Israel Koschitzky VBM Yom Kippur Digest 5781

1111u lil n11w1 Yeshivat Har Etzion - Israel Koschitzky VBM Parsha Digest, Year Ill, Yom Kippur Digest 5781 Selected and Adapted by Rabbi Dov Karoll Quote from the Rosh Yeshiva Yorn Kippur... focuses on the Jewish people, as its historical origin is within the context of the recovery from the sin of the golden calf, and it is centered, in terms of our awareness, on the unique service performed in the Temple, wh ich is, of course, all very particularistic ... . So on Yorn Kippur. .. consciousness ... of our status and stature vis-a-vis God ... can have an impact on the nature of the teshuva. But the awareness and reality of our election is a two-edged sword. It can feed arrogance, chauvinism, and condescension. This sharpens the possible conflict between humility and teshuva on Yorn Kippur, because humility is more difficult to come by when you are told you're the salt of the earth. On the other hand, of course, if one has been properly educated and nurtured, and properly prepared himself for "the great and awesome day of God" (Malakhi 3:23), then the very experience of the sanctity of the day can intensify one's awareness that it is the Lord your God "Who gives you the power to gain wealth." The deeper exposure to and experience of God that we aim to have on Yorn Kippur intensifies our sense of where our power and might are coming from .. .. So, indeed there is teshuva on Yorn Kippur and there is humility, not only the humility... of attributing our own accomplishments to God, that He is the One who gave us "the power to gain wealth (chayil)," but also specifically the humility that is stimulated by, and emerges from, our exposure to and our experience of "the great and awesome day of God." And while it is a day in which we seek to experience the sanctity of the day as narrated and described in the unique service of the day, we should strive to experience chayil in another sense as well: looking to achieve, however incrementally, our longer range eschatological vision embodied in the verse, "They proceed from strength to strength (me-chayil el chayil); every one of them appears before God in Zion" (Tehillim 84:8). -Harav Aharon Lichtenstein zt"I, "Humility and Pride in Teshuva," Return and Renewal: Reflections on Teshuva and Spiritual Growth Yorn Kippur: Ne'ila "Open for Me the Gates of Righteousness" Based on a Sicha by Harav Yehuda Arnita I zt"I

Based on: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/open-gates-righteousness

