That’s right. Okay, rabotai (gentlemen), even during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (Ten Days of Repentance)? Okay, let me know. So, rabotai, we have a beautiful section in the Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah (Foundation and Root of the Service) that is very appropriate. It’s really about the whole Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, Tzom Gedaliah (Fast of Gedaliah), Shabbat Shuvah (Shabbat of Return), and the whole Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) service. Since we’re in it, we’ll learn it. Davar be'ito mah tov (A matter in its time is good). Number one: Aseret Yemei Teshuvah.
Vehineh yada'ta ki Aseret Yemei Teshuvah keva'am haBoreh yitbarach shemo berov rachamav vachasadav (Behold, you know that the Creator established the Ten Days of Repentance in His abundant mercy and kindness). It’s a chesed (kindness). Od metzo mazor teref lemachalat avonot. Boreh Olam gave us a mazor, like a cure, in order to get vaccinated against the disease of avonot. Af leyachid—again, even an individual; you don’t need a minyan (prayer quorum), as we learned from the Rambam (Maimonides). During the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, the yachid has a din (law) of a tzibbur (community). Af leyachid sheyashuv ba'aveirot shebeyado, kemo she'amru raboteinu al pasuk, “Dirshu Hashem behimatze'o” (Seek Hashem when He may be found).
Elu—what are these days? Asarah yamim shemeRosh HaShanah ad Yom Kippur. Vehineh kevar chalfu ve'avru sheneihem meRosh HaShanah mecheshbon shel Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. The rabbi is already in the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. He said, “Rabotai, you’re down two!” The two days of Rosh HaShanah are already in the bank, so you’ve got only eight left.
Vehineh yamim ba'im shebein kesseh le'asor, lachen yir'eh kol adam po'al Elohim uma'asehu yaskil la'asot hachanah derabbah hi liteshuvah. You have to prepare. Why? Kol shiv'at hayamim yafrish ha'adam et atzmo veyeishev badad, hitbodedut—go into the forests, contemplate, meditate, talk to yourself, you know, reevaluate—during the seven days before Kippur. You have two, then seven, and then one. During the seven days in between, you should really make hitbodedut. Veyeishev badad veyidom lachkor ulechapes al kol perat uferat, sur mera va'aseh tov (Turn from evil and do good), katan, gadol, la'azov derech rasha—leave the bad stuff—becharatah gemurah al he'avar. Of course, feel bad. Vegoder geder, and make fences, la'amod baperetz begedarim useyagim, so you don’t go back to the same aveirot (transgressions).
Uchevar milato amurah lema'alah bechodesh Elul. Go look at what I said over there in Elul (month of Elul), veye'ayen adam heiteiv bahem veyir'eh letaken bayamim ha'elu la'asot bahem teshuvah befora avar uvechol mah sheyuchal. Hen beta'anitim—obviously, fasting is important—and usha'ar sigufim, and all other types of punishments to your body. Vechol siguf bein katan uvein gadol nechshav lifnei haBoreh yitbarach shemo liteshuvah. Anything you do to punish your body a little for kapparah (atonement) is something. You shouldn’t think it has to be rolling in the snow and the thorns. Even less than that is something.
Hen bentinat tzedakah (charity). Sometimes when a guy gives tzedakah, it hurts. It doesn’t matter. That tzedakah is a big item during these times. Af yoter miyechulto—ah! Af veyoter miyechulto! You have to give where it hurts. A guy has eighteen thousand in the bank. He gives a thousand. But with eighteen thousand, he got off easy! The guy could give a thousand, fifteen hundred. Ah, that five hundred hurts him now. Now he’s got to scramble for the five hundred; he doesn’t have it. Good!
Rabbi Yehudah Ades once told that to a rich guy. He said, “I want tzedakah.” The guy said, “Okay, but I want it to hurt you. I don’t want to take it; I want it to hurt a little.” The guy said, “I like that.” Meaning, it’s a new way of giving. You know, everyone gives comfortably. You’re giving less than you really should. He said, “No, don’t give what you’re supposed to. I want you to give so that after you walk away, you say, ‘Ah, ouch! That hurt me.’” That’s already kapparah. Veya'aseh tikkun karet—learn all night. Kenezkar le'eil bechodesh Elul. Now, these guys had sins, rabotai, so they had to do all these things. These guys we’re talking about, the Yesod VeShoresh, had a bunch of sins, so they had to make tikkun karet and do sigufim. Well, Baruch Hashem, we can suffice with the Ana that we bang in the morning, and that’s it: go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go water skiing.
Veyekabel al atzmo be'Erev Rosh HaShanah: shelo yedaber shum sichat chullin meRosh HaShanah ad Yom Kippur. You should make a kabbalah on Erev Rosh HaShanah not to speak any mundane conversation from Rosh HaShanah until Yom Kippur. Okay, ta'anit dibbur, basically, from Erev Rosh HaShanah until after Motza'ei Kippur. Ume'et gam ken bidvarim—even things that are necessary—don’t even do them, bechol mah she'efshar. Vehu minhag chasidim rishonim vechol she'ar minei chasidut. Even forget about chalav Yisrael (Jewish-supervised milk) and pat Yisrael (Jewish-supervised bread); that’s automatic. He’s giving you now, af shelo hayah noheg oto issur bechol hashanah, everybody noheg bechasidut during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. Okay, then he says pat akum (bread baked by non-Jews).
