B"H
THOUGHTS FOR YOM KIPPUR
I try not to read
the papers, but I sometimes can't help seeing the headlines. I
am aware that there was a large rally recently in Beirut
at which an evil person who hates Israel boasted that he
has thousands of missiles aimed at the Holy Land.
This is the backdrop
for Yom Kippur.
Are we supposed
to be afraid?
My brothers and
sisters, we are not coming only to Yom Kippur, we are coming
to the climax of history. No longer do we have the luxury
of thinking that we are free to be casual. There are uncounted
millions of enemies surrounding us. Yes, they have thousands
of missiles pointed at us. Yes, we are totally outnumbered. Yes,
we are in mortal danger.
As we said before
Rosh Hashana, this is the moment when it becomes totally
clear that only G-d can save us. Yesterday we could pretend
we didn't need G-d, but not today! Yesterday we could
dream about vacations and cars and sports teams and entertainment,
but not today!
Today the theme
is survival!
We have no power
in the world! Israel has no power to survive! There
is only One Source of power: "He is my refuge and
my fortress, my G-d and I will trust in Him."
When it comes to
dealing with our enemies, we ask G-d: "Pour out Your wrath
upon [our oppressors] and fierce anger from Your heights, and
take vengeance, O G-d, for Your Name, that is desecrated among
the nations. O my King and my G-d ... to You alone do
I pray." [1]
In the midst of
the great battles raging around us, how does Yom Kippur
fit in? Is it really important to spend hours saying
all those "al chaits"? Do these things really matter: "Lightheadedness"? A "begrudging
eye"? "Haughty eyes"? "Prying eyes"? "Harsh speech?" "Exercising
coercive power." [2]
These are such
a big deal?
I think one could
say with certainty that each one of those screaming Arabs
in Beirut and each one of those poised and deadly missiles
can be defused by taking seriously every single "al chait."
I recently had
a medical problem. Amidst the doctors and the tests I
happened to focus on a sentence in a psalm that explained it
all. The sentence described my symptom and a deficiency
in me. I feel sure that my medical problem occurred
because I am guilty of the deficiency described in that
psalm.
A personal deficiency
is extremely hard to deal with. It takes endless effort
and constant assistance and strength from Our Father in Heaven! As
the Holy Rabbi Yisroel Salanter of Blessed Memory is reputed
to have said, "The loudest sound in the universe is the
sound of a habit being broken."
But if we want
to survive we have no choice! I discovered that when
I was about twenty three years old. [3] Everything in my life seemed to be
falling apart. I didn't want to believe in G-d,
but I found out that I needed to find G-d in order
to survive!
All these deficiencies
within ourselves, all those "al chaits"... it's not
a matter of choice. We need to deal with them;
it's a matter of survival!
Every screaming
Arab, every missile, every threat against us corresponds
to a character trait within ourselves that we can - and
must! -- work on. This is our job for Yom Kippur!
Every Saturday
night we say: "Whoever sits in the refuge of the Most High,
he shall dwell in the shadow of the Al-mighty. I will
say of G-d, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my G-d and I
will trust in Him.' For He will deliver you ... With
His pinion He will cover you and beneath His wings you will
be protected; shield and armor is His truth. You shall
not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day;
nor the pestilence that walks in gloom, nor the destroyer who
lays wasted at noon. Let a thousand encamp
at your side and myriad at your right hand, but to you they
shall not approach. You will merely peer with your eyes and
you will see the retribution of the wicked. Because you
said, 'You G-d are my refuge,' you have made the Most High
your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will
any plague come near your tent." He will charge His angels
for you to protect you in all your ways." [4]
This Yom Kippur,
let us cry out with full voices, "HASHEM HU HA ELOKIM! HASHEM
HU HA ELOKIM! HASHEM ONLY YOU ARE OUR G-D! HASHEM
ONLY YOU ARE OUR G-D!"
Then we will soon
hear the sound of the Great Shofar. We, the Children
of Israel, will return in joy to Yerushalayim Ir ha Kodesh in
peace and brotherhood forever!
May it be this
year!
With love and hope
for the immediate redemption of Am Yisroel!
Roy S. Neuberger
