Shalom.
The holiest day of the year is coming up soon, the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.
And this Shabbat, the Sabbath between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, is called Shabbat
Shuva – the Sabbath of Repentance, it’s the Sabbath of the Ten Days of Repentance,
the ten days which are the most real days of the whole year, the days which make up
for the whole year, for all the days that we were zoned out and not focused on Hashem’s
presence in our lives, during these days we try to be the most real we can be.
During these ten days we cry out every day from the deepest place, and we shed tears
of resolve, and we endeavor to see ourselves, and each other, and the whole world differently.
And we try to make every moment count.
And since Shabbat itself is like a taste of real repentance all year round, this Shabbat,
the Sabbath of Repentance, is like the root of teshuva.
And this Shabbat we will be reading Parashat Vayelech, the ninth Torah portion of the book
of Devarim, Deuteronomy, beginning in chapter 31.
And the whole portion is chapter 31!
This is the shortest portion in the Torah; it’s one chapter.
30 verses.
In years wherein there is no Shabbat between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, it is read together
with Nitzavim, before Rosh HaShana.
But in years like this one it is read on the Sabbath of Repentance.
So what is parashat Vayelech all about?
Moshe concludes his speech to the children of Israel, he says ‘I am 120 years old today
and I can no longer go forth and come in,’ he blesses Joshua and gives over the leadership
to him and, he tells him to be strong and courageous, because G-d is going to be with
him and will not forsake him; Moshe instructs the people in the commandment known as hahkel,
which literally means gather together…This is a commandment for the entire nation to
gather together in the Holy Temple every seven years during the festival of Sukkot at the
conclusion of the Sabbatical year cycle, and there the King of Israel will read to them
from the book of Devarim.
And Moshe finishes writing the Torah scroll which he entrusts to the Levites to keep in
the Ark of the Covenant which contains the tablets of the law he brought down from Mount
Sinai…
…and, G-d foretells that the people will eventually stray from Him.
Moshe gathered the entire nation to hear the song, wherein he would call upon the heavens
and earth to be witnesses that the Israelites were forewarned regarding their fate.
As we mentioned last week, the last four Torah portions of Devarim are contiguous, and were
all said by Moshe on the day of his death.
So these are all the events of his last day in this world.
What a powerful thought to consider, as we approach Yom Kippur, as at this time of year,
we naturally find ourselves reflecting upon our own transience and vulnerability.
But not in a pathetic or pitiful way.
In a good way, a way that makes us feel deeply, how much we need Hashem and closeness to Him
in our lives.
And closeness to Hashem, as we shall see, is actually a major theme of our Torah portion.
So in our parasha, which we read before Yom Kippur, G-d foretells that the people of Israel
will turn away from their covenant with Him which will cause Him to hide His face from
them…but He also promises that the words of the Torah shall not be forgotten from the
mouths of their descendants.
So I want to read these verses, verses 14-21.
“And Hashem said to Moshe, "Behold, your days are drawing near to die.
Call Joshua and stand in the Tent of Meeting, and I will instruct him.
So Moshe and Joshua went, and stood in the Tent of Meeting.
And Hashem appeared in the Tent, in a pillar of cloud.
The pillar of cloud stood at the entrance to the Tent.
And Hashem said to Moshe: Behold, you will lie with your forefathers, and this nation
will rise up and stray after the gods of the nations of the land, into which they are coming.
And they will forsake Me and violate My covenant which I made with them.
And My fury will rage against them on that day, and I will abandon them and hide My face
from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will befall them,
and they will say on that day, 'Is it not because our G-d is no longer among us, that
these evils have befallen us?'
And I will hide My face on that day, because of all the evil they have committed, when
they turned to other gods.
And now, write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the Children of Israel.
Place it into their mouths, in order that this song will be for Me as a witness for
the children of Israel.
When I bring them to the land which I have sworn to their forefathers [to give them],
a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat and be satisfied, and live on the fat
[of the land].
Then, they will turn to other deities and serve them, provoking Me and violating My
covenant.
