"There are two kinds of war. One is simple war, where one nation has a dispute with another. But there is also war that is brought about by God in order to strengthen the heart of Israel and bring them to trust in Him. When they see that they have no other hope, they learn to depend completely on God." -- Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berdichov.
The ten days from the start of Rosh Hashanah thru Yom Kippur have been dubbed "The Ten Days of Teshuvah," ten days to return to ourselves, to return to our Creator. No one ever said that was an easy task, but the events of this past week have made the challenge all the more difficult, and all the more important.
This week at Bat Ayin, I'm sorry to report, despite all of our lofty ambitions of discovering God's will and making it ours, we've failed to recognize the war we're really fighting. The destruction wreaked by the Palestinian "revolts" pale in comparison to the devastating effect our in-fighting has on our unity, our intimacy with God, and our bond with our self.
Yom Kippur -- our Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Natan Greenberg, explained -- is a day with an energy that's completely opposed to the usual flow of Jewish life. Good…life…that's what we're pursuing in Judaism. When faced with a choice between good and bad, life and death, the Torah tells us to choose life. Death is such a negation of Judaism, that immediately after a family member dies, the mourner refrains from doing mitzvot, all prayers and rituals are called off in the face of death. But then there's Yom Kippur, a virtual reenactment of death. We don't eat, don't drink,and we wear the same white robe we're buried in… all of a sudden, we're standing in front of God as Judge, pleading for our lives on the brink of death. "Life is but a fleeting moment." It may be a 120 year-long moment, but it's transient nonetheless.
So what are we to do about it? How can I make a move towards appreciation and edge away from taking my life for granted? Take relationships seriously, our Sages tell us. We all love to be loved, God included. And as much as God plays the roles of judge, jury, and executioner on Yom Kippur, God is still the mother, father, and lover that has been on our side since our soul was first breathed into our body. We've got protectzia (connections) on Yom Kippur. It's as if, says Rav Shlomo Carlebach, at the Neilah service which concludes the day, Hashem says to each of us: "Everyday I'm together with all of Am Yisrael, but now, in the last minutes, let us go off alone together and lock the door behind us." In the single day of Yom Kippur, we can turn all of our misdeeds into mitzvot. More than just merely undoing what we've done "wrong," when we find a way back to our self and do Teshuvah (to truly return to the ME I want to be) we regain the past year, and we merit the year to come. GEVALT! That's two years for the price of 1 day! Hashem is just waiting for us to give him a sign that we're willing to try.
In the few days we have left, our prayers are focused on Am Yisrael, on uniting all the fractured parts that make up the body of our people. May we all take one step towards relating to others as parts of our self, and inch by inch, with G-d's help, we'll come closer to realizing that the battleground is right here. Chatimah Tovah (May you be signed in the book of life!)!