Angels for a Day

by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. On it, Moshe came back from the Mount Sinai and informed us of G-d’s forgiveness. In Moshe’s hands were the second luchos, symbolizing the possibility for renewal and teshuva in all generations.

Yom Kippur is also a fast day, and a long one at that. It starts at sunset at the time of the Kol Nidrei Service and lasts all the way until nightfall of the following day. For many the day drags on, endlessly it seems, until the fast is finally complete.

One of my vivid childhood memories is of the Yom Kippur afternoon services. I remember the gnawing toll that the fast had taken of me, and by the looks on my friends’ faces I could see that they felt the same. But as I looked to the front of the sanctuary, I saw the faces of my mentors. They looked so different, so angelic and other worldly. It seemed, almost, that they were enjoying the fast. And I wondered: What do they know about Yom Kippur that they didn’t share with us?

The day of Yom Kippur must be seen not only as a mitzvah, but also in its historical context. As Moshe came down from the mountain having achieved atonement, the radiance of his face was overwhelming. For forty days, Moshe had not eaten or drank. Nevertheless, he lived. He was sustained during this time in the way of the angels. As Moshe left the mountain to rejoin the people, his appearance reflected his experiences. He looked angelic.

As the Jewish people saw Moshe they craved to emulate his exalted status. But such living is not for everyone. Instead, G-d granted us one day a year on which we can emulate that experience.

The atonement of Yom Kippur is not merely a process of being forgiven. The atonement of Yom Kippur is the gift of ascent to G-d’s Inner Chambers, an invitation into the Holy of Holies. On Yom Kippur we become angelic. As we keep company with the angels, we do not eat or drink, just as angels do not eat or drink.

The reason we do not eat on Yom Kippur is not because we need to atone. We do not eat on Yom Kippur because we are like angels.

Interestingly, there is a mitzvah to eat on the day before Yom Kippur so that we should be physically well nurtured as we enter the day. Yom Kippur is not meant to hurt us. As angels- on Yom Kippur- we are not allowed to do the act of eating. Being hungry is an unfortunate side effect of not eating. But the reason for not eating is not to be hungry, it is because we are like angels.

Some people mistakenly think of Yom Kippur as a sad day. They equate this fast with the fast of TishahB’av. This is a serious mistake. Tisha B’av is a day of mourning. Yom Kippur is a holiday.

The ascent to angelic status is reflected in various laws and customs of the day. For example,

  • Usually we follow the Shema declaration by saying “Boruch-Sheim” quietly, in an undertone. That sentence is a praise that angels give Hashem. On Yom Kippur we recite “Boruch-Sheim” loudly, because we too are angels.
  • The traditional dress for Yom Kippur is the kittel, the same garment in which a man is dressed upon death and ascent to the higher world, the world of angels. The white garment matches symbolically the purity of the angels. It is the correct dress for people who are like angels on this day.
  • There is a custom to smell fragrant spices on Yom Kippur day. Spices represent enjoyment that goes beyond the physical and tactile world. Unlike physical or gastronomical pleasure, nothing visible touches you physically, yet it is a pleasurable experience.

Indeed, we find that spices are the “language” of the soul. For example, we smell spices after Shabbos to comfort the soul as it transitions from the Shabbos sanctity into the mundane. So on Yom Kippur we smell spices, to symbolically enjoy the language of our angelic status.

Looking back to that childhood memory, I still treasure the angelic look of my mentors. For me, it is a reminder that if one stays focused, one can see beyond the superficial hunger pangs which come with fasting. Like an astronaut entering a world of weightlessness, on Yom Kippur we enter a different world, a world untainted by sin, unencumbered by physical limitations.

We enter G-d’s Inner Chambers- as angels- to plead our case.

May G-d grant us all a successful Yom Kippur, an easy fast, and a wonderful new year filled with good health and Torah blessings.

With best wishes for a Gmar Tov.

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