YOM KIPPuR
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School
YOM KIPPUR By Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh HaYeshiva Yom Kippur| September 23, 2015 / 10 Tishrei 5776
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School
… And Cleansing Ourselves
as weighty if it does not become part of one’s identity. If a person
On Yom Kippur we strive, not only to purify the world and our
does not let him or herself be an object, be fixed, rigid, and only
relationships, but also to purify ourselves. Sin affects who we are and,
impacted by outside forces, but rather insists on his or her own
like tumah, ritual impurity, stand in the way of us drawing closer to the
personhood, the ability to define his or her own path, to change and
holy, closer to God. The radical notion of Yom Kippur is that this
to remake oneself, then, even a weighty sin, can become a light
tumah does not have to define us. We can transform and again become
one. Such a person, a person with strong character, a person who
pure.
believes in the possibility of change, can free herself of her sin, can
An insight into this process emerges from a discussion in the Talmud (Hullin 101a-b) which underscores the difference between the severity
immerse in a mikvah, and can undergo a transformation that will allow her to become a new person.
of impurity and its permanence. If a pure person eats the meat of a
What is this mikvah? Rabbi Akiva answers this in the last mishna in the
sacrifice that has become impure, the transgression is not severe. The
last chapter of Yoma, the tractate devoted to Yom Kippur:
meat, however, does have a permanent state of impurity. In contrast,
R. Akiva said: Happy are you, Israel! Who is it before whom you
when an impure person eats the meat of a sacrifice, the transgression is
become pure? And Who is it that makes you clean? Your Father Who
a severe one. And yet, the Talmud says, the situation is not a
is in Heaven, as it is said: “And I will sprinkle purifying water upon
permanent one. The person can immerse and become pure, and thus
you and ye shall be clean.” (Ezek. 36:25). And it further says: “The hope (mikvei) [read here as “immersion pool” (mikvah)] of Israel, the
his act, and certainly his state, is not as weighty as it may seem.
Lord.” (Jer. 17:13). Just as an immersion pool renders the impure
This touches on a key point of teshuva and Yom Kippur. The difference
pure, so does the Holy One, Blessed be God, render Israel pure
between foods and people, between what can become pure and what
(Mishna Yoma 8:9).
will always remain impure, is this: Foods, such as the meat of
God, not teshuva, is the mikvah. The Talmud speaks of a person who
sacrifices, are consumable, inanimate objects; they are static and fixed;
does teshuva without abandoning the sin, as one who immerses while
they
is
holding on to an impure rodent in his hand. In this understanding, one
permanent. People, on the other hand, are dynamic, with new
cannot immerse in the mikvah until one has done teshuva. But
thoughts, passions, and feelings every day, and with the ability to
sometimes we need to reverse the order. Sometimes real teshuva is
transform themselves. Their status is never fixed. Change, even purity,
not possible until we have first immersed in the mikvah, until God has
is always possible.
washed us from our sins.
There is a middle category: vessels. Vessels are inanimate, but they
While teshuva gives us the ability to transform ourselves, we often
also represent a certain dynamism due to their use and
don’t believe that we can change. Our own sense that our past actions
versatility. Some vessels - wooden and metal ones - can become pure
will always define us, that our state is a permanent one, becomes a
by immersion in a mikvah. This is only because they partake in the
self-fulfilling prophecy. Yom Kippur says: stop standing in your own
dynamic world of human activity, and they can therefore be purified as
way! On this day you present yourself before God, on this day you
a result of a human action - being placed in the mikvah. Other vessels -
immerse yourself in a mikvah, and when this day is over, you will
pottery - cannot become pure. Pottery is both less versatile and also
emerge pure. Change is always possible. Those stains you believe are
made of inferior material. Such a vessel cannot be transformed - it is
indelible can be washed away. By cleansing our sins on this day, God
too rigid, and lacks the inner strength and quality to effect - or to allow
is giving us a chance to make real transformation happen. When we
for such transformation.
believe that change is possible, it can become a reality. “For on this
cannot
change
themselves
and
thus
their
status
The key, then, to becoming pure, to ridding oneself of ritual impurity or of sin, is the ability to transform, to free ourselves from past actions
day he shall atone for you to purify you; that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” (Lev. 16:30).
Gmar Chatimah Tova!
and to reassert, or redefine, our inner direction and our true self. A sin, even a light one, can be weighty if it becomes a permanent part of a person. On the other hand, even a very severe sin need not be seen
www.yctorah.org
Visit Rabbi Linzer’s Yeshiva blogs: rabbidovlinzer.blogspot.com www.the-daf.com
To subscribe to this parasha sheet by email please send a request to [email protected].