Vechatav Ari zal (Rabbi Isaac Luria): hamit'aneh bahem, anybody who fasts during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah ve'oseh teshuvah gemurah bechol libo, shelo yachzor le'otan aveirot, mochalin lo bechol yom miyemei hashavua shebe'Aseret Yemei Teshuvah mah shechata bayom le'olam. So he gets kapparah for all the Sundays of his whole life. That’s a big bonus over here, rabotai. At least you won’t get the punishment in olam hazeh (this world). It’s not like that, but that’s something.
Okay, that’s the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. Now, Tzom Gedaliah, which is behind us, but let’s see what we did on that day. Tzom harevi'i, tzom hachamishi, tzom hashevi'i. Now, I have to assume that for sure the chachamim (Sages) had in mind to get us fasting during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. I don’t know if, if it wasn’t Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, Tzom Gedaliah would have been one of the four. But because it’s Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, they said, “Okay, excuse finally, okay, we got them to fast.” If they jumped on Aseret Yemei Teshuvah—“Hey, we’re fasting on Kippur”—that’s a different item, Tzom Gedaliah.
Darshu rabboteinu, tzom hashevi'i, zeh Tzom Gedaliah, vetzom zeh hu ke'inyan Tishah be'Av (Ninth of Av). Look at this: ki beyom zeh neherag Gedalyah ben Achikam (Gedaliah son of Achikam), shenish'ar techef achar hachurban habayit rishon. He was the last hope after the bayit rishon (First Temple). Im yeter hapleitah midalat am ha'aretz shenish'aru sham, they were still in Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel) after the churban. Uva'avonoteinu harabbim neherag Gedalyah, hayah ketzat pleitah. Gedalyah was like the governor. He was leading the people, so there was hope for the yishuv (settlement). Ki Nevuchadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar) hifkid et Gedalyah be'Eretz Yehudah al kol adat am ha'aretz asher nish'aru sham. Nevuchadnetzar appointed Gedalyah. So, therefore, you had a Jewish presence in Eretz Yisrael. Gedalyah was leading them.
Uchesheneherag Gedalyah, that’s it—the leader died. Or he got killed, actually. Barchu kol ha'am Benei Yisrael me'Eretz Yehudah. They went to Mitzrayim (Egypt), vehalchu leMitzrayim, vesham nehergu kulam. When they got to Mitzrayim, they all got killed. So it was a one-two, one-two blow. The rest of the Jews who were in Eretz Yisrael went to galut (exile). So they went to Mitzrayim. Right, who’s Ged—yeah, exactly. Yeah, one guy, one guy, one guy. One guy, because everybody died. Kimeforash hakol bapasuk. Vegam Eretz Yehudah nish'arah, and three, Eretz Yisrael remained barren. So there were no more people in Eretz Yisrael, vecharvah mikol vakol.
Ve'al ken nikba tzom hazeh al harigat hatzaddik (righteous person), ve'al harigat am kadosh Benei Yisrael la'alafim velirvavot. Tens of thousands of people died on that day. Al yedei harigato, ve'al churban eretz hakedoshah. Lachen bechol et uvechol rega shel yom tzom zeh, yachnis belibo kol ish me'am kadosh tza'ar (distress) ve'anachot. So I take it back: today is a big day. They probably would have done it regardless. Happened to be that it’s Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. Le'onen ulekonen churban beit mikdashenu vetif'artenu, you have to think about it on that day, al harigat hatzaddik veyeter hapleitah. Uvayichud yiten kolo bivchi be'et amirat haselichot (penitential prayers). We have the selichot of Tzom Gedaliah anyway; you should cry.
Okay, now we get to yesterday, which was Shabbat Shuvah. Let’s see what we were supposed to do. Vehineh yom ge'ulah mechet ve'avon vafesha yom Shabbat. The key of teshuvah (repentance) is shemirat Shabbat (observance of Shabbat). Im tishmeru bechol perateha—if you keep it with all its perateha—bedibbur, bema'aseh, machashavah. Ki ikar veshoresh gadol veyesod musar hateshuvah, hi shemirat Shabbat kehilchatah. That’s the biggie. Shabbat, otiot, tashev. Kema'amar rabboteinu zichronam livrachah, kol hashomer Shabbat kehilchato—whoever keeps Shabbat kehilchato—even oved avodah zarah (idolatry), rachmana litzlan, like the dor Enosh (generation of Enosh), mochalin lo.