I sleep, but my heart wakes: hark, my beloved is knocking, saying, "Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night."... My beloved put in his hand by the latchet of the door, and my heart was thrilled for him . I rose up to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with flowing myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. (Shir HaShirim 5:2-5) This is as it is written in the Midrash. '"I rose up to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with flowing myrrh, upon the handles of the lock' (5 :5) . 'I rose up to open for my beloved' - This alludes to Shacharit [of Yorn Kippur]. 'And my hands dripped with myrrh' - This alludes to Musaf. 'And my fingers with flowing myrrh' - This alludes to Mincha. 'Upon the handles of the lock' - This alludes to the Ne'ila prayer." (Rabbenu Bachya, Kad HaKemach, Kippurim 2) The Ne'ila service adds an additional dimension to the prayers of Yorn Kippur. Here we try to respond to God's "knocking," to open our hearts to the "Beloved" who has "put in His hand by the latchet of the door." The feelings of uplift experienced throughout the day are the sound of the Beloved knocking at the door. Our feelings are not a response to the voice of the Beloved, but rather the voice itself. This is how the Holy One, blessed be He, asks us, "Open for Me, My sister, My love." The disciples of both the Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov taught that the heavenly voice declaring, "Return, return, 0 wayward children" (Chagiga 15b), finds its way to the consciousness of every Jew who entertains thoughts of repentance. In the words of the psalm, "Of You my heart has said, 'Seek My face.' Your face, 0 Lord, I seek" (Tehillim 27:8) . In our hearts we hear a voice that says, "Seek My face." Rashi explains that this voice issues at God's bequest: "Of You" - From You, in Your service, my heart says, "Seek" - all of you, all of Israel - "My face." We are called to respond to that inner voice, and to reply, "Your face, 0 Lord, I seek." Of course, in order to hear the voice that issues from God, we have to peel away all of the outer layers and open our hearts. Happy is the person who hears the voice of the Beloved declaring, "Return, return, 0 wayward children." But there are some who, like Elisha b. Avuya, also hear the closing words of that call : "Return, return, 0 wayward children - except for Acher'' (Chagiga 15b). Elisha b. Avuya did not understand that this call was directed at him, challenging him to exert himself and repent; he gave up. One who feels that his heart is deaf to that heavenly call, that he has no way of repenting, someone who is told, "Everyone should repent - but not you," must understand that this feeling is itself a call to exert special efforts, to lift himself to the point where he can repent. *** Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will go in to them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter. (Tehillim 118:19-20) It is taught in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that a righteous person stands before the gate and pleads, "Open for me the gates of righteousness." The response that comes from heaven is, "This is the gate of the Lord" - you are standing before a locked gate, and this sense of gates being locked is itself "the gate of the Lord." This teaching discusses the righteous, but is also relevant to each and every one of us who stands at the climax of this holy day and pleads, "Open us a gate at the time of the locking of the gate." In order to merit the opening of the gates of heaven, we have to open the gates of our heart. With the words of the prayer "Open us a gate" (at Ne'ila), we request divine assistance that will allow us to open our hearts - even just the tiniest opening: "My Beloved is knocking, saying, 'Open for me"' - R. Yissa said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel, 'My children, open for Me just one opening of repentance, be it as tiny as the point of a needle, and I will open for you openings [so wide] that wagons and carriages could pass through."' (Shir HaShirim Rabba 5:2) We must open our hearts to our true identity, our true calling and destiny, instead of trying to run away from it as Jonah tried to run away from God. It is said in the name of the Shel ah (Kitzur Shel ah 101) that there is special merit in reciting a verse at the end of one's daily prayers that begins and ends with the same letters as one's own name, in order to remember one's name on the Day of Judgment. This teaches us the danger that a person may forget his name on the Day of Judgment; he may deny his true identity. Throughout the year, throughout one's life, a person can conceal his real "I," and present an artificial self, while the real "I" is in exile, in the sense of "I was in the midst of the exile" (Yechezkel 1:1, as explained by Rav Kook in Orot HaKodesh 111 :97). But on the Day of Judgment and the Day of Atonement, we try to identify our true nature, our inner essence. On Rosh Ha-shana and on Yorn Kippur a person stands with his real name. Our efforts during Ne'ila need to express that true inner self. King David declares: "Hear the right, 0 Lord; attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer, from lips without deceit. Let my sentence come forth from Your Presence, let Your eyes behold the right" (Tehillim 17:1-2) The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 1:670) explains: Why does David mention these 5 things in this verse, and then conclude, "Let my sentence come forth from Your Presence"? David said, "Master of the world, if my judgment is concluded on Yorn Kippur in the morning, I will not be able to stand [in prayer for the rest of the day]. Rather, after I say Shern a and pray 4 prayers - then 'let my sentence come forth from Your Presence."' Let us pray from the depths of our hearts and the inner chambers of our souls, and plead, "Purify our hearts to serve You in truth." [Translated by Kaeren Fish. From When God Is Near: On the High Holidays (11~1 mi)] Tefillat Yorn Kippur The Secret of Selichot: The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy By Rav Ezra Bick Based on: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/secret-selichot-thirteen-attributes-mercy