YOM KIPPUR By Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh HaYeshiva Yom Kippur| September 23, 2015 / 10 Tishrei 5776
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School
… And Cleansing Ourselves
as weighty if it does not become part of one’s identity. If a person
On Yom Kippur we strive, not only to purify the world and our
does not let him or herself be an object, be fixed, rigid, and only
relationships, but also to purify ourselves. Sin affects who we are and,
impacted by outside forces, but rather insists on his or her own
like tumah, ritual impurity, stand in the way of us drawing closer to the
personhood, the ability to define his or her own path, to change and
holy, closer to God. The radical notion of Yom Kippur is that this
to remake oneself, then, even a weighty sin, can become a light
tumah does not have to define us. We can transform and again become
one. Such a person, a person with strong character, a person who
pure.
believes in the possibility of change, can free herself of her sin, can
An insight into this process emerges from a discussion in the Talmud (Hullin 101a-b) which underscores the difference between the severity
immerse in a mikvah, and can undergo a transformation that will allow her to become a new person.
of impurity and its permanence. If a pure person eats the meat of a
What is this mikvah? Rabbi Akiva answers this in the last mishna in the
sacrifice that has become impure, the transgression is not severe. The
last chapter of Yoma, the tractate devoted to Yom Kippur:
meat, however, does have a permanent state of impurity. In contrast,
R. Akiva said: Happy are you, Israel! Who is it before whom you
when an impure person eats the meat of a sacrifice, the transgression is
become pure? And Who is it that makes you clean? Your Father Who
a severe one. And yet, the Talmud says, the situation is not a
is in Heaven, as it is said: “And I will sprinkle purifying water upon
permanent one. The person can immerse and become pure, and thus
you and ye shall be clean.” (Ezek. 36:25). And it further says: “The hope (mikvei) [read here as “immersion pool” (mikvah)] of Israel, the
his act, and certainly his state, is not as weighty as it may seem.
Lord.” (Jer. 17:13). Just as an immersion pool renders the impure
This touches on a key point of teshuva and Yom Kippur. The difference
pure, so does the Holy One, Blessed be God, render Israel pure
between foods and people, between what can become pure and what
(Mishna Yoma 8:9).
will always remain impure, is this: Foods, such as the meat of
God, not teshuva, is the mikvah. The Talmud speaks of a person who
sacrifices, are consumable, inanimate objects; they are static and fixed;
does teshuva without abandoning the sin, as one who immerses while
they
is
holding on to an impure rodent in his hand. In this understanding, one
permanent. People, on the other hand, are dynamic, with new
cannot immerse in the mikvah until one has done teshuva. But
thoughts, passions, and feelings every day, and with the ability to
sometimes we need to reverse the order. Sometimes real teshuva is
transform themselves. Their status is never fixed. Change, even purity,
not possible until we have first immersed in the mikvah, until God has
is always possible.
washed us from our sins.
There is a middle category: vessels. Vessels are inanimate, but they
While teshuva gives us the ability to transform ourselves, we often
also represent a certain dynamism due to their use and
don’t believe that we can change. Our own sense that our past actions
versatility. Some vessels - wooden and metal ones - can become pure
will always define us, that our state is a permanent one, becomes a
by immersion in a mikvah. This is only because they partake in the
self-fulfilling prophecy. Yom Kippur says: stop standing in your own
dynamic world of human activity, and they can therefore be purified as
way! On this day you present yourself before God, on this day you
a result of a human action - being placed in the mikvah. Other vessels -
immerse yourself in a mikvah, and when this day is over, you will
pottery - cannot become pure. Pottery is both less versatile and also
emerge pure. Change is always possible. Those stains you believe are
made of inferior material. Such a vessel cannot be transformed - it is
indelible can be washed away. By cleansing our sins on this day, God
too rigid, and lacks the inner strength and quality to effect - or to allow
is giving us a chance to make real transformation happen. When we
for such transformation.
believe that change is possible, it can become a reality. “For on this
cannot
change
themselves
and
thus
their
status
The key, then, to becoming pure, to ridding oneself of ritual impurity or of sin, is the ability to transform, to free ourselves from past actions
day he shall atone for you to purify you; that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” (Lev. 16:30).
Gmar Chatimah Tova!
and to reassert, or redefine, our inner direction and our true self. A sin, even a light one, can be weighty if it becomes a permanent part of a person. On the other hand, even a very severe sin need not be seen
www.yctorah.org
Visit Rabbi Linzer’s Yeshiva blogs: rabbidovlinzer.blogspot.com www.the-daf.com
To subscribe to this parasha sheet by email please send a request to [email protected].
