Abstinence or Transcendence?

Yom Kippur In Brief

What: Yom Kippur fast day is the holiest day of the year, when we are closest to G‑d and to the essence of our souls. Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement,” as the verse states, “For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before G‑d.”

When: The 10th day of Tishrei (in 2025, from several minutes before sunset on Wednesday, October 1, until after nightfall on Thursday, October 2).

How: For nearly 26 hours, we “afflict our souls”: we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or apply lotions or creams, do not wear leather footwear, and abstain from marital relations. Instead, we spend the day in synagogue, praying for forgiveness.

On a basic level, these five modes of abstention are called "afflictions," but the inner dimension of the Torah sees them in a very different light, not (only) as self-denial, but as self-transcendence. We do not deprive our bodies on Yom Kippur; we return to our essence and rise above our bodies. Whereas the rest of the year, we are nourished by eating, on Yom Kippur we are nourished directly from the Source of All Sustenance without need for the intervening medium of food.

During the rest of the year, the soul engages in the task of interacting with the world through the body, taking the mundane and making it holy. This is known as the task of elevating the sparks of G‑dly energy that are encumbered within the physical world. This task is necessary for the refinement of the world and the ultimate transformation of the physical plane into a heaven-on-earth. The whole year round, the soul's mission in this world is to find G‑d within the trappings of this world; but on Yom Kippur, when we and G‑d reveal our essences, we relate directly to one another without the usual game of hide-and-seek.

May we merit the ultimate revelation with the coming of Moshiach NOW!

Shabbat Shalom and have an easy fast!

Shabbat begins with candlelighting on Friday at 6:28 PM.

The holiday and fast of Yom Kippur begins with candle lighting on Wednesday at 6:19 PM and finishes on Thursday at 7:16 PM.