2 A. The Jewish people have a custom of saying "selichot," penitential prayers on fast days and especially during the days leading up to Yorn Kippur. On Yorn Kippur itself, the custom was originally to say selichot in each of the 5 prayers of the day. Modern machzorim print selichot for only 2 of those prayers, the evening prayer (Ma'ariv, Kol-Nidrei) and the closing prayer (Ne'ila). Because there were many different local customs as to which selichot were said in the other prayers of Yorn Kippur, older machzorim simply printed one line in the appropriate place, "Here the selichot are said," and gradually most communities stopped saying them. It is still true that the selichot, and the "thirteen attributes of mercy" that lie at the heart of them, are central to the understanding of Yorn Kippur. This is felt most clearly in the waning moments of the day, during Ne'ila, when they are recited repeatedly (7 times in most versions). The basis for reciting the thirteen attributes of mercy is found in Rosh Hashana 17b. "God passed by him and called .. :' (Shemot 34:6). R. Yochanan said: Were this not an explicit verse, we could not have said such a thing. It tells us that the Holy One, blessed be He, wrapped Himself (in a ta lit) like the prayer leader (chazzan) and showed Moshe the order of prayer. He said to him: Whenever Israel sins, let them perform this order and I shall forgive them. "HaShem Ha Shem" - I am He before man sins; I am He after man sins and repents ... RavYehuda said: A covenant is made over the thirteen attributes, that they are never ineffectual, as is written, "Behold I am making a covenant" (34:10). There are several perplexing points about this gemara. Why did God have to demonstrate to Moshe how to recite the thirteen attributes? Why did he"dress up" like a chazzan and pretend to be one who prays? Why are the thirteen attributes guaranteed to succeed more than any other prayer, and what is the meaning of the "covenant" which is the basis of that success? Finally, examining the thirteen attributes, we find that they are names and descriptions of God, not a prayer at all. Nothing is actually requested. What is the significance of reciting attributes of God? Surely a plea from the heart for forgiveness should be more effective!

B. How do the Sages know that the thirteen attributes, conveyed to Moshe in a mysterious, powerful revelation after the sin of the golden calf (Shemot 34:5-7), are a means of obtaining forgiveness? The answer to this question is found in a later incident in the Torah. When the Jewish people, after hearing the report of the spies concerning the Land of Israel, seek to return to Egypt, God tells Moshe that He is planning to destroy them. Moshe pleads and argues with God, finally saying: And now, the strength of God shall increase, as You have spoken, saying: HaShem, long-tempered and great in mercy, who bears sin and iniquity, and shall cleanse but not cleanse .... Forgive the sin of this people by the greatness of your mercy, as You have borne this people from Egypt unto here. And God said, I have forgiven by your words. Moshe cites from the original thirteen attributes from Shemot (though not exactly as they appear there, for reasons we will not address now). Here we find Moshe using the recitation of the attributes as the clinching argument of his prayer - and God responds, "I have forgiven, BY YOUR WORDS:'What's more, Moshe ascribes this recital to a promise of God. The Sages understood, accordingly, that the revelation of Sefer Shemot included a method of achieving forgiveness - hence, the conclusion: "Whenever Israel sins, let them perform this order and I shall forgive them:' But this passage also contains an enigmatic hint of the inner meaning of this recitation. Moshe prefaces his words to God by praying, "And now, the strength of God shall increase, as You have spoken:'What does Moshe mean by asking God to increase His strength? In what sense can we speak of God's strength increasing in any way? Why is this request the preface to the attributes of mercy?

C. The secret which God revealed to Moshe, the principle which is so amazing that"were this not an explicit verse, we could not have said such a thing," is exactly what Moshe refers to when he says, "And now, the strength of God shall increase:' In Judaism, the attributes of God are not theology, they are revelations, manifestations of God's presence in the world. But God does not impose His presence on the world. God is found where people, created in the image of God, call on His name. Every day, at every prayer, Jews declare: "Yitgadel ve-yitkadesh shemeh raba" - His great name shall be sanctified and increased! This is precisely the meaning of COVENANT - "A covenant is made over the thirteen attributes, that they are never ineffectual:' A covenant is not a promise; it is a two-sided agreement. It creates something which exists only in