And it will be, when they will encounter many evils and troubles, this song will bear witness
against them, for it will not be forgotten from the mouth of their offspring.
For I know their inclination what they [are planning] to do today, [even] before I bring
them in to the land which I have sworn [to give them]."
So basically these verses are informing us that when G‑d will visit His anger upon
the Children of Israel on account of their evil actions, they will claim that the misfortunes
are befalling them because G‑d has abandoned them.
At that time, the song which Moshe and Joshua wrote will bear testimony that these events
are in fact punishment for their sinful behavior.
So let me get this straight.
We are going to say, 'Is it not because our God is no longer among us, that these evils
have befallen us?'…Even though the next verse makes it clear, “And I will hide My
face on that day, because of all the evil they have committed, when they turned to other
deities.”
So open up your heart in the deepest way.
Moshe is recording this prophecy of the future.
It’s telling us that when we stray from the covenant with G-d, and commit evil, He
will be angry… but we will say that the punishment is because G-d abandoned us.
But now wait a minute, who abandoned who?
We abandoned Him in this scenario, and then rather than own up to that, we claim that
He abandoned us…which He never did and never will do.
So I don’t understand.
We know that remorse and confession are the first
steps for repentance…and according to these verses, in this future scenario the Children
of Israel will confess that its’ because G-d is not found in their presence that these
evil befell them…so then why then do they deserve that Hashem hides His face?
And why the double expression of concealment, one concealment would be enough.
So open your hearts.
Let’s understand this verse.
“And this people will rise up, and stray after false gods and I will be angry at them
on that day, and I will forsake them and I will hide My face from them…and they will
say on that day, isn’t it because Hashem is not with me that all this evil befell me…
But it is only because they say that He is not with me that it appears to them that He
is hiding His face!
This is the truth of the Torah and this is the deepest psychological insight into one’s
state of mind after commiting the sin, after the fact.
Your’e feeling low, and hopeless, and far from G-d…so the yetzer hara, the evil inclination
attacks you when you’re down and in despair and says, give up, G-d has abandoned you,
but the truth is that your feeling that He has abandoned you and is hiding His face is
nothing but an illusion and a concealment.
Hashem would never abandon you.
What this verse really teaches us is that to say that Hashem is not with me is the worst
thing of all, and it’s a double sin, a sin within a sin, (hence the double lashon)…
the verse is foreshadowing that we will give up and say ‘it’s because Hashem is not
with me’… that it seems to them that Hashem is not there.
…the worst punishment of all is to think that Hashem is not with me.
But there is no such thing.
There is nothing, no power, that could ever divide us, no walls, nothing can separate
us from Hashem, its’ all an illusion like a father who chastises his son and hides from
him, of course he would never leave him but watches over him…G-d always accepts each
one of us.
Our lives are always fraught with tests, and the biggest one is concealment, the holy Baal
Shem Tov told a parable, about a king who wanted to test his son, so he set up all sorts
of obstacles to reach him, but they were all only illusions; when we feel separated that’s
the greatest punishment and they we really do separate ourselves….but all the tests
are illusion and the concealment of Hashem in our lives is the worst illusion of all.
So the holiest day of the year is coming up.
What is our goal going to be this YK?
You know, some people have the wrong idea about Yom Kippur.
They mistakenly think that the awesome Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year,
is a sad day…an oppressive day.
The aspect of the sealing of the final judgement, as in the expression in our prayers, ‘On
Rosh HaShana it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed’ – this aspect lays very
heavy on these folks.
Oy vey!
The verdict is sealed!
I’m a goner!
They figure, well we are dwelling on our sins, obsessing over them, fasting, ‘afflicting
ourselves’ as the Torah instructs us, so they assume that it is supposed to be a day
of suffering, that the goal is to suffer.
But absolutely nothing can be further from the truth.
Yom Kippur is a day – or rather, it should be a day of – intense inner turmoil, but
it is nonetheless a day of joy.
What, a joyful Yom Kippur?
Yes.
Because on this day the world is bathed in a great light of Divine love and forgiveness.