Velachen zeh shemot shekaru Shabbat shebein Keseh le'Asor, Shabbat Teshuvah. Why do we call the Shabbat between Rosh HaShanah and Kippur Shabbat Teshuvah? Ki shemirato kehilchato yesod ve'ikar hateshuvah. Right, because shemirah of Shabbat is the fundamental principle that brings us to teshuvah. Lachen yizaher adam me'od lishmor vela'asot oto kehilchato. Now, the only way you could do it kehilchato is to learn it: bechol peratav vedikdukav. Vegam ledabber bo sichat chullin, vegam letaher hara'ayonot—your thoughts on Shabbat—shelo yachashov be'inyanei olam hazeh. Don’t think about your business and things like this, rak beyir'at Hashem. Ve'az mochalim lo al kol mah shechata bechol shabbatot hashanah miyom hivaldo ve'ad atah. Wow, so if you did yesterday’s Shabbat correctly, it’s a kapparah for all the Shabbatot from when you were born. The Ari zal said.
Uvevadai be'eretz kedoshim hem af hamon ha'am zeh mishabbatot—even the regular guys are careful—to immerse themselves in the mikveh on Shabbat morning. Even in Shacharit, they go to the mikveh on Shabbat Teshuvah. Af she'einam nizharim bezeh beshabbatot hashanah: even though normally they’re not careful, on Shabbat Teshuvah they go to the mikveh. Gam techef acharei se'udah sheniyah, what do we do after lunch? Holchim lebeit hakeneset, back to shul. Why? Lomar Tehillim ad tefillat haminchah.
Okay, now we get to Erev Yom Kippur. At least we have something ahead of us now that we can look forward to. Minhag avoteinu beyadeinu beseder kapparot be'erev Yom Kippur minhag vatikin. It’s an old custom, kapparot, vehuva baTur vechol haposkim veRema, gam al pi ha'Ari zal tiken tikun gadol lenafsho. Vetechef bismichah shechitah, vera'ui lechol adam sheyelech hu be'atzmo etzel shochet lishchot kapparo vela'amod etzel hashochet vezeraz oto tikun hasakin. Fine. If you can find a guy who is doing chickens, it’s hard to find that today over here, in our parts. We used to have Rabbi Jamal, alav hashalom, who used to come early. That was good; we got lucky. He would bring the white chickens, like the Ari zal says, slaughter them, and do mitzvat kisui hadam (the commandment of covering blood).
Vera'ui le'adam sheyarbeh bitzedakah beyom zeh af yoter mikedei yecholto. Erev Kippur, you have to give tzedakah also, until it pinches. Ki netinat hatzedakah hi segulah nifla'ah lechapparat avonot uviyichud le'evyonim mehuganim ba'alei Torah. Finish! Give your money to Kollel Chatzot on Erev Kippur; we’ll give it out to them. It’s safe.
Se'udat erev Yom Kippur. Ah, the se'udah on Erev Yom Kippur is also a big item. Can you designate the money for Kippur, meaning to buy aliyot (Torah honors) and stuff? Or is this something separate? Sounds like it’s a separate item. Segulah nifla'ah lechapparat is netinat hatzedakah, huh? So it says here, Ve'initem et nafshoteichem betish'ah lachodesh, velachen lo ya'aseh adam otah kechazir min hamu'adah. It’s a mitzvah de'oraita. Don’t—it's okay to eat on Erev Kippur, okay, so you eat.
Veyechaven she'oseh bise'udah zo nachat ruach laBore yitbarach. Before you sit down to eat, leshem yichud. Veno'am. Ve'im ko zoti yir'ato panav. Of course, you’re not eating for hana'ah; you’re eating for the mitzvah. Bitira shem kevodo ba'achilah zo bikdushah leshem shamayim yetukan kol achilah shel issur. All the achilah they had during the issur of the year, you metaken with achilah on Erev Kippur. Gam ribui ha'achilot—all the gluttony during the year—shenichshal venilkad bahem kol hashanah, like the Ari zal said. So, therefore, this eating over here is a big tikkun.
Vechacham einav bero'sho shelo yemalle bitno. The purpose of eating on Erev Kippur is not to fill yourself up, shebivadai achar kach yitcharet be'atzmo. Because who knows what’s happening? When you eat too much, you get tired, you fall asleep, you can’t learn, and you’re going to regret it. Veyizaher me'od ba'aniyim velimud al shulchano. Right, obviously, you have to invite the aniyim (poor people) to participate as part of the se'udah, and have divrei Torah at the table, ve'achar kach Birkat Hamazon. So I want you to wash, obviously, bekavanah.
Ve'im yirtzeh lishon—now, if a guy wants to sleep on Erev Kippur—yizaher me'od limsor hashinah leshomer, which means you have to either have an alarm clock or have a shomer, sheyakitz oto mishnato be'et ve'onah sheyikba kedei shelo yiheyeh lo et vesho'teh al hashinah la'asot hakol, ki yesh harbeh. It’s a busy day. He’s saying, basically, you woke up early in the morning on Erev Kippur. At 3:00 in the morning you went to the shochet, then you went to selichot, then you went to pray, and you had your se'udah. Already by 9:00, the guy’s been up for six or eight hours, so he’s tired. But when you get up, I know, immerse in the mikveh. So the item of Erev Kippur is mikveh.
