On Yom Kippur, we act in ways that make us resemble angels more than human beings. The Tur (Orach Chaim 406) quotes the comment of the Midrash that even the prosecuting angel notes the striking similarities. On Yom Kippur, the Jewish people walk without shoes, stand for much of the day, abstain from eating and drinking, are pure from all sin, and act toward each other with peace and harmony, just like angels. The Rosh (Yoma 8:24) writes that this is the reason many have the custom to immerse in a mikvah on erev Yom Kippur, to purify themselves like angels. And similarly, the Rema (Orach Chaim 410:4) notes the custom to wear a kittel and other white clothing on Yom Kippur to resemble the pure angels.
What is the purpose of these behaviors? We certainly are not fooling anyone. We know that we are human beings and not angels. So why does the Torah command us to act on Yom Kippur in ways that do not seem natural for us? And why do we dress up in white clothing and immerse in the mikvah? It all seems like a charade.
In Parshas Vayeilech (31:10-13), the Torah describes the mitzvah of hakheil. Every seven years, during Sukkos in the year after shemitah, all of Klal Yisrael – men, women and children – gather to hear the king read from sefer Devarim. What is the reason for this gathering? The Sefer Hachinuch (612) explains that Torah is the essence of the Jewish people. It is what distinguishes them from other nations, and what enables them to achieve spiritual greatness. Therefore, it is fitting that every so often, the people should gather to hear words of Torah. The momentous experience of gathering together as one people for the honor of the Torah will hopefully cause each individual to appreciate the value of Torah and develop within him a yearning to study the Torah and to observe its mitzvos properly.
An uplifting event or an extraordinary day can serve as a constant source of inspiration. Yom Kippur is such a day. On the passuk, “Days will be created, but to Him there is one (Tehillim 139:16),” the Midrash comments, “Rabbi Yehoshua said, ‘Of all the days that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created, He chose one, and which is that? Yom Kippur.’ (Midrash Tanchuma, Bereishis 28)” Yom Kippur is Hashem’s day in the sense that it is the day that human beings connect with their inner spark of G-dliness. The Sfas Emes (Yom Kippur 5649) explains that man is a combination of body and soul – guf and neshama. Usually, body and soul are in conflict with each other, and often the body overpowers the neshama. But on Yom Kippur, the spiritual essence of a person is revealed. By abstaining from certain mundane activities, we disconnect somewhat from our physical side, and that enables our neshamos to express themselves more fully.
Yom Kippur is a day that gives us a taste of a more ideal existence, one in which we deemphasize our physical needs and desires, and focus more on our spiritual essence. On Yom Kippur, we are more similar to angels who are naturally drawn to follow the will of Hashem without having to struggle with a yetzer hara. The aura of purity and holiness that we experience on Yom Kippur helps us reorder our priorities, so that when we return to regular living, we do so with a renewed sense of purpose, appreciating the values of self-control and balance, tending more to the needs of our neshamos than to the endless pursuit of materialism.
At the end of the first day of creation, the passuk says, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day – yom echad. (Bereishis 1:5)” The commentators grapple with why the passuk says “one day” and not “a first day”, like it says later after the second and third days of creation (see Rashi, Ramban and others). The Midrash Rabbah (2:1, 3:8) comments, “One day – that Hashem gave (to the tzadikkim), and which day is that? It is Yom Kippur.” Rav Soloveitchik suggested that the Midrash interprets the phrase yom echad not as “one day”, but rather “a singular day”, an extraordinary day, without parallel. It is similar to the phrase “Hashem echad” in the first passuk of kriyas shema. Hashem is unique, sui generis, without comparison. Yom Kippur too is a unique day, one in which Hashem infuses a greater sense of spirituality. Hashem is closer to us throughout the aseres yemei teshuva; the navi, therefore, encourages Klal Yisrael to seek out Hashem at this time – dirshu Hashem b’himatz’o (see Rosh Hashana 18a). But He is especially close on Yom Kippur. And we feel it. We feel spiritually alive and uplifted. Yom Kippur is one day each year that we experience life from a different perspective, life in an exalted world, with a totally different focus.
It is for this reason that we find it easier to unite with each other on Yom Kippur. As we say in the piyut after the avodah, “it is a day for love and friendship, a day to abandon jealousy and competition.” The more we focus on our physical needs, the harder it is to bond with others. “L’ta’ava yevakeish nifrad – One who seeks to fulfill his desires will separate from others. (Mishlei 18:1)” On Yom Kippur, we focus almost exclusively on spiritual pursuits which makes us more united, more caring and accepting of each other. The yom echad of Yom Kippur transforms us into one nation (goy echad) and one unit (agudah achas). As a result, we become more like angels who live with each other in peace and harmony (see Eitz Yosef and Peirush Maharzu on Midrash Rabbah there).
Perhaps this is why on Yom Kippur we dress and act in ways that imitate angels. Our outward appearance and our behavior highlight our spiritual focus on Yom Kippur, and it is that heightened spiritual awareness which elevates and uplifts us and connects us more closely with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Yom Kippur is a day to dream about what our lives could be like if we infused the spirituality of the yom echad into each and every day of the year.
May this be a year full of health and happiness, brachos and yeshuos – for us and for all of Klal Yisrael.
More divrei Torah from Rabbi Koenigsberg