3 partnership. The thirteen attributes exist in covenant, because God has agreed that His presence in the world will depend on the free-willed calling of humans, who shall be the bearers of His name, His presence, His glory. The clearest, most obvious example of this principle is the attribute of God called "malkhut" - kingship. There is a basic principle in kingship - "ein melekh be-lo am" - there is no king without a people. God's kingship, which is an intrinsic attribute of His majesty, cannot be complete without the acceptance by people. The end of the "Aleinu" prayer, which forms a centerpiece of the prayers of Rosh Ha-shana and Yorn Kippur, reads: "And they shall all accept the yoke of Your kingship, and You shall rule over them forever.... and God shall be king over all the earth; on that day God shall be one and His NAME ONE:' The words, "God is King," recited by the Jewish people on Rosh Ha-shana, complete the coronation of God on that day. In the words of the Sages and the prayers, He ascends the throne. This principle, so revolutionary in its implications, is actually taught to children in preschool. Adon olam asher malakh: The Master of the world / Before any creature was created; / When everything shall be done according to His will, / THEN His name shall be called KING. The same is true for the attributes of mercy. Because God is committed to being our God as we call on Him, then when we call Him by His names of mercy, that is How His presence will be felt. God is not only God - He is our God, the God of Israel. When one calls Him "merciful and graceful, long-tempered and great in mercy," then that is how He is OUR God. This then is the meaning of the gemara quoted above. God appeared to Moshe wrapped in a ta lit, as the leader of the prayer, because the thirteen attributes are not a prayer TO God. He is not listening, receiving, considering. He is part of the prayer itself. The words are not TO Him, they are about Him. They, as it were, create the Presence of God Himself. God is changing Himself (rising from the throne of judgment and sitting on the throne of mercy). He is as much part of the recitation as we are. Properly speaking, before the creation of the covenant, ONLY God could have "recited" the thirteen attributes. God has to show Moshe how this is to be done, for He is giving over to Moshe and the Jewish people something which belongs to Him alone. He is making the Jewish people the bearers of God's presence in this world. Therefore, "A covenant is made over the thirteen attributes, that they are never ineffectual:'There has to be some effect to a sincere calling of the attributes, because the terms of the covenant are that otherwise, God will have no presence in the world at all. There is no base for God within the world other than the hearts of men. If God is not revealed within the prayers of Israel, how shall He be revealed? Therefore, the 40 days between the beginning of the month of Elul and Yorn Kippur are the days of Selic hot. The revelation of the thirteen attributes to Moshe took place on the first day of Elul (40 days after the sin of the golden calfon 17Tammuz), and the sign of the forgiveness of Israel was given on Yorn Kippur, when Moshe descended the mountain for the second time with the second tablets of the law. The second tablets are God's acceptance of the covenant- His presence in the world; the ten commandments as given to the Jews, are carved by Moshe (unlike the first, which were carved by God), by Man. The Kotzker Rebbe, commenting on the verse, "For the distance of East from West, have our sins distanced Him from us" (Tehillim 103:12), said: What is the distance of East from West? - the turning of one's head! If we turn to God and call, He is there. Prayer, requests, pleading - that begins afterwards. Avodat Yorn HaKippurim How Does the Scapegoat Atone - A Message of Mercy and Hope By Rav Yoel Bin-Nun Based on: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/how-does-scapegoat-atone-message-mercy-and-hope

Our initial inclination would be that the notion of Yorn Kippur should be impossible: how can one resolve sins committed intentionally? Repentance certainly has its place, as it functions as a corrective; but how can a sacrifice achieve forgiveness and atonement for willful wrongdoing? Indeed it is quite audacious to read the words ofYeshayahu (58) as the haftara of Yorn Kippur. What the prophet is asking is whether the community has ensured that, at the end of the fast, a meal will be waiting not only for those who have plenty, but also for the less fortunate: "Offer your bread to the hungry and bring the bitterly poor into your house" (58:7). Fasting, beating one's breast, bowing one's head and wearing sackcloth and ashes by themselves have little meaning for the prophets: "I desire kindness rather than sacrifices," Hoshea declares (6:6). This means that religious worship that does not uproot moral wrongdoing, and which is sometimes regarded as a "bribe" to God to