Yaki, you’ll give us the code so we can get into the—Yeah. Vechiyuv tevilah beyom zeh, it’s chiyuv. But do they usually have the kavanot? Oh, so let’s see. So let’s see here. Beparashat Pinchas, it says here, ba'eynan benei heichala betish'ah leyarcha leme'vad chedva ulemidbar benahara ledaka'ah. Wow, so there’s a Zohar beferush: on the ninth day of Tishrei, you have to dip in the mikveh. Ad kan. Vegam sheyiheyeh lo sha'ah lehitpallel Minchah binkiyut, meaning you have to pray Minchah bekavanah, ve'achar tefillah malkot. It’s an old custom; they used to give malkot (lashes).
Mikveh before tefillah, exactly. Vehayom Shulchan Aruch, Rema, and there are sefarim: they used to do sigufim, they used to do arba mitot beit din on themselves, all these things here. They did all sorts of contraptions to give themselves the arba mitot beit din. Vekodem havidui shebitefilat Minchah, we pray Minchah regularly, then we say yihyu leratzon imrei fi in the Amidah (Standing Prayer), and then we do the vidui—you have to confess.
Rabbim nohagim litbol bemikveh gam ken achar se'udah hamafseket, right before town. So now they’re like the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) on Erev Kippur, already going twice. That means they go before shul. You see a lot of guys on the way to shul, before they come back for Arvit, jump in the mikveh again. “Kodem—yeah, they do it twice. Before Minchah—” “Say again how they do it?” “They go before Minchah, then they pray Minchah, then they have se'udah hamafseket, mikveh, Arvit.”
Kodem sheyelech leveit hakneset yevarech et banav. You bless your children bivchiyah atzumah. Ve'ikar haberachah sheyihyu ovdei Hashem, that they should be servants, veyiten lahem Hashem yitbarach sechel uvinah baTorah uteshukah gedolah lilmod yomam valailah. That basically means learners. Veyiten lahem chayim veshanim aruchim—long life—and they should see their own children, bnei vanim, oskim baTorah umitzvot kol yemei chayeihem. Veyochi'ach otam: you have to give them rebuke so they don’t fool around. You have to have yir'at Shamayim.
Vechen, and therefore, veyizaher ha'adam me'od kodem sheyelech lebeit hakeneset lefayes lemi shehiknit. If anybody he bothered during the year, or maybe needled, he should make amends. Afilu dibur be'alma—even if it’s just a dibur—ki dina deGemara. The Gemara says that. Veyizaher ha'adam me'od bazeh. Gam yizaher ha'adam be'erev Yom Kippurim leshalem kol mah shenadar be'inyanei tzedakah. Pay your debts! If you made a pledge to tzedakah, especially now with the holidays, you might as well pay it. You get the benefit of the tzedakah beforehand. What’s the difference? You pledged it already, so why shouldn’t you? You have to pay it anyway, so you might as well pay it when you can get the benefit. Exactly.
Veyizaher ha'adam me'od letaken the fiscal year, fiscal year. I know, you have to do fiscal year. The fiscal year-end, right? So the fiscal year should be before Rosh HaShanah. That’s really when you should put the cutoff date, not February, whatever it is.
Veyizaher ha'adam me'od letaken betoch kol tikun inyanei avodat haboreh yitbarach shemo, sheyargish be'atzmo sheyavo lebeit hakeneset kodem lazeh shehu naki vetahor mikol mum. When you come to Kol Nidrei, you should already feel that you’re purified to a certain degree, mamash kemal'achei Elokim, because you made teshuvah already before, and now you’re making teshuvah again.
Vekodem sheyikanes lebeit hakeneset, you have to say the following: “Hareini mekabel alai le'anot nafshi vegufi beyom hakipurim hazeh.” I’m accepting upon myself the inuyim. We have it in our siddur. “Ka'asher tzivani yotzri uvori, ve'initem, vehareini mekabel alai isur melachah vachamishah inuyim: isur achilah, shetiyah, rechitzah, sichah, ne'ilat hasandal, vetashmish hamitah, leshem yichud Kudsha Brich Hu ushchinteih (The Holy One, blessed be He, and His Presence).” Veyechaven be'et kabalat arba'ah vechamishah inuyim kavanah ketzerah shehu metaken, vesarich bar nash lekabala aleih chamesh inuyin, begin inui degarim lehahi ila'ah, the chamishah inuyim keneged haShechinah (Divine Presence). Which means, if, God forbid, a person caused tza'ar to the Shechinah during the year, which is keneged the final heh in Hashem’s name, then we do heh inuyim letaken mah shepagamnu be'ot heh, degala begaluta ve'etkeryat aniyah so'arah lo nuchamah.
