Yomim Noraim feature
Making worlds out of words
By: Rabbi Moishe Schnerb
“Each vidui purifies the sin, downgrading its severity continuously, until it becomes something so great that we are worthy of receiving reward for it in this world.”
The shul is crowded,
The lights are dim.
All have gathered for the Yom Hadin.
People stand and even pray,
Tears keep flowing as they sway,
And they say
Their confessions
Their commitment to be better,
So much better.
Mordechai Ben David so beautifully sets for us the scene of yet another Yom Kippur, which is speedily approaching. When we said last year in the Kol Nidre prayer “from the previous Yom Kippur until this Yom Kippur, and from the current Yom Kippur until Yom Kippur next year”, did we really consider how different this year’s Yom Kippur might be from previous ones? Fasting is such an important aspect of Yom Kippur, and we take it very seriously, eating the right foods before the fast, hydro loading, and following maybe one or more of the myriad strategies available to purportedly assure a “perfect easy fast”. It is remarkable that having tried all of these weird and wonderful remedies, we can still be “well over the fast”. However, after all is said and done, there is one element that is so essential and critical to the success of this day, that it requires a little bit of discussion and elucidation. Our holy Torah informs us that the success and complete cleansing effect of Yom Kippur depends almost entirely on our willingness to stand up, confess, and “come clean” before Hashem, by declaring sincerely all the misdeeds we may have committed during the previous year.
The Rambam[1] writes that anyone who violates any of the commandments of the Torah, whether they be positive, “to do” commandments, or negative injunctions, whether committed intentionally or by mistake, when he undertakes to do Teshuva and repent from his sin, he is obligated to say his confessions, which we call vidui before Hashem, as it says in the verse, “A man or woman if they will do any of the iniquities… They will confess the sins which they have done.” This act of confession is a positive Mitzvah. This halacha of the Rambam implies that the main component of doing Teshuva is saying this vidui. It’s therefore fair to say that if the vidui is the most fundamental part of Teshuva, and Teshuva is the hallmark of Yom Kippur, then vidui occupies a very central role in the Yom Kippur service. The Rambam writes later[2] that “Yom Kippur is the time for everybody to do Teshuva, individual and community alike, and Yom Kippur is the final deadline for achieving forgiveness and atonement for the Jewish nation. Therefore, everybody is required to do Teshuva and to say a confession on Yom Kippur.” The Ritva[3] posits that this is a Biblical mitzvah but adds the warning that if someone ignores this and does not say a vidui on all of his sins on Yom Kippur, he has wantonly violated this positive commandment, and woe to the individual who leaves this world without having confessed his sins, and enters the World to Come still carrying the burden of his trespass.
The Gemora[4] says the mitzvah of saying vidui applies on the night of Yom Kippur, but must be repeated at Shacharis, Musaf, Mincha, and Neilah. The question is why is it not sufficient to just say the vidui once? The Mishnah Berurah[5] writes that it is incumbent on every person to say the vidui 10 times on Yom Kippur, and this corresponds to the 10 times that the Kohen Gadol would mention Hashem’s ineffable name on Yom Kippur. The difficulty is, what’s the connection between saying vidui and mentioning Hashem’s name 10 times? Perhaps we can explain based on what is written in the sefer Nachalas Binyomin[6]. Our Rabbis say that there is no reward given in this world for the Mitzvot we perform, all reward is stored up in a treasure house for us to enjoy when we attain the upper worlds after our tenure on this earth. Our Rabbis also posit that if a person does Teshuva out of a spirit of love, which means he’s doing it not to avoid punishment, but because he wants to rebuild and reestablish a close relationship with Hashem, then all of his aveirot actually become merits for him. Nachalas Binyomin explains that the principle of receiving reward only in the World to Come applies to actual Mitzvot that a person has performed. However, Mitzvot that accrue to a person by having done Teshuva, thus transforming his misdeeds into Mitzvot, can be rewarded in this world.
In the Sefer Beer Sheva, Rav Yissocher Dov Eilenberg brings an explanation for this distinction. He explains that the Mitzvot, having been commanded by Hashem, who is Infinite, by definition must be infinite, and can never be rewarded in a world that is totally finite. Therefore, in Hashem’s great kindness, he has gifted us the infinite rewards of the World to Come for each and every one of our Mitzvot. On the other hand, sins committed by a finite man, using the finite facilities of this world, will be punished during a person’s lifetime. Therefore, even if a person totally repents, and those misdeeds “flip” and miraculously morph into Mitzvot, their root and beginning is still from this world, and the reward for them can be allocated in this world. This explains why it is necessary for us to say vidui on Yom Kippur multiple times, because each vidui purifies the sin, obliterating it’s stain a little bit each time, downgrading its severity continuously, until at the end, it becomes something so great that we are worthy of receiving reward for it in this world.
