Likkutei Sichos Vol. 29 — Yom HaKippurim
1 It has been discussed many times that in the expression of Chazal "the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur" there appear to be two opposites. "Between" Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur indicates that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are not included among these days; yet from the Gemara's saying "the ten days between" it is proven that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are included in the count, since between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur there are only seven days.
The explanation is that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur contain two matters:
(a) Their essential character — which is not the matter of teshuvah. The essential character of Rosh Hashanah is "Crown Me over you," the acceptance of His kingship, "and with what? With a shofar." And the essential character of Yom Kippur is "the essence of the day of Yom Kippur atones" — an atonement from the essence of the day itself, which is higher than the atonement that comes through teshuvah. In this respect they are higher than the "days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur," whose character is teshuvah.
(b) Beyond that, they also contain the matter of teshuvah — on account of which they too are counted among the (ten) days of teshuvah.
[To the point that we find that the teshuvah of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a different, higher mode of teshuvah, one not bound up (to the same degree) with the movement of bitterness, but rather a teshuvah that is chiefly out of joy.]
Not only Rosh Hashanah, when one may not say confessions, but even on Yom Kippur — when there is an obligation to confess — the Alter Rebbe rules: "One who wears sackcloth on account of teshuvah must remove it on Yom Kippur, because it is a Yom Tov and one must honor it with clean clothing." That is: the teshuvah of Yom Kippur may not stand in contradiction to the Yom Tov within it, and therefore one may not wear "sackcloth on account of teshuvah."
2 With this we will also understand what is written in Siddur HaArizal regarding the (ten) days of teshuvah: that one who returns in complete teshuvah and fasts during the seven days of teshuvah is forgiven all his sins — the first of the seven days of teshuvah, falling on Sunday, atones for all the sins he committed on Sundays, and likewise the second day, and so on. That is, each of the seven days of the week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur corresponds to its counterpart day among the days of the week of the entire year.
From this it is understood that these seven days are singled out — even from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — in the matter of teshuvah, to the point that specifically of them it is said that they encompass within themselves, with regard to teshuvah, all the days of the year.
But seemingly: where do we find that one should single out "seven days of teshuvah" from the ten days of teshuvah?
According to the above it may be said that the source for this is the expression of Chazal itself — "the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur." The seven days "between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur" are singled out from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in that they are devoted to the matter of teshuvah alone; which is not so with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, where (a) teshuvah is not their essential character, and (b) the teshuvah within them is a different mode of teshuvah, as above.
3 But this requires understanding. The Rambam rules in Hilchos Teshuvah: "Even though teshuvah and crying out are always fitting, during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur they are exceedingly fitting." And in the following halacha the Rambam continues: "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah for all — and it is the end of forgiveness — therefore all are obligated to do teshuvah and to confess on Yom Kippur."
From the sequence of the Rambam's words it is evident that the obligation of teshuvah on Yom Kippur is greater still than during the preceding nine days. How does this accord with what was explained above, that the matter of teshuvah is more emphasized in the seven days than on (Rosh Hashanah and) Yom Kippur?
One might have said that the existence of an obligation of teshuvah on Yom Kippur is not because Yom Kippur in itself is designated for teshuvah, but is merely a consequence of the essential character of Yom Kippur mentioned above — "the essence of the day of Yom Kippur atones." Since the Rambam rules that "the essence of the day of Yom Kippur atones for those who repent" specifically, an obligation of teshuvah therefore falls upon each person so that the atonement of the essence of the day should be able to take effect — the teshuvah removes an impediment.
But it is a great forced reading to explain the Rambam this way, because from the plain sequence of his words — "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah for all, and it is the end of forgiveness, therefore all are obligated to do teshuvah and to confess on Yom Kippur" — it is evident that the obligation of teshuvah on Yom Kippur is not a consequence of something else, of the fact that the essence of the day atones, but rather stems from the fact that "Yom Kippur is a time of teshuvah." On Yom Kippur there is an obligation of teshuvah by virtue of its being a "time of teshuvah," and not only by virtue of its being a day of atonement.
[And this accords with the well-known formulation of Rabbeinu Yonah in his Sha'arei Teshuvah, that "it is a positive commandment from the Torah for a man to rouse his spirit to return in teshuvah on Yom Kippur, as it is said: 'from all your sins before the Lord shall you be purified.'"]
