Rabbi Roodyn

Yom Kippur is described in the Torah as שבת שבתון, a Sabbath of all Sabbaths. Unlike a regular Shabbos when we switch off our interaction with the outside world through desisting from melacha, on Yom Kippur we go further and switch off our bodies to the greatest degree possible.

When describing the world to come, the Rambam says

‘’In the world to come, there is no body or physical form, only the souls of the righteous alone, without a body, like the ministering angels. Since there is no physical form, there is neither eating, drinking, nor any of the other bodily functions of this world like sitting, standing, sleeping, death, sadness, laughter, and the like.

Thus, the Sages of the previous ages declared: “In the world to come, there is neither eating, drinking, nor marital relations. Rather, the righteous will sit with their crowns on their heads and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence.”

For just one day a year we attempt to experience what it is like to live without a body, men wear the tallis and kittel that they will be buried with and we attempt to create Heaven on earth. Hashem’s presence is with us the entire day, until we accompany it back with Hashem Hu HaElokim and the shofar blast.

Yom Kippur is not a day to feel stuck in the quagmire of our aveiros and indiscretions, rather it as day of Tahara, a time to rise above them. When we view ourselves from the spiritual, almost angelic perspective of Yom Kippur we see ourselves differently. We recognise and realise who we really want to be, what we want to be remembered for after we die, and we start to make a move towards that goal. If Yom Kippur were a day of feasting rather than fasting we wouldn’t stand a chance of being able to achieve that objectivity.

Time seems to move differently on Yom Kippur, especially if we spend most of the day looking at our watches. So I would humbly suggest to look at them a little less, to feel liberated by the opportunity of being able to elevate ourselves. Rather than count our minutes let’s make those minutes count, because before we know it the gates of Heaven will close for another year.

Wishing you and yours an easy and meaningful fast and a gmar chasima tova