Okay, now we get to Kol Nidrei (All vows). “If you give erev, you don’t have time to give to them. You have to just say, ‘I’m going to give that’?” No, you mezakeh to them. Mazkin le'adam shelo befanav: you mezakeh to them. They’re not spending it on Erev Kippur either. You mezakeh to them. “Give it to the—give it to the... this is for the guys.” Then we pick it up and give it to them before Sukkot, but it’s already theirs! Meaning, they were zocheh.
Vehayah ki tavo el beit hakeneset, techef umiyad yitvadeh benosach ashamnu bagadnu. That’s the first thing. We sing Lecha Eli (To You, my God), which is vidui. Kefi shebe'arnu lemalah, dehainu lehitvadot bechol ot ve'ot shel alef-bet: “ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu,” ish ish, et kol nig'ei levavo asher yada be'atzmo shelo hayah nizaher bema'alot eleh. Veyizaher ha'adam beviduy zeh kodem Kol Nidrei, before Kol Nidrei, ki hu dina deGemara, al pi perush haRamban (Nachmanides), she'ikar haviduy hu Erev Yom Kippur im chashechah. Some say the main vidui is on Erev Kippur, going into Kippur. Some people have the custom of coming before sheki'ah and making one more vidui. “Okay, our custom—” “Yeah, but it’s not before sheki'ah, really; it’s im, im sheki'ah.” “But okay, bein hashemashot, close enough.” “Take the tefillin—” “What is this, tefillin? No, we’re done with that. Now we’re in Kol Nidrei.” “Yeah, our custom.”
Vezeh leshon haGemara deyoma: tanu rabanan, mitzvat viduy kipurim im chashechah. How does it mean im chashechah? Ahar achilah mesheyekabel alav Yom Kippur, it sounds like it’s still day. Aval ameru chachamim yitvadeh kodem sheyochal—but you’re really supposed to make vidui before you eat—veyishteh, shema titaref da'ato base'udah. That’s why we make vidui in Minchah. We’re worried something might happen during the se'udah and you might miss the whole boat. Ve'af al pi shehitvadeh kodem she'achal, yitvadeh le'ahar sheyochal veyishteh, shema eira devar takalah base'udah. Wow, maybe you did something wrong during the se'udah. Ve'af al pi shehitvadeh Arvit, yitvadeh Shacharit; Shacharit yitvadeh Musaf; Musaf yitvadeh Minchah; Minchah yitvadeh Ne'ilah.
Huvah beVeit Yosef uveRan beyoter be'ur zeh. Perush haRamban: mitzvat viduy Erev Yom Kippur im chashechah samuch leyom atzmo. Samuch leyom—it’s still daytime. Aval chashu chachamim shema titaref da'ato base'udah, lefichach ameru alav lehitvadot kodem achilah. Ve'af al pi shehitvadeh kodem achilah, chozer umitvadeh im chashechah samuch leyom atzmo. And then you have vidui shel Arvit, a different vidui. So it’s hard to come back early and tell people to come back while it’s still light outside. Aval vidui shel Arvit, shevidui shebeKippurim atzmo, lo katani. Yes, a different item. Bevadai mitvadeh beYom Kippur. No, I don’t need to tell you to make vidui on Kippur. Ela katani af al pi shehitvadeh Arvit, mitvadeh Shacharit. Right, that means you keep on doing it.
Lachen yasad adam bezeh, vechen pashat haminhag bechamah mekomot lehitvadot betzibur kodem Kol Nidrei. That’s what we do: we read Lecha Eli and say the vidui. Okay, now what? You said Lecha Eli; you said the vidui. Now, ve'achar havidui motzi'im sefer Torah min haheichal, venikra bisfarim, sefer Torah shel Kol Nidrei. Ufli'ah nisgavah be'einai lada'at mah zeh ve'al mah zeh, lo nahagu ken bechol batei knesiyot. What, there’s another minhag? You know, not everybody takes out a sefer Torah for Kol Nidrei?
Ki davar zeh meforash baTur: Arvit, nichnasim leveit hakeneset, ve'omrim bezeh halashon: “Biyshivah shel ma'alah uviyshivah shel matah,” umotzi sefer Torah shliach tzibur, ve'ochezah becheiko, ve'omer: “Kol Nidrei ve'esarei.” Uva davar zeh baAvudraham, vechen katav ha'Ari zal. Vehu, the Ari mafli me'od betikkun zeh shel hotza'at sefer Torah beKol Nidrei, ki hu tikkun gadol lemi shepagam ba'avon nedarim. That’s why we make hatarat nedarim. Uvyichud behotza'at zeh lo levatalah, rachmana litzlan. Sheyikneh sefer Torah zeh—he pays for it, afilu bemamon harbeh, even with a lot of money. Dehaynu sheyotzi hu hasefer Torah min haheichal, veyochaz be'et—when they’re saying Kol Nidrei, he holds on to it. Ve'ikar sheyechabek veyenashek sefer haTorah, he holds and hugs and kisses it, veyitvadeh, veyefaret avonotav kodem sheyiftach shliach tzibur Kol Nidrei, and confesses his sins.
