Preparations for Yom Kippur have already begun a month before Rosh Hashanah, during the month of Elul. That entire month was to be devoted to introspection and stock taking, resolutions and commitments, repentance and renewal. If that did not suffice, we were given the Ten days of Repentance, also known as the Days of Awe, starting with Rosh Hashanah, followed by seven days of Teshuvah, each day corresponding to a day of the week of the past year. After all of that intense preparation we finally arrive at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
It is at this point that the question begs to be asked: What is it that is new about this day? If an entire month, and then some, did not suffice for us to mend our ways and make sincere resolutions for the future, what more can we be expected to accomplish on Yom Kippur?
To answer this question, let us refer to a statement from the Midrash, “The expression “now” refers exclusively to Teshuvah. What does that mean?
When a person repents, there are two elements that are most pronounced: Regret for one’s behavior in the past and a sincere resolution for the future. There is, however, a third element that transcends and unifies the two others.
To explain: Some people will be sorry they did something wrong, but lack the spiritual strength to make changes for the future. In the words of our Sages: “The wicked are always full of regrets.” While they might realize the error of their ways, they lack the determination to translate their remorse into a changed or even improved behavior in the future.
Conversely, there are some who find it relatively easy to make resolutions, especially at the beginning of the year. They do have difficulty in really feeling contrite about their past. They would rather put their past behind them, forget it, ignore it; they cannot deal with it. The problem is that notwithstanding their sincere resolve for the future, not having eradicated their desire for their errant behavior, they are likely to succumb to temptation the next time around.
The month of Elul was primarily for dealing with the past. Rosh Hashanah, the day that we accept G-d as our King, and the days that follow, we added the dimension of resolve for the future. It can be suggested that on Yom Kippur—in addition to reinforcing these elements of Teshuvah—we deal with the “here and now” dimension as well. Instead of just focusing on our past misdeeds or on resolving for the future, on Yom Kippur we discover who we really are now. Our essential bond with G-d is revealed. And when we know who we are, regretting the past and resolving for the future are no longer the overriding issue.
The purity of our soul that comes to the surface prevent any of the past entanglements from getting in our way. We don’t have to generate feelings of remorse, because we are now new people, completely detached from the negativity of the past. Similarly, because of our new spiritual status, we do not require resolutions for the future. Being a Yom Kippur person is, in and of itself, the most forceful repudiation of a negative past and a positive future.
On a still deeper and more mystical plane it can be said that on Yom Kippur we rise to a level of timelessness, where the past and future are consolidated into the present.
With this premise we can better understand the significance of the Kol Nidrei prayer recited at the beginning of Yom Kippur. Many have asked, what does the renunciation of vows have to do with Yom Kippur? And why is it such a solemn prayer, considering that it is just a legal formula to guarantee that we will not be guilty of breaking any of our future vows?
The answer lies in the foregoing premise that Teshuvah—especially on Yom Kippur—goes beyond remorse for the past and resolution for the future. It is about the present attachment to G=d. As such, on Yom Kippur we no longer need to make vows and commitments for the future because our present attachment to G-d—revealed and actualized throughout Yom Kippur—will distance us from our errant past and keep us straight in the future. We therefore renounce our vows, in the Kol Nidrei service, as a way of saying: we do not need to keep ourselves straight by making vows, we can accomplish the same by allowing our spiritual essence to be actualized on Yom Kippur.
Perhaps this is the meaning of the verse in this week’s Parsha: “See now, for it is I. I am the only, there is no other G-d with Me.” One interpretation of this verse is that when we realize our G-dly identity, that I, the person, is indeed imbued with “I, the only one” -G-d, then one can see and appreciate the here and now.
One of the characteristics of living in an imperfect world is that we can rarely focus on the “now” of life, because we are burdened by the past and worried about the future. This preoccupation with the past and the future often robs us of the ability to experience fully the present. Our life, in effect, becomes a series of fleeting and elusive moments. This is one of the major ills associated with exile.
On Yom Kippur, however, we are given a respite from the obsession with the past and the anxiety over the future. We can live fully in the here and now, if only for a 24 hour period. To show how much we savor these precious moments, we sound the shofar at the end of the day and declare “Next year in Jerusalem!” We thereby declare that when G-d will herald the future Redemption by sounding the Great Shofar, we will be in a perpetual state of “here and now,” where every moment will be lived to the fullest extent.