We are up to our final day before Yom Kippur. As we have said before, the fundamental of this day is based on Bitachon. Today is a day of Simcha/ happiness. We eat all day today.
The Mekubalim say that today we should eat double what we usually eat. That is an unbelievable amount of food!
But, as Rav Wolbe says, our Yetzer Hara always gets us. We are hungry on Tisha B’Av, and we are full on Erev Kippur.
We are supposed to eat and celebrate today. Rabbenu Yona says that this is because Yom Kippur is the greatest day of the year, and we are looking forward to it. We look forward to cleansing ourselves.
Many years ago, there was a large group of hostages held in Iran. The newscasters were there when they were finally freed, and when they asked one of the hostages what he would do first, he didn’t say that he would hug his children or his dog. He said that the first thing that he was going to do was take a shower. The man hadn’t showered for a few weeks.
Well, we have not taken a spiritual shower in a year. Hashem gives us 24 hours of hot water, soap, and lather, and He cleans off all the dirt of the whole year. What a wonderful day.
Any time that you do a mitzvah with happiness, it becomes a greater Mitzvah.. so we have to believe in the power of Yom Kippur. We have to believe in the forgiveness and kindness of God, and celebrate.
On Yom Kippur, we can change, and we can clean ourselves from a full year of dirt and grime.
Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul brings down, from the sefer Pri Hadash, that the Gemara says that whoever eats on the ninth, it’s like he fasted on the ninth and tenth. But shouldn’t it say that whoever eats on the ninth is like he fasted on the ninth, and whoever fasts on the tenth is like he fasted on the tenth?
Why is it that if you eat on the ninth, it is like you fasted on the ninth and tenth? The answer he brings down is that when you eat on the ninth, it is like you fasted on the 9th and the 10th, and then you also fast on the 10th, so you get three days of Kapara.
The kapara that you end up getting because you’re celebrating the atonement is double the amount of atonement you get on the day of Yom Kippur. That is an unbelievable concept.
The seuda/meal before Yom Kippur is really like the seuda of Yom Kippur. Since we can’t eat on Yom Kippur, we push it up a day. It’s a celebration of happiness, and then, that celebration spills over into Succot; it becomes a Zman Simchatenu.
We are actually creating our Succot with the simcha that we have on Erev Kippur and Yom Kippur, with our atonement.
So let us believe in the power of Yom Kippur. Let us take advantage of every precious moment of Yom Kippur.
As the Ramchal says, there’s a light that turns on, that causes us to be able to see things that we can’t see all year. We are able to fix things that we can’t fix all year. Let us enjoy every ounce of pain, because every ounce of pain is more cleansing. Don’t complain when your stomach is growling; realize that it is a cleansing force.
If you ask the average fellow which day he dreads more, Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, most say that although shul is long, Rosh Hashanah is a nice holiday. We hear the shofar, we have a good meal, we spend time with the family… it’s a nice day. They say that on Yom Kippur, we spend all day in shul fasting.
That’s a mistake. Rosh Hashanah is the Yom HaDin. It’s the Day of Judgement. Of course, there is mercy mixed in, but it’s a scary day.
But Yom Kippur is Yom Shel Rachamim/ a Day of Mercy and kindness. It’s an ocean of mercy, that we dive into. It was a special gift that Hashem gave us after the sin of the golden calf, which Moshe Rabbenu created after 40 days and 40 nights of prayer.
The new luchot/tablets came down, replacing the broken ones. God created a new Torah, post-sin. He created a whole new system for us.
That’s the love of God for the Jewish people.
According to the Zohar, Avraham Avinu had his Brit on this day. And just as Av raham became God’s child on this day, it’s the day that we express that we are God’s children.
Hashuvenu Avinu LTorahtecha
Return us, our Father, to Your Torah
B’ezrat Hashem, we will all gain and benefit from this great day.
Celebrate today, because when Hashem sees the celebration, He gives us even more reward, because it shows that we really want to come close to Him, that we really want to come clean.
Have a wonderful day and a meaningful fast.