Ve'inyan tikkun hotza'at sefer Torah rishon min haheichal, ve'im kozeh, im lo tasig liknot sefer Torah rishon, yikneh sefer acher. Ki ra'ui veyashar hu lehotzi kol hasefarim sheyesh baheichal. That’s our custom: all the sefarim from the heichal. Ve'ikar, sheyehiyeh sefer Torah kesheirah. Vetikkun zeh lechapparat avon hotza'at sefer Torah kesheirah, nirmaz beparashat Vayechi. Chad asuta ishtakach lah be'ama dela yatir, there’s a certain remedy that we have, behahu atar de'ishtakchun inun dela'an be'oraita, in a place where the talmidei chachamim are studying Torah, veyishtakach beineiho sefer Torah dela mishtakar beih, a sefer Torah that doesn’t have any mistakes. Kad mafkei hai—when they bring it out of the heichal in order to pray—beginei mita'arei ila'ei vetata'ei. The zechut is hit'orerut in the upper worlds. Vechol sheken i ketiv shem... especially if they wrote the shemot of Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei with the kavanot. That’s a big item, to take it out be'et tzarah.
So we have some beautiful sefarim over there. Rabbi Ben Zikri, shlita—he will live and be well, I mean, shlita—wrote an unbelievable sefer with kavanot on the Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei, and we have that in the heichal over there, tremendous kavanot. “Did he give you the kavanot of the mikveh?” “No, he didn’t.” Veha olifna milah. So tikkun zeh, velachen tiknu kadmonim la'asot tikkun zeh be'et Kol Nidrei lechaper.
Uvvadai ra'ui lechol mi sheyesh yecholet beyado, yishtadel letaken tikkun gadol venifla zeh be'oto beit hakeneset shemitpalel bo, or the tent that you’re praying in. Umikol sheken, umikol sheken im yesh beyado letaken tikkun zeh beveit hakeneset, sheyotzi sefer Torah be'et amirat Kol Nidrei, mutal alav. I guess it wasn’t rampant to take out a sefer Torah during Kol Nidrei; he’s making them have high eyes. So if you can influence the people to get the sefer Torah, he says they have zechut harabim.
Vetov veyafeh sheya'aseh adam tikkun zeh besefer shebeyado al mekomo kero'eh beit hakeneset, ve'achar zeh yachzir hasefer Torah el haheichal. “Is there a difference between the first Torah and the second Torah, or...?” “No, it’s the one that he designated for Kol Nidrei. The sixth one, the first one, he designates, yeah.” “It doesn’t matter. But the other ones that come out, what is that just...?” “The other ones are, like he says, part of the tikkun: you should carry a sefer Torah during Kol Nidrei. But there’s the Kol Nidrei sefer.” “Is there a specific person who should carry it?” “That’s the one that’s Kol Nidrei. That is the one with Kol Nidrei. But then you have the other ones that he says, also inyan to bring out the...” “Is that a tikkun for that also, to carry it?” “Yes, yes. We just read it. I mean, he said over here: sheyikneh sefer Torah zeh beKol Nidrei, afilu bemamon harbeh, dehaynu sheyotzi hu sefer Torah min haheichal, veyochaz be'et amirat Kol Nidrei. Ve'ikar sheyechabek veyenashek...” “Kodem.” “...Ve'ikar tikkuno behotza'at sefer Torah rishon min haheichal. Ve'im kozeh, im lo hesig liknot sefer Torah rishon, yikneh sefer Torah acher.”
And he tells you, it’s meforash: if you can’t buy the Kol Nidrei one, buy another one. Ki ra'ui veyashar hu lehotzi kol hasefarim sheyesh baheichal. Right, all the sefarim in the heichal are metaken the person if he’s holding it during Kol Nidrei, for that suit. So, therefore, that’s an item; it’s not just a... You thought it was a gimmick, but it’s not a gimmick. There are certain things that are gimmicks; this is not a gimmick. Veye'orer adam libo me'od el habechi... Over here, though, it’s sold already, no? “Yeah, no, over here they understand it over here. Over here, in two minutes, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, they’re sold.” Veye'orer adam libo me'od el habechi be'et amirat Kol Nidrei, letaken avon nedarim, ki hu tikkun gadol me'od... me'od. And veyezaher le'omro bechavanah, ki hu gam mitikunei hatefilah. Fine.
Birkat Shehecheyanu. Okay, now we say Shehecheyanu. Yomar kol yachid ushliach tzibur belachash. Okay, we recite it with the chazan or let the chazan recite it, either way. And then finish it before the chazan so you can answer amen. Vayevarech besimchah. It’s not Tishah be'Av, rabotai. Vehoda'ah atzumah bemachashavto laShem yitbarach shezikah oto lechayim le'et zeh sheyachol la'asot nachat ru'ach bekiyum mitzvotav, five inuyim, no melachah, tefilot. It’s a great, great day.
