Today’s thought relates both to Ahavat Yisrael and the Aseret Yemei Teshuva, as well as Yom Kippur, which is coming upon us.
The Rambam tells us that the custom of all Jewish people is to increase our charity and kindness during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva. The Meshech Chochma is bothered by this. He says that charity and hesed are very nice, but the Aseret Yemei Teshuva are days of repentance, when we prepare for Yom Kippur. So why is charity and kindness an integral part of this process?
In order to explain, he first describes how the Kohen Gadol walks into the Holy of Holies, which represents the ultimate of process of Teshuva. Our Musaf prayers, and everything revolve around the Kohen Gadol. What exactly happens when the Kohen Gadol walks into the Holy of Holies? He explains that the Kohen Gadol represents the Jewish people. When the Jewish people are removed from physicality, as we are on Yom Kippur, we can connect to our Source, which is God. And when we connect to God, that purifies us. Just like contaminated water that joins a Mikveh becomes pure (because it joins the larger body of pure water), if the Jewish people connect to God, that brings them purity. And that is what happens on Yom Kippur. That is why we give charity and do acts of kindness during these ten days- Because we want to root ourselves in the Jewish people. The unit called “Klal Yisrael,” the Jewish people at large, are always connected. He compares this to a tree in the ground with a branch that is not connected to it. That branch can be connected to the tree and then it becomes part of the tree. The branch does not have to be placed in the ground. It can be grafted to the tree, and then because the tree is in the ground, the branch is also considered in the ground. So too, the Jewish people are always connected to God. How do we connect ourselves to God? We might not be able to directly connect to God, but if we connect to the Jewish people, that purifies us.
In his words,
הדבוק בכלל ישראל נטהר מטומאתו
The one that clings to the Jewish people, is purified from contamination,
בתוך כל ישראל עמנו by being part of the Jewish people, our nation,
הדבוקים בד' תמיד
They are constantly connected to God
That is a powerful thought about the importance of Avahat Yisrael, especially during these days, because it is necessary for the Teshuva process: connect to the Jewish people, and thereby, be connected to God and be purified.