The Nature of Yom Kippur

Question

Dear Rabbi,

Is Yom Kippur a sad day because it is a day of fasting, or is it a happy day because of it is a special day of atonement?

Thanks Rabbi!

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    People sometimes view Yom Kippur as a day of somber doom and gloom, full of long unintelligible praying, physical deprivations, and fears and anxieties about the future. Yet our Sages view Yom Kippur in quite a different light.

    Our Sages tell us that Yom Kippur was is of the two most joyous days of the Jewish year (the other being the 15th of Av). Yom Kippur is a day of forgiveness, reconciliation and opportunity for a new beginning, unencumbered by the crushing deadweight of past failure. Yom Kippur is a wondrous gift of love from the Creator, the gift of a second chance. As such, despite the lengthy prayers and the physical discomfort of no food or drink, and our backs, knees and feet being sore from long hours of standing, one should cherish every moment “like the sweetness of honey.” For an all too brief 25-hour period we are with God, in Whose presence there is great strength and joy.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team