4 continue engaging in interpersonal corruption, is regarded very severely by the prophets. As such, the prophets generally do not speak of a sacrifice atoning for a sin committed intentionally. The Torah teaches that if a person sinned unwittingly and then became aware of his sin, he should bring a sin offering. But does the Torah mention anywhere a sacrifice that brings atonement for a sin performed knowingly? Yet, Yorn Kippur atones for intentional sins, despite the apparent impossibility of this notion. The door to repentance is always open, but punishment for sins committed knowingly should be unavoidable. Yorn Kippur is thus a paradox, and the Torah itself points to this, calling it a "chuka," similar to the term used concerning the red heifer used for ritual purification. Regarding the heifer, the whole concept is puzzling: why is it necessary, as all other ritual impurities are purified through water? Why, when the impure person is purified through the ritual of the heifer, is the priest who performs the sprinkling (and who was ritually pure) simultaneously rendered impure? The red heifer and the scapegoat are paradoxical exceptions to the general laws of purity and sacrifices, and are very difficult to understand. In fact, our Sages teach that the nations of the world ridicule Israel because of the scapegoat and the red heifer. The resolution to the question of why these sacrifices render impure those who have been involved with them, is the fact that are sacrifices prepared outside the camp, and this category renders one impure by definition. But the need for these "external sacrifices" is itself problematic. Generally, we are forbidden to offer sacrifices outside the Temple. Why does the Torah make an exception here and command banishing the goat outside the camp? In Vayikra 17, the chapter between the Torah reading of Shacharit of Yorn Kippur and the Torah reading of Mincha, there is an emphasis on the prohibition, "They shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the 'se'irim' (demons);" one who slaughters a sacrifice outside the camp is considered to have given an offering to demons! But what about the 2 goats offered on Yorn Kippur? Are we - heaven forbid - hinting at 2 deities? To whom are we sacrificing the scapegoat in the barren land? On the Day of Judgment - Rosh Ha-shana - we do not fast, nor do we beat our breast over our sins, nor do we recite Selichot. It is a day of truth, a day of remembrance, a day of judgment. Our fear of heavenly judgment makes this day a fearful one, and we feel awe and dread upon hearing the shofar and reciting Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot. We fear God's judgment of our actions. But the Torah teaches that fasting has an effect, that man can repent and be given a second chance, that God relates to us not just in justice but in mercy as well. The presentation of the second set ofTablets ofTestimony, on Yorn Kippur, symbolizes this. The Holy One reveals that there is another dimension to His providence over the world - the attribute of mercy. This is a dimension that has no place according to justice, truth and judgment. The essence of Yorn Kippur, explains the Ram ban in Parashat Emor, is "mercy within judgment:' Therefore, we confess, and we cry out Selichot. The Selichot even "spread backwards" all the way to the week preceding Rosh Ha-shana, or to Rosh Chodesh Elul. During the period of"the Days of Mercy," Rosh Ha-shana is a day (today, 2 days) of truth, without Selichot. It is a day of judgment based on strict justice. But the Torah nevertheless gives us - against all logic - a day of atonement, where our sins are forgiven and punishment cast away. After all, we are only human, and we cannot withstand the attribute of truth. "The Holy One saw that the world cannot exist based only on the attribute of justice, and so He added to it the attribute of mercy:' The haftara - the Book ofYona - teaches us faith, prayer and repentance, in that order. But the haftara does not end after chapter 3, when the people of Ninveh repent. The story continues with the tale of the castor plant in chapter 4, teaching the attribute of mercy: "Shall I not then have mercy on Ninveh, the great city?" The world cannot exist only in the attribute of justice, and the Holy One performs a great kindness for the world, and with Israel, in giving us Yorn Kippur. It is a great and wonderful message of hope. However, the sins and iniquities that are placed upon the goat cannot be offered on the altar. The altar does not accept the offering for an intentional sin. This goat, then, cannot be offered up, but we must confess and send away our sins, for we cannot withstand the attribute of truth. Therefore, we banish these sins committed knowingly to the wilderness, to a barren wasteland. That is why the Torah commands - almost in the same breath, as it were - "They shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the 'se'irim,"' but on one day of the year you shall send all your intentional transgressions out of the camp with the goat (sa'ir). The first half of Sefer Vayikra - up to the service of the Kohen Gadol on Yorn Kippur - deals with sacrifices and ritual purity. From there onwards, the second half discusses the sanctity of the congregation (prohibited sexual relations), "You shall be holy," the holiness of the land, holiness in time, etc. By allowing us to cast out even our intentional sins, Yorn Kippur connects the sanctity and

