Sermon for Yom Kippur morning 5785
October 12, 2024
This morning in our Torah service we read Leviticus, Chapter 16, from Parashat Acharei Mot. It describes in close detail the rituals that were conducted on Yom Kippur in days of old to cleanse the Mishkan from ritual impurity --- ritual impurity that was in large part the result of human sin. Without that process of purification, our ancestors feared that God’s indwelling presence might cease to abide in their midst.
The Mishkan was the portable shrine that the people carried around with them in the wilderness. Jewish tradition teaches that the Mishkan was the predecessor of the more elaborate Bet Hamikdash – the Temple that King Solomon built in Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C.E. The Bet Hamikdash was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E., rebuilt on a possibly smaller scale some seventy years later, and then destroyed again by the Romans in year 70 of the Common Era.
The fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. was a traumatic event for our people which could have spelled the end of Judaism itself
However, Churban Bet Hamikdash was not the end of Judaism.
In the centuries following the destruction of the Second Temple, we learned as a people to carry on the traditions of Judaism in new ways.
The Torah had described the Day of Atonement with its Priestly administered sacrificial offerings this way:
כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י ה' תִּטְהָֽרוּ׃
”Ki vayom hazeh yikhaper aleykhem letaher etkhem; mikol chatoteykhem lifney adonai titharu.”
(“For on this day atonement he [i.e. the Kohen Gadol or High Priest] shall purify you; Of all your sins before Adonai you shall be purified.”)
However, after the destruction of the second Temple, the focus of Yom Kippur altered from one in which a hereditary functionary ritually purified a physical structure on behalf of the people ---- to one in which, we the people took on the task of spiritually purifying ourselves.
If we look closely at the wording of that verse, Leviticus 16:30, we see that there are two processes discussed here.
The first process is “kaparah,” which means “atonement” or “expiation” --- According to the late Rabbi Joseph Solovetchik and others, kapparah is about removing the metaphorical stain that has sullied the world outside ourselves as a result of our sins. We do so by apologizing to those whom we have wronged, and by making whole those to whom we have caused injury.
The second is “taharah,” which means “purification.” In contrast to the external focus of that first process of kapparah or atonement, this second process of taharah or purification is about removing the metaphorical stain that has sullied our inner selves as a result of our sins.
In Pirke Avot, there’s a famous teaching that says – “mitzvah goreret mitzvah, va’avera goreret avera”/ “one mitzvah pulls along another mitzvah and one transgression pulls along another transgression” (Pirke Avot 4:2). In other words, acting honorably on any one occasion makes it more likely that you’ll get in the habit of acting honorably; while acting dishonorably on one occasion makes it more likely that you’ll get in the habit of acting dishonorably.
So, even if we have achieved kapparah or atonement for a sin by setting right whatever damage we have caused to others – we still have internal work to do if we want to achieve taharah or purification -- setting right the damage that we have done to our inner selves.
We still are obliged to work on changing our direction in life so that we’ll learn from our past mistakes, rather than simply repeating them in the future.
Jewish tradition teaches us that God is eager to meet us way more than halfway. In Shir Hashirim Rabbah, the rabbinic midrash on Song of Songs, God is described as saying to the Jewish people – “Open to Me a gate of repentance no bigger than the point of a needle, and I will open to you a gate [of forgiveness] wide enough to drive wagons and carts through.” (Shir Hashirim R. 5:2).
And since we should strive to act in godly ways in the world, we should therefore also try our best to forgive others who have wronged us when they seek to apologize to us.
We give special focus to this process of teshuvah during our High Holiday season. However, Judaism understands the process of teshuvah to be a year-round process. Making things right when we have done wrong, and seeking to learn from our mistakes --- These are ongoing, continual activities (which is why the traditional weekday Amidah includes a prayer seeking forgiveness for our sins.)
We strive to be engaged in teshuvah throughout the year, always seeking to be conscious of who we are, and what we do, and where we are -- always making mid-course corrections as we try continually to be oriented towards God. As it says in Psalms 16:8 – “Shiviti Adonai lenegdi tamid.” “I set God before me always.”
May we be faithful to this path not only on this Day of Atonement but throughout the year, and throughout our lives.
Gmar chatimah tovah.
© Rabbi David Steinberg
October 2024/ Yom Kippur 5785