One must therefore say that although Yom Kippur is indeed designated (also) for the matter of teshuvah, nevertheless there is an essential distinction between the teshuvah particular to the (ten) days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the teshuvah of Yom Kippur. The special obligation on Yom Kippur "to do teshuvah and to confess" is not bound up with the special quality of the teshuvah of the ten days — that it is "exceedingly fitting and is accepted immediately."
And so it is emphasized in the Rambam's division of the halachos: he states the obligation of teshuvah on Yom Kippur not in the same halacha in which he speaks of the special quality of the ten days, but in a separate halacha.
Therefore, when one speaks of the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as the ten days of teshuvah, the opposite holds: one singles out the seven days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, because they are designated for the matter of teshuvah, as above — since the obligation of teshuvah on Yom Kippur is a matter unto itself.
Put differently: the fact that the ten days of teshuvah are singled out as days of teshuvah is on account of the fact that then the Holy One is "to be found... in His being near," which effects that the teshuvah should be "exceedingly fitting." And with regard to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, this "nearness" to the Holy One expresses itself in something higher than teshuvah — on Rosh Hashanah, "Crown Me over you," and on Yom Kippur, "the essence of the day atones." And then there is added a separate matter on Yom Kippur — an obligation to do teshuvah in its plain sense.
4 With this the explanation of the Rambam's expression above, "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah for all," will be understood — for it seems difficult:
The Rambam had just said in the preceding halacha that "even though teshuvah and crying out are always fitting, during the ten days they are exceedingly fitting," and as he explains, this applies even to an individual — from which one understands that all ten of these days are a "time of teshuvah," as their very name indicates, "the ten days of teshuvah." How then does he say immediately afterward that (only) "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah," from which it emerges that the ten days are not a "time of teshuvah"?
The explanation is as follows. In general, teshuvah is a positive commandment not bound to time. As soon as a person commits a sin, an obligation to do teshuvah falls upon him — as the Rambam writes in the heading of Hilchos Teshuvah: "a positive commandment... that the sinner should return from his sin." The obligation to do teshuvah for a sin is not bound to any particular time; it applies at every time, if one has committed a sin.
And what is said regarding the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, that they are singled out in the matter of teshuvah — the meaning is not that during these ten days something is added to the essential obligation of teshuvah, but rather that the teshuvah during these days is, in the Rambam's precise words, "exceedingly fitting and accepted immediately." Since during these ten days there is a state of "to be found... in His being near," one of the consequences of this is that a benefit accrues also with regard to teshuvah, that "it is exceedingly fitting and accepted immediately."
[And it may be said that with the expression "exceedingly fitting" the Rambam also alludes to the teshuvah of the ten days of teshuvah being with greater sweetness and joy. And this is what the Rambam says, "even though teshuvah is always fitting" — the whole year the service of teshuvah can be out of joy, for although teshuvah is bound up with the arousal of regret out of bitterness, one must nevertheless at that very time be in joy over the fact that the soul "has returned to her father's house as in her youth." But during the ten days teshuvah is "exceedingly fitting," for since the Holy One is "to be found... in His being near," the joy of drawing nearer to Him is with far greater strength.]
But the accomplishment of Yom Kippur is that "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah... therefore all are obligated to do teshuvah and to confess on Yom Kippur." The time of Yom Kippur itself obligates teshuvah. The meaning is not merely that the time of Yom Kippur causes the teshuvah to be easier, higher, and so on — rather, the time creates an obligation of teshuvah.
[And this matter of Yom Kippur is not bound up specifically with its being one of the ten days when the Holy One is "to be found... in His being near." On the contrary: the "being found... in His being near" of Yom Kippur expresses itself in something higher than teshuvah — in that "the essence of the day of Yom Kippur atones," as above in section 1.]
5 According to this one can also explain the nature of the obligation "to do teshuvah... on Yom Kippur," which seemingly is not smooth:
Whichever way you take it: if a person has committed a sin, he is obligated in teshuvah at whatever time it may be, and this has nothing to do with an obligation stemming from Yom Kippur; and if he has no sins, then teshuvah is not applicable at all, and no obligation from Yom Kippur can apply.
There are Acharonim who understand that the distinction is this: the obligation of teshuvah in general has no fixed time, and therefore, as long as a person is alive and able to do teshuvah, he has not yet nullified the positive commandment of teshuvah — only when he dies without teshuvah has he nullified it. Whereas on Yom Kippur there is a positive commandment to do teshuvah on this very day, and if one does not do teshuvah on Yom Kippur, he has nullified the positive commandment.
