Love in a Time of Judgment
Yoni Zierler
(Based on Discussions with Rav Meir Lichtenstein, Ra”m in Yeshivat Otniel)
From an early age we are raised with the idea of aseret yemei teshuva, the ten days of repentance that begin with Rosh Hashana and end on Yom Kippur. The idea of a period of return is second nature to us. A deeper look at the concept arouses the famous question of Pesach, how are these days different than all other days? Why is repentance relegated to one week as opposed to all year round? Should we not strive always to return to the proper path? Even more interesting is the idea of repentance between man and his fellow. Should we not strive to make peace all year long?
The haftorah for Yom Kippur is taken from the book of Isaiah. In the verses that we read, Isaiah prophesizes what awaits us at the end of days. As he describes throughout the entire book, few will be spared from the punishment that G-d will mete out to his people. Towards the end of the haftorah we are exposed to an interesting concept that is crucial in the understanding of the essence of Yom Kippur.
“Lama tzamnu v’lo r’ita ininu nafsheinuv’lo teda.”
“Why, when we fasted, did you not see? When we starved our bodies did You pay no heed?” the Jewish people will cry to G-d.[1]
In response the prophet declares, “hen b’yom tzomchem tmitzeu chefetz v’kol atzveichem tinogshu.”
“Because on your fast day you see to your business and oppress all your laborers.”
The proceeding verses elucidate the fault of the fasts:
“Ha’lo zeh tzom evchareh upateach chartzubot resha hater agudot motahv’shalach retzutzim chofshim v’chol motah t’nateku.”
“No, this is the fast I desire; To unlock the fetters of wickedness, And untie the cords of the yoke.”[2]
“Ha’lo paros l’raev lachmecha v’anyiim merudim tavi vayit ki tireh aros v’chisito u’mi’b’sarcha lo titalem.”
“It is to share your bread with the hungry and to take the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked to clothe him and not to ignore your own kin.”[3]
In these pesukim, Isaiah berates his people for their misconception regarding fasting.
“Do you really think that it is about causing yourself to suffer? What about the suffering of others? Is it bowing your head like a bulrush and lying in sackcloth and ashes that you call a fast?.”[4]
A true fast, a proper fast, is not about inflicting pain on oneself, rather relieving the pain of others. One should refrain from eating bread not because you wish to repent through suffering, rather because you gave your last morsel of bread to your starving brother.
Many similarities arise when comparing the Yom Kippur haftorah to the verses of chapter 25 of Vayikrah (Leviticus) which deal with the shnat Yovel, the Jubilee year that occurs once every 50 years. Close examination reveals the obligations of the Yovel as being magnified versions of the obligations of Yom Kippur. During the year of the Yovel slaves return to being free men and the fields return to their original owners. There is a social equilibrium that is re-created on the fiftieth year, where the enslaved receive their freedom and the rich revert to having only that which they began with. This idea is the same as the one found in Isaiah, one of tikun chevra, a societal improvement that lies at the center of the essence of Yom Kippur
The selection of this specific portion as the Shacharit haftorah is a brilliant, daring, and appropriate move on the part of those who canonized the prayer. The haftorah is read towards the end of morning, an hour or so before one would normally eat lunch. As they read about the fast in Isaiah, everyone attending services is equalized by the hunger that they feel at that hour. All are without food. All lack proper shoes. All wear the same white garments. There are no rich, “hanging their heads in the bulrushes,” only brothers and sisters in hunger and repentance. As such, the social equilibrium found in the Yovel year is succesfully established on Yom Kippur as well.
Rav Yitzchack Hutner, in his book Pachad Yitzchack, takes this idea one step further. There is a concept in Judaism that after having asked forgiveness from a friend three times, one is absolved of his sin even if his friend chooses not to forgive him. According to Rav Hutner, this seemingly strange idea is in accordance with the very heart of the Yom Kippur mentality.
During the regular year when one harms his friend, the main issue at hand is the asking of forgiveness. The main focus around the High Holy-Days though is the receiving of forgiveness. Love, as all know, is a two way street. No relationship can survive if only one person cares. Around Yom Kippur it is not enough for someone to ask forgiveness, he must make himself someone who can be forgiven and loved. If one refuses to forgive after three requests, he clearly has no desire to forgive anytime soon. Therefore, if one has made every effort possible, if he has truly made himself a person who can be loved, it is no longer his issue. While it is true that the victim has no role in the hurt that was done to him, he in fact plays the greatest role of all in the outcome of the hurt. The issue Rav Hutner explains, is once again one of fixing our society; to create love amongst the Jewish people.
There is no better time to try to fix our relationships than in the days leading up to Yom Kippur. Towards the end of the seder ha’voda of the Musaf repetition, we read, “Yom asur b’achila, yom asur b’shtiya, yom asur b’rechitza… yom simat ahava v’reut, yom azivat kinah v’tacharut.” Within the description of the day of awe, right after admitting to our inequities, and adjacent to the various prohibitions that comprise the holy day, we acknowledge the fact that today is also a day of “Introducing love and friendship, and a departure from jealousy and competition.”
G-d has delegated this period as a special time where he opens the gates of Heaven to our prayers. The atmosphere of Elul and aseret yemei teshuva is one of forgiveness and new beginnings, allowing us to repeal our humility and confess the wrongdoings that we have committed to each other. It is a time not only to open the gates of prayer, but also to open our hearts. After all, if the Omnipotent is willing to forgive us for all of our transgressions, who are we not to forgive each other?
Shenizkeh….
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