaakov origin does not seem to fit.
There is, perhaps, another reason why we say Baruch Sheim aloud on Yom Kippur. In the Beit HaMikdash, the sentence Baruch Sheim K'vod... was used as the response to a bracha, not AMEN. On Yom Kippur, when there is such a focus on the Temple Service of the Day, we say the sentence aloud. In the repetition of Musaf, when we read about the Temple Service, we find the description of the reaction of the people in the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash to the Explicit Divine Name - they fell to the ground, prostrated themselves and said Baruch Sheim K'vod Mal'chuto L'Olam Va'ed.
One should say Baruch Sheim with deepfelt Kavana, especially at Ne'ila. It is a very powerful six word statement.
DRASHOT
The two major Drashot delivered each year are for Shabbat Shuva and Shabbat HaGadol. One is before Yom
Kippur and the other is before Pesach (or, let's say, before the Seder). Ask people if they can find any other parallels between YK and Pesach or the Seder.
Kittel is one. L'SHANA HABA'A BIRUSHALAYIM is another. These are kind of "trivial" common denominators, until we find the major, significant one. Then these take on symbolic significance.
One more common feature - albeit in opposites - is NUTS. Custom is not to eat nuts on Rosh HaShana or before Yom Kippur. The custom is to distribute nuts to children on Seder night. Nuts are also an ingredient in Charoset. I don't know how significant everything is, but here's an idea...
Yamim Nora'im is a time for T'shuva, specifically of the type known as T'shuva Mi'Yir'a, motivated by Fear of G-d. Pesach (and maybe the other Regalim) are associated with T'shuva MeiAhava, motivated by Love of G-d. (Remember that the world is judged at four junctures, Rosh HaShana (and Yom Kippur) and each of the Three Festivals. Judgment is hopefully preceded by T'shuva on our part.
T'shuva of the Fear type can succeed in our being forgiven. That's good. But T'shuva of the Love-type goes one step further, forgiveness AND turning our sins into credits. If nuts represent SIN (based on a rough g'matriya), then they are shunned at the Yamim Nora'im. But they are favored at Pesach and at times of T'shuva from Love, because sins turn into credits for us.
This is obviously only token.But the fact is that we have many times of the year when T'shuva should be a focus. Just think of Fast Days, as well as Shabbat Chol haMoed, when we read the 13 Divine Attributes from the Torah. There's more, but I leave it to you to let your mind find other things to fit.
Aseret Y'mei T'shuva is a special time to ask forgiveness from those you've wronged. I would like to ask those Torah Tidbits Folders and Pick-uppers who have been inconvenienced when TT was not ready on time. I hope you realize that we value you and the role you play in TT production and distribution. Just know that we're on the same team. The demands of the move and the schedule of the Holidays has added to our burden, but hopefully things will settle down into a good routine.
G'MAR CHATIMA TOVA
FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR
Dear Torah Tidbits Reader,
As the long dark autumn hours creep upon us we become aware of a change in mood. Yes! The fine early morning dew sparkling in the glades is gradually replaced by the more resilient clinging rain drops.
For us, there is now a transition: “Morid HaTal” ever so slowly reverts to “Morid Hagashem”. And appropriately, Moshe Rabbeinu’s parting words in Parshat Ha’azinu proclaim: “May my teaching drop like the rain / May my utterance flow like the dew…”
Here, Moshe asks that the Torah touch the nation like welcome, non-intrusive dew drops and also penetrate the people like life-giving rain. The former, it seems, adds zest while the latter gives us the strength to grow.
And so, as the season unfolds and we move from “Tal” to “Geshem” we are invited to embrace the approaching first rains “yoreh”, reminiscent of “Torah”. We are beckoned to let our superficial “dew-like” appreciation of our teachings give way to a deeper, more intrusive apprehension of the Divine in our world.
Sincerely yours,
Menachem Persoff,
Director, Israel Center
P.S. Let me wish you all a G'mar Chatima Tova and a year of health, happiness, prosperity, peace and spiritual growth.