6 But from the Rambam's expression — "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah for all, for the individual and for the many... therefore all are obligated to do teshuvah... on Yom Kippur," an emphasis the Rambam makes specifically regarding the obligation of teshuvah of Yom Kippur — it is evident that something is added to the very obligation of teshuvah itself; it is a different obligation from the obligation of teshuvah during all the days of the year. And it is for this reason that "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah for all... all are obligated to do teshuvah."
And the explanation of this may be said as follows:
During all the days of the year, the state of the person — who has sinned — is the cause that creates the obligation of teshuvah upon him. Accordingly it is not applicable to say that "all are obligated to do teshuvah," for it depends on whether the person is in a state that demands teshuvah or not.
Whereas on Yom Kippur, the time is the cause of the obligation of teshuvah, and consequently it applies to everyone — it is "a time of teshuvah for all, for the individual and for the many... all are obligated to do teshuvah." In this obligation, which stems from the time, there is no limitation, and it takes effect upon "all."
And this is no question: how, after all, is it applicable to obligate "all" in teshuvah — teshuvah in its plain sense applies only if one has a sin! The Rambam guards against this immediately in the following halacha: "Transgressions that he confessed over on one Yom Kippur, he goes back and confesses over them on another Yom Kippur, even though he stands in his teshuvah, as it is said: 'For I know my transgressions, and my sin is before me always.'" And since "there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin," there is always room for teshuvah for every single person, for "my sin" — even though it has already been atoned — "is before me always," just as one "goes back and confesses over them."
The distinction in this is only as follows: when the cause of the obligation to do teshuvah is the state of the person, his sin — then if the person has not sinned, or has already done teshuvah for the sin, having forsaken it, which alone is "the mitzvah of teshuvah from the Torah" — there is no obligation upon him to be aroused once again in teshuvah for that sin, even though "my sin is before me always."
But on Yom Kippur, where the time obligates teshuvah and an obligation falls upon "all to do teshuvah" — if there was in his lifetime any matter concerning which teshuvah is possible, he is obligated in it, since "my sin is before me always." And consequently this applies to everyone — "all are obligated to do teshuvah," as above.
7 And this is sweetened according to what is explained in Tanya concerning "my sin is before me always" — that although one has "already done proper teshuvah," when a Jew is elevated to a higher level in the service of Hashem, a "still higher teshuvah" is demanded of him.
And so in our case: by virtue of the loftiness of the day of Yom Kippur, when every Jew is elevated, even those matters for which one has already done "proper teshuvah" require a higher teshuvah on Yom Kippur.
Put somewhat differently: by virtue of the elevation of a Jew on Yom Kippur, teshuvah is demanded for matters which before Yom Kippur — when he stood at a lower level in the service of Hashem — were not reckoned as sins relative to that level. This is as is known regarding the explanation of why one says the blessing "Forgive us" within the Shemoneh Esreh prayer and not before the prayer.
8 The explanation according to the inner dimension of these matters, as to why specifically Yom Kippur is a "time of teshuvah":
Teshuvah is above the framework of time — "if he entertained a thought of teshuvah in a single moment, he becomes a completely righteous man." It is for this reason that teshuvah in a single moment fills all the blemishes of a long span of time. The power within teshuvah comes from the fact that teshuvah is bound up with the Holy One Himself, as Chazal say that it was specifically the Holy One who said, "let him do teshuvah and it will be atoned for him."
[And correspondingly within man, the arousal of teshuvah is bound up with the essence of his soul, which is always whole; and therefore from there is filled the blemish in the radiance and extension of the soul.]
What is added on Yom Kippur is this: the above is drawn down in a revealed way, of itself, into time — "a time of teshuvah." Yom Kippur effects that Jews are, like the ministering angels, above the world. And this comes down into the time of Yom Kippur, which the Torah calls "once in the year" — where (a) the meaning of "once" is "yechidah," as Tosafos states; and (b) "one day" is, within time itself, a time that points to something above limitation and division, as is explained in Torah Or regarding the reason Shavuos is "one day," because Shavuos is "the time of the giving of the Torah... which is the aspect of yechidah, above division."
Accordingly, the very time of Yom Kippur is a vessel for the matter of teshuvah, which is above time — "Yom Kippur is the time of teshuvah."
(From talks of Shabbos Parshas Haazinu, 6 Tishrei 5724)