5 the purity of the Temple with the daily life of the congregation. Like the story of Yona, Yorn Kippur teaches us that without mercy, the world cannot exist at all. Despite all logic, justice, truth and judgment, Yorn Kippur brings us a message of hope, atonement, and great possibility. Translated by Kaeren Fish

Haftarat Yorn Kippur

Framework and Content in Mitzva Observance By Rav Amnon Bazak

Based on: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/framework-and-content-mitzva-observance-study-haftara-yom-kippur

A. Introduction The haftara of Yorn Kippur morning comes from Yeshayahu (57:14-58:14) . The main part of this prophecy is in Chapter 58, which describes the type of fasting that God desires. It rejects a fast which consists only of external signs: Is such the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict himself? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Do you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to God? (58:5) In contrast to this fast, the prophet provides an alternative: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? [If you are] to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him, and that you do not hide yourself from your own flesh? (6-7) This principle needs no explanation, and dovetails with the prophetic rebuke against emphasizing ritualistic observance of commandments while neglecting the underlying moral values. As a result, we can understand why this prophecy was selected to be the haftara on Yorn Kippur. The last two verses of the chapter, however, are puzzling: If you turn away your foot because of Shabbat, from pursuing your business on My holy day; and call Shabbat "delight," and God's holy day "honored;" and if you honor it and go not your ways, nor pursue your business, nor speaking thereof; then you shall delight in God, and I will make you ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Yaakov your father; for the mouth of God has spoken. (13-14) These verses seem to deviate completely from the main topic of this chapter, which until this point discussed the ideal fast day. Why juxtapose Shabbat observance with fast days?

B. Proving the Connection Between the Subjects In principle one could argue that there is indeed no connection between the 2 subjects, and that the treatment of Shabbat is completely disconnected from the issue of fasting, much as there is no connection between verses at the beginning of the haftara from the end of Chapter 57 and the topic of fasting. However, this argument can be discredited for several reasons. a) The same literary pattern appears in both subjects, the ideal fast and Shabbat: "If" you uphold the set of behaviors surrounding the topic, "then" you will be rewarded with a special relationship with God, which will lead to a sense of wellbeing.

The Fast Shabbat Terms [If you are] to loose the fetters of wickedness ... to deal your bread to the hungry... If you turn away your foot because of bring the poor that are cast out to your house? when you see the naked, that you Shabbat, from pursuing your business cover him, and that you do not hide yourself from your own flesh ... (6-7) on My holy day; and call Shabbat"delight," If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting and God's holy day "honored;" and if you forth of the finger, and speaking wickedness; And if you draw honor it and go not your ways, nor pursue out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul. .. (9-10) your business, nor speaking thereof. (13)

6 The Fast Shabbat Reward Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring Then you shall delight in God, forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of God and I will make you to ride shall be you rear guard. Then you shall call, and God will answer; you shall cry, upon the high places of the earth, and He will say: 'Here I am'. .. (8-9) and I will feed you with the heritage Your light shall rise in darkness ... God will guide you always, and satisfy your soul in ofYaakov your father; drought ... and you shall be called "Repairer of walls, restorer of paths to dwell in:' (10-12) for the mouth of God has spoken. (14)