This is the day that Moshe descended from Mount Sinai the second time, with the second
set of tablets, and the message of forgiveness.
That first Yom Kippur, it was about forgiveness for the error of the Golden Calf.
That means that Yom Kippur addresses the sins of our misconceptions about who G-d is in
our lives.
And as our sages teach us, in the days when the Holy Temple stood, and there was some
visible order in the universe and we had a clarity of vision, Yom Kippur was acknowledged
by all to be the happiest day of the year.
Yes, on the day of the sealing of the judgment, the young girls used to dress in white and
go out to the fields and dance.
Because it was understood that this is the day when we are able to reaffirm our true
selves and get our true relationship with our Father in Heaven back on track.
The forgivness of Yom Kippur is a promise, and a fact.
Imagine having a fresh start.
Pushing the delete button on all my mistakes as if they never were.
As long as we are sincere in our desire to return and seeking to start again.
And resolved to be better and not to return to whatever negativity we allowed into our
lives.
Lev 16 This shall be for you an eternal decree: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the
month, you shall afflict yourselves and you shall not do any work, neither the native
nor the proselyte who dwells among you…for on this day he shall provide atonement for
you to cleanse you….from all your sins before Hashem you shall be cleansed.’
And G-d is also happy.
Our sages teach, G-d is like, ‘I’m just happy you’re home again.’
And we say, ‘I’ll make it up to you.
Just please heal my broken heart.”
Repentance is not about guilt or rejection.
It’s an affirmation of who I really am of who I know I could be and who I want to be
from now on.
The temporary insanity of sin is missing the mark because we have not lived up to our own
potential, we became disconnected from our source, from the presence of G-d in our lives,
because we didn’t believe in ourselves enough even though G-d does.
But we have to be there.
We have to want to avail ourselves of this process.
We have to be mindful.
So open up your heart in the deepest way.
It’s not, ‘I believe in G-d’.
It’s ‘I believe G-d.’
And by not eating and by distancing ourselves from materialism we become totally in touch
with our spiritual essence and have the clarity to recalibrate our reorganize our priorities.
We’re not eating not because we’re punishing ourselves but because Yom Kippur is a different
energy!
Who could eat on such a day?
Who needs food?
It’s like we’re eating manna that day, directly from Heaven.
In our prayers on Yom Kippur we recount the experience of the Holy Temple, as the nation
stood in awe while the High Priest attended to the service and every individual knew in
a tangible way, on such a deep and real level, that G-d is so close and that I now I am truly
‘forgiven’ for my past mistakes and bad decisions, and I granted the opening to truly
start over….
We learn that in the Holy Temple, everyone came for Yom Kippur, the whole nation stood
together abreast, side to side, front to back, it was very crowded.
But yet when the High Priest uttered the holy name of G-d which is only said on Yom Kippur,
everyone would fully prostrate themselves and all the sudden there was ample room for
everyone to do that.
Hearing the name was enough to bring about this ‘miracle’, not that the walls expanded,
that everyone was in such awe and feeling such total connection and respect for each
other that they made sure to make room for each other…Yom Kippur is the tikkkun, the
fixing of society…
First we have to forgive each other, and forgive ourselves, before we can expect our Father’s
forgiveness… and as we judge others, so are we judged.
That’s what it means to make room for everyone.
At the end of the day on Yom Kippur as the sun is about to set, there is a special extra
service, a fifth prayer service called Nei’lah…it means ‘closing’ and everybody thinks its
called that because this is your last chance to cry out to G-d because the gates of Heaven
are about to close…but the truth is this is the time when.each of us is totally alone
with G-d and He speaks to each one of us and blesses us for the year….
So I bless you with the best Yom Kippur and the best year ever.
May we purge ourselves of all anger, hurt, and resentment.
May we be mindful of others as we ask their forgiveness, May we merit on this Yom Kippur
to be totally renewed and to open our hearts to each other and to our full potential as
human beings, created in G-d’s image, and may this New Year bring with it only sweetness
and blessing for you and your family.
May you be written and sealed in the book of life.