{"id":247,"date":"2013-11-14T02:07:26","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T02:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marcmangel.net\/?page_id=247"},"modified":"2013-11-14T02:07:26","modified_gmt":"2013-11-14T02:07:26","slug":"yom-kippur-5770-2009","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/?page_id=247","title":{"rendered":"Yom Kippur 5770 (2009)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Drash for Yom Kippur\u00a0 5770<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Marc Mangel<\/p>\n

In Proverbs 20:09, we read<\/p>\n

\u201cWho can say \u2018I have made my mind clean; I<\/p>\n

am pure from sin?\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

and the answer, of course, is nobody.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why would I tell you this on Yom Kippur of all<\/p>\n

days?\u00a0 Because I have very good<\/p>\n

news for you, that\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Sidra of V\u2019ayakel begins with Moses<\/p>\n

assembling the Israelites to repeat to<\/p>\n

commandment of Shabbat to them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rashi, the \u00a0Talmud, Midrash and Zohar all agree<\/p>\n

that \u00a0this \u00a0assembly takes place the day after<\/p>\n

Yom Kippur and that this was the day when<\/p>\n

God said\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI have forgiven according to your<\/p>\n

word\u201d .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This was forgiveness for the sin of the golden calf.<\/p>\n

If God was able to forgive that generation \u2013 which<\/p>\n

experienced liberation and numerous<\/p>\n

miracles \u2013 \u00a0for a great, great sin,<\/p>\n

then the news indeed good for us \u2013<\/p>\n

God will forgive us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that is the message of these days of awe. There<\/p>\n

is the real possibility of return, of coming home.<\/p>\n

However, the first step must be taken by<\/p>\n

people. \u00a0How do we do that? How do we<\/p>\n

lead to a year \u201cwritten and<\/p>\n

sealed for good\u201d?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The answer is in the Machzor:<\/p>\n

Teshuvah, Tefillah and Tzedaka.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Teshuvah means to return, not to repent for which there<\/p>\n

is a different word in Hebrew (charatah).<\/p>\n

We are to return and find the essence of<\/p>\n

goodliness in ourselves and in others \u2013<\/p>\n

and goodliness is one letter away<\/p>\n

from Godliness<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tefillah means attachment; not prayer for which there<\/p>\n

is a different word in Hebrew (bakasha)\u2013 that<\/p>\n

means supplications or requests.\u00a0 Tefillah<\/p>\n

means to attach \u00a0ourselves towards<\/p>\n

God.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tzedaka means righteousness or justice, not charity<\/p>\n

for which there is a different word in Hebrew<\/p>\n

(chesed).\u00a0 We give Tzedaka because it is<\/p>\n

our duty \u2013 our possessions are entrusted<\/p>\n

by God to us and we must act<\/p>\n

towards fellow humans the \u00a0way<\/p>\n

that we ask God to act<\/p>\n

towards us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We ask God for blessings even though God is under<\/p>\n

no obligation to us. Consequently, we are bound<\/p>\n

in justice and reciprocity\u00a0 to give to others<\/p>\n

even though they are not in our debt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tzedaka is so important that when it is our time to be<\/p>\n

judged, Rashi teaches, that our acts of Tzedaka<\/p>\n

become an entity and our charity defends us<\/p>\n

before the Divine standard of<\/p>\n

judgment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During Elul and these days we read Psalm 27.\u00a0 In it,<\/p>\n

David writes<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I ask of Adonai \u2013 for this I yearn:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo dwell in the House of Adonai all the days of my life<\/p>\n

\u201cTo behold God\u2019s beauty, to pray in God\u2019s Sanctuary\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How can we dwell in God\u2019s house?\u00a0 Through<\/p>\n

Teshuvah: Seeing goodness<\/p>\n

Tefillah: Seeking attachment beyond<\/p>\n

ourselves<\/p>\n

Tzedaka: Giving freely and generously<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May the rest of your fast be easy and meaningful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Drash for Yom Kippur\u00a0 5770 by Marc Mangel In Proverbs 20:09, we read \u201cWho can say \u2018I have made my mind clean; I am pure from sin?\u2019 \u201c and the answer, of course, is nobody.   Why would I tell you this on Yom Kippur of all days?\u00a0 Because I have very good news … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":53,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-247","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=247"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248,"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/247\/revisions\/248"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/53"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcmangel.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}