In both subjects, the linguistic and substantive link between the conditions and their reward is prominent. In the first subject, there is an ideological connection between the first condition - "deal your bread to the hungry ... do not hide yourself from your own flesh" - and its reward - "and your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of God shall be you rear guard. Then you shall call, and God will answer:' In other words, if you act righteously and do not ignore others, the God will deal righteously with you and will respond to your calls. In the second condition, this link is even stronger. If you "satisfy the afflicted soul," then God will "satisfy your soul in drought:' In the second topic there is also a link between the condition - "If you turn away your foot because of Shabbat .. . and call Shabbat 'delight; and God's holy day 'honored;' and if you honor it and go not your ways, nor pursue your business, nor speaking thereof" - and its reward - "Then you shall delight in God, and I will make you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage ofYaakov your father; for the mouth of God has spoken:' b) There is a clear linguistic connection in the transition between the end of the first part (12) and the beginning of the second part (13): ... and you shall be called "Repairer of walls, restorer (meshoveiv) of paths to dwell in (la-shavet):' If you turn (ta shiv) away your foot because ofShabbat. c) Various forms of the Hebrew word 'chefetz' (which has a dual connotation of desire/eagerness and business dealings) appear 5 times in the chapter: 3 times in the first part (see verses 2-3), and twice in the latter part (in verse 13). In light of all this, the question is sharpened: why were these 2 subjects juxtaposed?

C. "You Shall Sanctify the Day of Shabbat" The key to understanding this issue seems to be the manner in which the prophets related to the mitzva of Shabbat. Yirmeyahu prophesied: Thus said God to me: Go, and stand in the People's Gate ... and say to them: Hear the word of God, 0 kings ofYehuda, and all Yehuda, and all the inhabitants ofYerushalayim, that enter in by these gates; thus says God: Guard yourselves for your own sake by not carrying any burden on the day of Shabbat, nor bringing any into the gates ofYerushalayim, nor shall you carry forth burdens from your houses on the day of Shabbat, or do any work. Rather, you shall sanctify the day of Shabbat as I commanded your fathers. (17:19-22) Why did Yirmeyahu sense a need to admonish the people about carrying burdens on Shabbat? He is apparently addressing the phenomenon of people doing business in "the gates of Yerushalayim" on Shabbat. Since this does not seem to constitute a violation of a Torah commandment, the residents of Yerushalayim thought that there was no prohibition. However, even though the Torah only prohibited labor (melakha) on Shabbat, commercial activity, which became more prevalent with the trend toward urbanization that continued throughout the First Temple Era, created a situation in which the Shabbat became just like any other day of the week. Therefore, Yirmeyahu had to admonish the people that observing the sanctity of Shabbat went beyond merely refraining from labor and also included a prohibition against doing business. This trend continued into the Second Temple Era. Nechemia describes his battle to preserve the character of Shabbat, also fighting primarily against the phenomenon of business on Shabbat: In those days saw I in Yehuda some treading winepresses on Shabbat, and others bringing in heaps of grain, and loading them onto donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and sorts of loads which they brought into Yerushalayim on Shabbat. I admonished them there and then for selling provisions .... Then I censured the nobles ofYehuda, saying to them: "What evil thing is this that you are doing, profaning Shabbat? This is what your ancestors did, and because of it our God brought all this evil upon us, and upon this city. Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning Shabbat:'...

