Yom Kippur, in addition to being a day of atonement, is also
a day of purification. Just as mitzvos
have positive effects on us, sins have negative effects on us and on our
surroundings. They sully our souls and
distance us from the Creator. We can
fulfill the mitzvah of repentance by admitting our transgression, regretting it
and committing not to repeat the wrong.
God will forgive us our sin and we will not be punished However, does this automatically wipe the
slate clean and purify us?
Chazal[1] teach us that when the
sinners of Israel repent,
the power of the Torah purifies them.
Chazal understand this from a pasuk in Yechezkeil (36:25), “וְזָרַקְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַיִם
טְהוֹרִים וּטְהַרְתֶּם מִכֹּל טֻמְאוֹתֵיכֶם .../I will throw upon you
purifying waters and you will be purified from your impure state …” Chazal[2] teach us, too, that water is
a metaphor for Torah. Sin causes an
impure state but when we repent, Torah causes purification. Significantly, Moshe Rabbeinu brought down
the second luchos on Yom Kippur.[3]
The Sfas Emes teaches the difference between the first luchos
and the second. Preparations for the
first time stressed holiness and separation from the mundane. “... וְקִדַּשְׁתָּם הַיּוֹם וּמָחָר .../… prepare them today
and tomorrow …” (Shmos 19:10) The
word that we translate as prepare comes from the root kodesh/holy. The pasuk can thus be translated, “make them
holy today and tomorrow.”
The stress of the second luchos was purification. God was prepared to purify the nation after
the idolatry of the golden calf. While
we can certainly repent, showing remorse for our actions, Chazal teach us that
only God can wipe the slate clean and purify us. Chazal learn this from a pasuk in Iyov (14:4),
“מִי־יִתֵּן טָהוֹר מִטָּמֵא
לֹא אֶחָד/Who can produce purity from impurity. No one!”
Chazal[4],
though, read this pasuk as, “Who can produce purity from impurity. Is it not the One?” Reaching this state of purification is the
ultimate goal of the ba’al teshuva/penitent and God grants it through
Torah.
We see from the two sets of luchos that the Torah
provides one approach of serving God for the righteous – separation from the
mundane, holiness – and a different approach for the ba’al teshuva –
purification. It is important to
recognize this because not everything that is appropriate for one group is
appropriate for the other. It is
important to understand that as ba’alei teshuva, our goal is
purification through keeping and learning Torah, may we merit it!
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