Only when we recognize our sins can we truly atone

Acharey Mot

Leviticus 16:1 - 18:30

Amos 9:7-15

I Samuel 20:18, 42

This week's Torah portion tells of the wonderful gift bestowed on the Jewish people by the Almighty, the Day of Atonement. We have been given one day every year that is so holy that on it we can aspire to be like the angels who need no physical nourishment and who only do G-d's bidding. On this day we put forth our best efforts to introspect, to remember, to review our actions, and to do away with all of our rationalizations for the sins we have committed in the past year. It is for this reason that Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is referred to as Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembrance. We attempt to deny all of our denials. We fast and beg our Creator for mercy and forgiveness. A large component of our efforts is the vidui, or confession, that we repeat as we symbolically beat our breast in contrition. This venue for tshuvah, or atonement, is powerfully comforting. Second chances must be greatly appreciated.

At the very end of this exhausting day we conclude with the words, "forgive us." This seems a bit odd because we have just spent the entire day asking for forgiveness. Why repeat this appeal so late in the day? It is because, hopefully, if we have experienced Yom Kippur correctly, we have grown in our understanding.

While at the start of the day we were perhaps blissfully ignorant of the effects of our wrongdoing, by the end of the day we should have searched our souls well enough to be cognizant of the outcome of our mistakes. We should by then feel our remorse more directly. Therefore it is only proper to ask once more for forgiveness with the full knowledge and understanding we have gained during this special day.

It would, however, be a great error to consider Yom Kippur as a complete rectification for all of our transgressions. It should be thought of as only the start of a process, which leads to true tshuvah, which requires a change in our behavior.

The Dubner Maggid had a remarkable ability to drive home a point with a simple but insightful parable. In regard to Yom Kippur and the part it plays in our atonement, he refers to a man who lives in a small town. This town's firefighting equipment is very limited, and fires often end in big disasters.

Once, while visiting a large city, this fellow notices the smell of smoke in the air as well as a far-off commotion. He hears the clanging of bells and the thumping of drums. "What does all this mean?" he asks one of the city's inhabitants. "It means there is a fire in the area, but it will soon be out," is the reply.

The villager decides to investigate. When he reaches the scene of the fire, he sees that sure enough the blaze has been extinguished. He is very impressed.

Upon his return home, he calls on the town leaders and recounts his experience. The elders of the town are all too eager to assume that the big city ways are superior to their own, and they decide to try the bells and drums approach. The next time a fire is reported, they ring and bang with great zest. Then they proceed to the site of the fire where they are shocked to discover the fire still raging and half the town burned down.

They quickly revert to their own method of dousing the flames with water. When the fire is finally out, they run the poor man out of town.

Stunned and confused, he returns to the big city where he tells someone, "I don't understand. When you rang the bells and banged the drums the fire went out. When we tried it in our town nothing happened."

"Are you serious?" comes the reply. "Don't you know that the noise is only a signal for the fire engines to come and put out the fire? The action of the firemen is what put out the fire, not the racket."

The same is true of our Yom Kippur observance. The prayers and cries and chest pounding we exhibit on this Holy Day are very significant because they signal that we recognize the error of our ways. They are not, however, in themselves enough. They need to be followed by positive actions, by clear improvement in the way we behave, by more adherence to Torah law and by renewed concern for others if we expect our pleas for forgiveness to be answered. It is only after we take these positive steps to extinguish the fires of our sins that we will accomplish true and full atonement.

Shabbat shalom.