Achar kach yitpalel tefilat Arvit bechavanah atzumah, bechol hakavanot, whatever kavanot are. Vera'ui me'od lehitnaheg bechol batei chenesiyot she'af sheyesayem sheliach tzibur Kol Nidrei yamtin lehatchil Barechu ad tzet hakochavim. Ah, you shouldn’t start Arvit until tzet, until nightfall. You know, they were praying early because of the vidui. So he says that even though you finished early, you should wait to start Arvit until tzet, so you say the Keri'at Shema (recitation of the Shema) at the proper time, likrot Keri'at Shema bizmanah. Vera'ui lechol adam lehishtadel bechol zeh. But we’re good anyway, because between the selling and Kol Nidrei, by the time we start Arvit, you’re fine.
Uvekri'at Shema shel Yom Kippur deChol Nidrei veshacharit yechaven adam bechavanat pasuk Shema bekitzur kedei sheyomar Baruch Shem bekhol ram im hatzibur. Wow. He’s saying don’t have so many kavanot in the Shema of Arvit and Shacharit of Kippur, because we want you to say Baruch Shem with the tzibur. Baruch Shem (Blessed be the Name)—the inyan is to say it with the tzibur. Veyitpalel adam, that’s what you just said. He says, yechaven kavanat shel hapasuk bekitzur kedei sheyuchal lomar Baruch Shem bechol ram im hatzibur. That’s ikar.
Veyitpalel adam tefilat Amidah bivchiyah gedolah. After the Amidah, we say, you know, some say no apayim, and there’s a vidui. Havidui hi mitzvat aseh min haTorah; it’s a mitzvah to make vidui, like it says in the Rambam. Kol mitzvot shebaTorah bein aseh bein lo ta'aseh im avar adam al achat mehem—if he did a sin, whether he did it bezadon or shogeg—kesheya'aseh teshuvah, when you make teshuvah, veyashuv mecheto, chayav lehitvadot: you have to confess. Shene'emar, “Ish o ishah...” vego'... “Vehitvadu.” Vezeh vidui devarim, verbal. Vezeh mitzvat aseh. It’s amazing: you make a sin, and you have a mitzvat aseh to get rid of it. Unbelievable.
Keitzad mitvadin? How do you make vidui? Omer: “Ana Hashem chatati aviti pashati asiti kach vechach, vaharei nichamti,” I regret it, “uvoshti,” I’m embarrassed, “bema'asai, ule'olam eini chozer ledavar zeh.” I will never do it again. Vezehu ikaro shel vidui. Vechol hamarbeh lehitvadot uma'arich be'inyan zeh harei zeh meshubach. Vechen ba'alei chata'ot va'ashamot be'et shemevi'in korbanoteihem—when a person brings a korban, a chatat or asham—so also he has to make vidui at the time of the korban, shene'emar, “Vehitvada asher chata aleha.” Vechen kol chayevei mitot beit din, umalkot, ein mitkaper ela beteshuvah.
Chovel bachavero—you damaged a friend—umazik: even though you paid him, you have to ask for forgiveness. You have to ask God for mechilah also, because it’s a sin between God and man. Sa'ir hamishtale'ach lefi shehu kaparah al kol Yisrael, Kohen Gadol mitvadeh alav. Fine. Ve'od zeh leshono: “Umah hi teshuvah? Sheya'azov hachote cheto veyesiro mimachashavto veyigmor belibo shelo ya'asehu od.” That’s it, no more. Shene'emar, “Ya'azov rasha darko.” Vechen yitnachem: you have to regret the past. Shene'emar, “Ki acharei shuvi nichamti.” Veya'id alav yode'a ta'alumot. God has to testify that the guy is so contrite, shelo yashuv lazeh hacheit le'olam, and that he will not return to this sin. Utzrich lehitvadot bisfatav: it has to be verbal, velomar inyanot elu shegamar belibo.
Kol hamitvadeh bidevarim velo gamar belibo la'azov—even if you make a vidui devarim, but you didn’t accept that you would leave the sin—so it’s like tovel vesheretz beyado. It’s like you went to the mikveh and you’re still holding on to the sheretz (creature deemed impure). Harei zeh domeh letovel vesheretz beyado, she'ein tevilah mo'elet until you chuck the sheretz. Vechen hu omer, “Umodeh ve'ozev yerucham.” Utzrich lefaresh et hacheit: you have to actually say the sin. Shene'emar, “Ana chata ha'am hazeh.”
Miderachei hateshuvah lihyot hashav tzo'ek tamid lifnei Hashem—the shav is always screaming, crying, tachanunim—ve'oseh tzedakah. That’s the Rambam: he does tzedakah kefi kocho, umitrachek harbeh min hadavar shechata, and he distances himself from the sin. Umeshaneh shemo: sometimes they change his name. “I’m a new guy.” Klomar, “Ani acher ve'eini oto ha'ish she'asah otan hama'asim.” He has a new alias. Umeshaneh ma'asav: he changes his actions, kulam letovah ulederech yesharah, vegoleh.
