Thesis: Yom Kippur is for us to reconnect with our inner soul and see the bigger picture of what we need to do.
Question: It seems much more of a sad day than a happy day. How can Yom Kippur be described as a Yom Tov when we are forced to have “inuyim”?
Answer: Yom Kippur is a Super-Shabbos that requires a break from our body to focus on our soul. The innuyim are there for us to answer to our neshama what our direction is.
As a kid I liked playing super Mario at my friend’s house after school. However, I wasn’t a particularly good player. I used to spend time practicing different moves so that I could even beat the first few levels. Eventually – and I won’t say how long – I managed to get past them. However, at some point the levels got too hard for me as a young kid, and I gave up and decided to become an “expert in “Ice Land” – which for those who don’t know is world 6. I stopped caring about getting to the higher levels, since I really enjoyed knowing everything about Ice world.
Hold that story for a moment.
The passuk says:
שַׁבַּ֨ת שַׁבָּת֥וֹן הִיא֙ לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם חֻקַּ֖ת עוֹלָֽם׃
It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice self-denial; it is a law for all time.
There are 5 inuyim on Yom Kippur – (1) eating & drinking, (2) leather shoes (3) marital relations, (4) washing, and (5) using lotions. Some would add a 6th one – sitting in shul all day. It is very uncomfortable, and the question is why? Both why do we need to do all these restrictions and what is the goal?
Let’s take this one step further. Yom Kippur is seen as a Holiday by halacha. The Sifrei compares Yom Kippur to a “holiday” like Rosh Hashana. The GR”A points out that we light candles for Yom Kippur even though there is no mitzvah to since it is an honor for the day. Finally, when a sick person is required too eat on Yom Kippur, when they finish their meal they say “ya’aleh v’yavo” in benching – a text recited only on holidays. If this is the case, why does the Torah require us to “suffer” today? Why not just require meditation sessions on being better people? Or have us learn all night or do chessed – wouldn’t that show Hashem how serious we are about our judgement? Why do we have this list of 5 restrictions for Yom Kippur – how does that help us?
The Rabbis go back and forth on what type of inuyim we are supposed to endure. First it suggests that we should go outside in the hot or the cold, but then concludes that since the Torah uses the term “Shabbos” with Yom Kippur, the suffering must be one that is passive. Additionally, we are required to eat on Erev Yom Kippur. Both Rashi and the Rosh agree that the reason is because we are not meant to suffer that much on Yom Kippur. The goal is to NOT take part in eating and drinking, the problem is that our bodies naturally cause hunger pains, so we eat right before to make it as easy as possible. It seems as if the goal is NOT to cause us pain, but to make us focus.
However, I think there is something deeper in the deduction from the term “Shabbos”. The Torah doesn’t just call Yom Kippur “Shabbos” but “Shabbat Shabbon” – a SUPER Shabbos. During the year Hashem requires us to “rest” once a week from our day-to-day job in order to pause and reflect on our commitment to Hashem and our mission. However, once a year we are not just required to hit the pause button, but we need to click the stop button. Normally food and drinks HELP us rejoice and connect with Hashem on holidays. We usually have an obligation to eat to connect with Shabbos and Yom Tov. However, on Yom Kippur we don’t just take a rest from our day-to-day jobs, but we take a rest from all our day to day activities. We stop eating and drinking, wearing normal clothing and shoes, washing ourselves, making ourselves look nice, and being together with the people we love. We hit the hard stop button once a year to have not just a Shabbos, but a SUPER-Shabbos – Shabbat Shabbaton – to turn off our body and be able to connect with our neshama beneath.
I have one remaining question, why does the Torah use the term ta’anu – suffer? Why should we suffer if the day is meant to be a happy holiday?
I think the answer lies in an interesting double play in the meaning of the word v’anitem. The word ta’anu can mean both to suffer, but also you shall answer. You shall answer to your soul for what you have done through the year and get on the same page about where you need to go. It is only when you deprive your body of all the distractions that you can connect with your inner-self and see the bigger picture of where you need to go.
We are all hungry, or thirsty, or both. However, so is your soul. Today is the day we ignore the body and focus entirely on our soul. It is the day of we stop and answer to our inner selves for all the things we’ve done this year. When I played Super Mario, I got lost in the comfort of the Ice World. I didn’t want to play any further since I didn’t like losing the next level over and over. Instead of challenging myself in the next level, I rested on my laurels. I lost sight of the end-goal – it is not to know one level perfectly, but to keep moving up.
The question you all need to ask this Yom Kippur is what type of year will this be? Will it be the same as last year? As the one the year before? Are we going to place Ice Land once again or will we go on to the next level? How are we going to change this year so that we challenge ourselves in ways that we haven’t before? Will it be attending another davening during the week, or another study session? Will it be committing to more chessed opportunities or giving more the tzedakah? What will this year be so that we aren’t playing Ice Land again.
Today is the day we ignore the distractions, deprive our bodies of the daily comforts, and connect with out neshama to see the bigger picture of where we need to go.