Although this Thread is specifically about Yom Kippur, I believe the deep messages, and commitment to bettering oneself transcend Judaism, and even religion. This Sunday at sundown until Monday at sundown is the the holiest day in the Jewish calendar; Yom Kippur. On this day we are like angels.
There is way too much about the deep spirituality of Yom Kippur for me to get into here, but the above links are quite informative if any of you are interested. The following are some quotes from an article I am reading in preparation of the Holyday.
Rabbi Avraham Bukspan once shared…an insight into Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement. “Atonement” is a conjunctive of “At One-ment” – of reconnecting, strengthening the relationship with the Almighty, the reconciliation of the Almighty with each of us. Yom Kippur is our opportunity to reunite our spiritual essence – our soul – with the Almighty.
Intuitively, each of us knows that we have a soul – that part of us which contains our conscience and drive to do the right thing. The Torah tells us, “… and He blew into his (Adam, the first human being) nostrils the soul of life …” (Genesis 2:7). If we realize that our essence is spiritual – and eternal – it places a whole different perspective on life. We need to be concerned about our bodies and our health and make every effort to sustain them, but the real importance is the soul, because that is our true self. Yom Kippur is about the soul.
Throughout the year we either bring merit to the soul or sully the soul through our actions and behavior.
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The Torah gives us special mitzvot, commandments, for Yom Kippur to help us see more clearly that we are souls and to help us relate to life on a soul level…These “afflictions” are ways for us to minimize the body’s control over our lives... We are prohibited from: eating/drinking, wearing leather shoes, marital relations, anointing the skin with salves and oils, and washing for pleasure.
By negating the body, we give preeminence to the soul. Life is a constant battle – between the yetzer tov (the desire to do the right thing, which is identified with the soul) and yetzer hora (the desire to follow your desires, which corresponds with the body). The Talmud compares the body to a horse and the soul to a rider. It is always better to have the rider on top of the horse – to have the rider controlling the horse and not the horse controlling where the rider is going.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the anniversary of the day Moshe brought down from Mount Sinai the second set of Ten Commandments. This signified that the Almighty forgave the Jewish people for the transgression of the Golden Calf. For all times this day was decreed to be a day of forgiveness for our mistakes. However, this refers to transgressions against the Almighty. Transgressions against our fellow human being require us to correct our mistakes and seek forgiveness. If one took from another person, it is not enough to regret and ask the Almighty for forgiveness; first, one must return what was taken and ask for forgiveness from the person and then ask for forgiveness from the Almighty.
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The Rambam, Maimonides, teaches that each individual’s life is always on a balance – like the old-time scales where the weights were put on one side and the produce on the other side – and that each of us should think before doing an action that this transgression or that this mitzvah (commandment) could tip the scales.
Likewise, Rambam teaches that each community, each country and ultimately the world is judged in the same manner. Thus, an individual should not only think that his transgression or fulfillment of a mitzvah tips the scale for him alone, but may very well tip the scale for all of mankind!
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A simple way to keep focused that you are a soul and not a body, is to train yourself to say “My body is hungry” instead of “I am hungry”!
To those of you who are Jewish, may you have a meaningful Yom Kippur and a sweet and healthy year!
To those of you who are not: May you be blessed this weekend, and always!
Either way, enjoy this weeks attempt at a positive, uplifting Thread!