Now we can perhaps understand the comment of the Mishnah Berurah that the 10 confessions correspond to the 10 times the Kohen Gadol mentions Hashem’s name on Yom Kippur, because when one repeatedly says vidui, you can purify that aveira and make it a mitzvah equivalent in holiness to the name of Hashem.
The B’nai Yissachar writes[7] that the power of performing a positive Mitzvah is that it brings down for all mankind numerous good influences, kindness, and compassion from Hashem, and in contradistinction, one who violates a negative commandment brings judgement and punishment on the entire world. This seems to be an inherent contradiction. If we do good, we bring blessings to the whole world, including those who are not faithful to Hashem. If chas v’shalom we are doing sins, then we bring negative consequences on the entire world. What can we do that will create a situation where Hashem will reward those who need to be rewarded and punish those who are deserving of punishment. Is it impossible for both to happen at the same time?
To answer this, he introduces a fascinating principle, that it is possible for a person to do what is called an aveira lishma, which means that he knowingly does something wrong, but does it specifically for a heavenly purpose, such as when Yael was together with Sisra, the general of King Yavin, in order to subsequently kill him. In such a case, an aveira has been done, and therefore judgement and punishment will come down to the world, but because it is being done solely for the sake of Hashem, without any personal gain, that punishment will be pinpointed to affect only those who deserve punishment. In fact, Chazal[8] say that “an aveira done for the sake of Heaven, is as great as a mitzvah done for an ulterior motive”.
However, obviously, this strategy is available only to the greatest of the great leaders of the Jewish nation, like Mordechai and Esther, who possess such great understanding of spirituality, and are themselves on such a high level of holiness, that they will know when is the correct time and setting to commit such an aveira, and how to engage in the thought process that will ensure that the act is being done completely selflessly, without any personal gain, as we find by Eliyahu Hanavi, who brought sacrifices outside of the Temple in an extreme situation. However, for mere mortals, it would be incredibly dangerous to engage in such a “high voltage” situation, because it is so easy to fall into the trap of the evil inclination who will seduce a person to do a serious aveira, while claiming that this is being done for the sake of Heaven. Therefore, for all of us, the question returns; what can we do to induce Divine kindness, mercy, and buckets of all types of good things for the Jewish nation, and simultaneously bring punishment and ruination to the enemies of the Jewish nation? Since we don’t have access to extreme measures like an aveira lishma, what can we do?
The B’nai Yissachar brings[9] another pearl of advice illuminating how we can bring down this dichotomy at the same time, namely blessing and goodness for the righteous and downfall for the wicked. He advises that if a person is able to do Teshuva out of love for Hashem, because he really wants to have a close relationship to Hashem, and not just to avoid punishment for all of his sins, he can achieve this ultimate goal. We have mentioned that the Gemora says that Teshuva mi’ahava – out of love – transforms even deliberate avierot into merits. It will work like this. The original sin committed will elicit a downpour of Hashem’s judgement and punishment on those who deserve that, which are the wicked, but the sincere Teshuva, which creates Mitzvot, can now bring kindness and goodness for the Jewish nation.
We can go even further and say that even someone who is not on the level where he is able to attain complete Teshuva motivated by love can still accomplish this duality. The method is by including in one’s Teshuva process, recitation of the vidui, and then utilising sustained repetition. By repeating sincerely as often as 10 times, all of his sins flip over into Mitzvos, and again the sin itself brings all sorts of punishment for those who deserve it, and the merits that he’s created bring mass benefits for the Jewish nation. This is the incredible potential that every Jew has on Yom Kippur.
Rabbeinu Avraham, the son of the Rambam, quotes his father as saying that the fact that any person could even entertain the possibility that he has nothing to confess before Hashem is itself a sin worthy of 10 confessions. As we prepare ourselves for Yom Kippur, let us make sure that we have done the necessary self-appraisal, so that we can stand before Hashem on Yom Kippur and emphatically express to Him that I regret all of my sins, and have a sincere desire to, once again, be granted the opportunity to rebuild and fortify my own relationship with Hashem, so that the year 5785 will be a year that brings so much blessing, goodness, happiness, health, and peace, both outside and within ourselves, our family, our community, and the entire Jewish nation. It rests in our hands, and we definitely have the ability to make it happen.
Kesiva v’chasima tova!