What does it mean, change his name? Till now they called him Albert. All of a sudden he says, “No, no, I’m Avraham now.” What happened to you? “I was Albert.” Now he wants to be called by his Hebrew name. Okay, shinui hashem. That’s why you see these guys sometimes, the ba'alei teshuvah: you call them by their old English name—“Hey, Jack!” “No, Ya'akov.” Mechilah, Ya'akov. What’s the guy getting all bent out of shape for? You were Ya'akov your whole life. Because he doesn’t want to remember Jack. Jack was a bum. Now he made shinui hashem, so call me by my Hebrew name. “I’m Ya'akov. Jack was the old guy. I’m not that guy anymore. I’m Ya'akov.”
And therefore, what, let him go to different places where they don’t know him? Shegalut mechaperet avon. Let him go places. I saw great tzaddikim; they imposed galuyot upon themselves. Rav Shalom Shvadron, alav hashalom, the maggid (sermonizer) from Yerushalayim, put himself on these trips. He goes and sleeps alone in a basement apartment. Who knows what tikkunim he was making? He goes to a small midrash; nobody knows what’s going on. It brings a person to humility.
Yom Kippur hu zeman teshuvah lakol. That’s a teshuvah for everybody, layachid velarabim, vehu ketz mechilah uselichah leyisrael. It’s a time of mechilah. Lefichach chayavim hakol la'asot teshuvah ulehitvadot beYom Kippur. Umitzvat vidui Yom Kippur sheyatchil me'erev Yom Kippur, kodem sheyochal. Like we said, the vidui is done before you eat, shema yechanek bise'udah, maybe something, God forbid, will happen. Ve'af al pi shehitvadah kodem sheyochal, chozer umitvadeh beleilei Yom Kippur Arvit, vechozer umitvadeh beshacharit uvimusaf, and then Minchah, Ne'ilah. Veheichan mitvadeh? Yachid achar tefilato, sheliach tzibbur be'emtza tefilato.
In the fourth perek: ein teshuvah veYom Kippurim mechaperim ela al averot shebein adam lamakom. Averot shebein adam lechavero—that’s not going to work.
One more paragraph. Od beperek zayin, al tomar she'ein teshuvah ela me'averot sheyesh bahem ma'aseh. Don’t think that you need to do teshuvah only for averot that involve an action: zenut, God forbid, or gezel, geneivah. That’s how more people that do— You have to make teshuvah on middot, on your behavior. What does that mean? Tzarich lechapes bede'ot ra'ot sheyesh lo: ka'as, anger—make teshuvah, ka'asnu; ve'eivah—guys are argumentative, guys, what do you call it, a guy who gets into machloket; kinah; hitul, making fun; redifat hamamon—look at that, you have to make teshuvah for running after money; vehakavod; umiredifat hama'achalot. Who makes teshuvah for that? Running after the pleasures of food, of eating, of this over here.
Min hakol tzarich lachazor beteshuvah, ve'elu ha'avonot kashim me'otam sheyesh bahem ma'aseh. They’re worse. Why? Shebizman she'adam nishka be'elu kasheh lifrosh. These are addictive. When you get involved with these things, it’s hard to leave them. Vechen hu omer, “Ya'azov rasha darko.” Darko means lifestyle. Ve'elu meforashim bakabalah. So, therefore, a person has to make teshuvah not only for averot, but for the lifestyle that is part of gluttony and ta'avot (desires), even though they’re heiter. You’re talking about—what does it mean, ribui ma'achalot? Even though it’s kosher. You know, kosher Chinese, kosher Persian; it’s still—you have, you know, right, don’t be a foodie. Exactly. These guys are eating it, eating it, eating it.
Chacham Ovadia, one time, his wife left him the food. He never eats the food. So the Rebbetzin tells the Rabbi, “Make sure you eat the food this time.” “No, I’ll eat it, Rebbetzin.” She warned him, “I don’t want to come home and find the food still there.” So she made him a sandwich over there, and next to the sandwich there were yebra leaves that she was preparing for Shabbat. The Chacham went to the kitchen, saw the yebra, and ate the yebra leaves. He didn’t know what he was eating; he ate it! He came back, and the Rebbetzin said, “Well, you didn’t eat the food?” “I ate whatever you gave me.” “What did you eat? You ate the wrong food on your plate!” He didn’t know what he was eating; he was learning. He ate the yebra leaves! His sandwich was right there, and he ate the wrong item. The tzaddikim, they’re learning. He only ate to make his wife happy, so whatever.
One time the Chacham was in the shiur, so they brought him a coffee. He said, “No, no...” This was when he was young. He said, “No, if there’s hot chocolate, it’s better.” “Hot chocolate? What is over here?” He says, “The coffee makes me hungry, and I don’t have anything to eat, so this is not good for me. But chocolate at least gives me a little satiation till the morning, so I can learn.” Look at the aniyut, how bad! He has to—he can’t have a coffee, because the coffee makes his appetite this. Those are the tzaddikim. Okay, that’s it. We’ll stop over here. Baruch Hashem le'olam.