One can not help but notice that Rosh Hashannah is two days and Yom Kippur is one day, besides the fact that that it would be difficult to fast for two days, there is another reason. It is basic human nature to put off for tomorrow what we dont want to do today. Yom Kippur is a reminder to us that when it comes to teshuvah it is not the right approach. Our action is required now, we can not put it off any longer. We must act immediately to save our souls. The Torah portion of Yom Kippur deals with the two sons of Aharon who are killed after bringing a strange fire (aish zara) in the service at the mishkan (the tabernacle). Is it not disheartening to read about them on a day that we are looking to do (teshuvah) repentence? After all, they didnt get a chance to do teshuvah, they were killed right after the sin. Actually, it is the perfect time to read about them. We, who are in a position to do teshuvah should take advantage of the fact that we are able to, even though most of us are not as worthy as the sons of Aharon were. We should not let this opportunity pass us by. There is the ritual of the two goats that atone for the sins of the people on Yom Kippur. It is interesting that the two goats are subjected to a lottery, one is to be sacrificed as a sin offering while the other one is symbolically given the sins of the people and thrown off a cliff (azazel). Both meet their end but in a different way, to show us that there is no escape of sin except through atonement, and punishment can come in many different ways. Sometimes it looks like a sinner (a rasha), has a great life and the righteous one has to struggle, but looks can be deceiving. Just like the two goats, where it looks like one of them is sacrificed and one of them is spared. The one that is seemingly spared, is led out of the city to the wilderness, where the goat should feel comfortable in his natural environment of rocks and cliffs. It is there that he is thrown off the cliff to atone for the peoples sins. We can see, that like the goat we can not get too comfortable in our lives, we must keep diligent for all the stumbling blocks in life that can trip us up. If we use the Torah as our guide, we will be sure to reach the heights of a good life.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 05:57:40 +0000
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