Why is Yom Kippur the Most Joyous Festival?
by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher
In the common perception, Yom Kippur is the ultimate don’t – can’t experience. Don’t eat, Don’t drink. Don’t have marital relations, can’t even wash your face. For most people, Yom Kippur is an ordeal that we have to get through, a 26 hour exercise in self denial, that is even more constricting than Shabbat. The long synagogue service and repeated emphasis on guilt and sin make Yom Kippur into a day of awe and anxiety, despair and dread. It certainly does not appear to be a day of celebration. Yet, any number of Yom Kippur laws seem to contradict the somber mood of the day: we enter into the fast by eating a festive meal, dressed in our finest clothes. We recite the “Shehachianu” blessing, thanking G-d for allowing us to reach this unique time in the year. We put on the kittel, a white robe, that symbolizes purity and innocence, rather than guilt and punishment. The last Mishna in Taanis declares, there is no more joyous day for Israel than Yom Kippur. How are we to understand such an apparent contradiction? Furthermore, Yom Kippur, just like all the other festivals, has the power to cut short and even entirely cancel a period of mourning. In the words of the Talmud, the rejoicing of the nation pushes aside the mourning of the individual. How do we explain Vayikra 23:32 “Yom Kippur you shall afflict “Ve’Initem”, your souls. “How are we to reconcile these two dimensions of Yom Kippur? To explore this issue, we should first take a closer look at the word “VeInitem” usually translated as, “you shall afflict”, the word also has another meaning, as we find by the Mitzvah to bring the first fruits. Bamidbar 26:5 “And you shall answer and sing “VeAnita” before G-d, when you bring the first fruits to the Temple.
Therefore, in the context of Yom Kippur, the phrase “Ve’Initem Et Nafshotaichem” doesn’t have to be translated only as “you shall afflict your souls.” On the one hand, one can’t hide the fact that Yom Kippur is spent looking deeply into one’s soul, exposing weakness and shortcomings, that certainly causes one to weep in fear of being found guilty on the Day of Judgement, but Yom Kippur is also the Day of Atonement, when all sincere Ba’alei Teshuvah are guaranteed forgiveness from G-d. it is this most comforting element of Yom Kippur that allows us to rejoice during the festival of forgiveness.
The verb “Ve’Initem”, in addition to meaning that you shall afflict your souls, can also be translated, you shall allow your souls to sing. You shall free your soul of all of its usual bodily needs and desires and dedicate a 26-hour period to your soul and to G-d. Within the comforting embrace of our G-d of love and forgiveness on Yom Kippur, our bodily needs become of almost no account as our souls, take over our bodies, signing to G-d. Yom Kippur is a grand and unique opportunity for a Jew to receive a new beginning in life, a second chance. That’s why the Talmud in Taanis tells us that G-d gave us the second tablets on Yom Kippur symbolizing that G-d always gives us a second chance to become better human beings.
Judaism is, at its essence, an optimistic forgiving religion that allows for change and the ability of a person to forge new relationships with others and with G-d. That is why G-d gave Moses the second set of Tablets on Yom Kippur, it was His way of showing that w\even the most strained and struggling relationship can be rejuvenated, if both parties care enough to make it right. The prayers of Yom Kippur reflects this perspective, calling Yom Kippur, a special, unique day. More than ten times, we repeat that this day serves to atone for all our sins, to purify us and restore our holy character, because on Yom Kippur, by attaining repentance and forgiveness our bond to the Creator is restored and renewed. The crucial message of the day is not just that the opportunity for a clean slate exists, it is how we realize that opportunity. We do this, by concentrating on our soul. All year long, there is an existential conflict between body and soul, between the physical, material needs and desires of a person and his spiritual soul. In virtually all the battles between the forces of the spiritual and the physical, the physical desires win. We feed, indulge, and pamper our physical cravings at every turn, doing, that which feels good, and that which brings us pleasure. On Yom Kippur, the day belongs to the soul, as our physical activities are diminished, if not altogether eliminated. The soul, freed of its physical bonds, can now soar upwards, ascending to higher and higher levels of existence, where it can express it deepest feeling and emotions. On Yom Kippur we become like angels, who neither sleep, eat, nor have marital relations, so that we can for one day a year devote ourselves exclusively to singing the praises of G-d, dressed in white and confident that our true nature, the G-dly soul, is being fulfilled. Such lofty elevation of the spirit is exhilarating, thrilling and joyous.
The sounding of the shofar at the end of the day is directly linked to the shofar blast that once was sounded each half century on the jubilee year. Just as that dramatic shofar blast signaled freedom through a release from debts and an end to physical slavery, so our own shofar blast symbolizes the ability of a Jew to rise above material and physical desires and free the soul to soar to heights rarely reached by mere human beings. The spiritual freedom that comes with such a holy journey blissfully energizes the one who embarks on it. Now we understand that the word “VeInitem” which is translated to afflict your souls, also means to answer in song because all year, the soul asks of the body, Why is the body always favored over the soul. When will I, the soul be given top priority for a change? On Yom Kippur G-d commands us to “Ve’Initem Et Nafshotaichem”, which really means “to answer our souls” and declare that today Yom Kippur, is truly the day of the soul, its grand chance to rise above and beyond. If we follow our souls on its great spiritual adventure on Yom Kippur, then it can bring us joy rarely experienced by human beings.
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