7 When the gates ofYerushalayim began to grow dark before Shabbat, I commanded that the doors be shut, and commanded that they not be opened until after Shabbat. I stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that no loads could enter on Shabbat .... I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and guard the gates, to preserve the sanctity of Shabbat ... (Nechemia 13:15-22) Both Yirmeyahu and Nechemia used the expression "to sanctify Shabbat" regarding the prevention of commerce; clearly, this references the Torah's commandment to "Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it" (Shemot 20:7). However, whereas the Torah's ordinance finds expression through abstaining from melakha (see 20:9), over time it became clear that this abstention was insufficient to sanctify Shabbat and differentiate it from the weekdays. Let us now return to the prophecy of Yeshayahu. We will see that here, too, the prophet addresses the need to maintain the special character of Shabbat, and that refraining from melakha alone is insufficient. Thus, Yeshayahu emphasizes abstention from weekday engagements on Shabbat. Chazal's well-known explanation of this verse expresses the ideas contained therein very aptly (Shabbat 119a): "If you honor it" - your Shabbat clothing should not be like your weekday clothing ... "and go not your ways" - that the way you walk on Shabbat should not be like the way you walk during the week. "Nor pursue your business" - your business is forbidden; God's business is permitted. "Nor speaking thereof" - that your speech on Shabbat should not be like your speech during the week. Eventually, the laws of muktzeh would be introduced, their purpose being to preserve the character of Shabbat in an ever-changing reality, in which one could engage in weekday activities without violating any specific melakha: The Sages forbade manipulating some things on Shabbat in the manner that you would do so during the week. Why did they address this prohibition? They reasoned, if the prophets admonished and commanded that the way you walk on Shabbat should not be like the way you walk during the week, and that your conversations on Shabbat should not be like your conversations during the week, as it says: "Nor speaking thereof," then obviously the way you manipulate things on Shabbat should not be like the way you manipulate things during the week. Thus, [Shabbat] will not be like a weekday to him, leading him to lift and repair vessels, move them from corner to corner or house to house, bury rocks, and the like. Since he is sitting idly at his house, he will look for something to occupy him, and it will turn out that he did not rest and that he ignored the meaning given by the Torah "so that he may rest" (Deva rim 5:13) ... Furthermore, some people are not professionals. They remain unemployed their whole lives, traveling and lounging around; their whole lives are a break from work. If it would be permitted for them to walk, speak, and manipulate items as on a weekday, they will not have rested in a recognizable manner... (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Shabbat 24:12-13) Throughout history, there has been a need to preserve the framework of Shabbat as a day of rest. As reality changes, Shabbat is in danger of becoming just another routine day, even if one observes the prohibitions that had been in effect until then. Israel's prophets and sages stood for the preservation of Shabbat over time, concerning themselves with preserving its inner content in every generation.

D. Framework and Content in Fasting and Shabbat We can now return to our opening question and address the ideological connection between the admonition about keeping Shabbat and the rebuke regarding fasting. Both mitzvot emphasize the need to be dissatisfied with the mere external framework, which can be upheld without attaining the underlying ethical goals. Just as a proper fast day is not achieved just by refraining from food and drink, a display of meekness, and wearing sackcloth and ashes, but by accompanying acts of righteousness and kindness, so, too, the mitzva of Shabbat is not fulfilled simply by refraining from work, but by preserving its character and transforming it into a holy and special day. There also seems to be special significance in juxtaposing these two subjects, which contrast in two ways. First, whereas the fast day (as explained by Yeshayahu) seeks to instill the importance of interpersonal obligations, Shabbat is a mitzva entirely between man and God. The lesson taught by bundling these two subjects together is that "prophetic morals" do not only insist on the mitzvot between man and his fellow, but are concerned with man's relationship with God as well. Those who emphasize the importance of the inner substance that accompany the external framework must internalize the prophetic message that this principle exists for every mitzva. Man's actions must be coupled with spiritual content both in his obligations toward his fellow man and in his obligations toward God. Secondly, whereas a fast is "a day for a man to afflict himself" (58:5), Shabbat is a day of"delight" (13). The emphasis on preserving the inner substance not only pertains to demands that one afflict himself, but also to days which call upon man to enjoy. Neither of these feelings - affliction and enjoyment - stands alone as an independent value. Both must be accompanied by actions which provide spiritual meaning through the ideas that underlie both fast days and celebrations - "your fast day" and "My holy day:' Translated by Rav Elli Fischer To subscribe, or for comments, questions or sponsorship opportunities, please write us at: [email protected]