For on this day He shall effect atonement for you to cleanse you. Before Hashem, you shall be cleansed from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is an eternal statute.
כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם לִפְנֵי יְ-ק-וָֹ-ק תִּטְהָרוּ. שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן הִיא לָכֶם וְעִנִּיתֶם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם חֻקַּת עוֹלָם
Regarding Shabbat, the Torah says:Vayikra 16:30-31
Six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to Hashem, whoever performs work on the Sabbath day shall be put to deathHere Shabbat is referred to as being "holy to Hashem" where it would really seem that this refers to Yom Kippur since Yom Kippur is a day devoid of the material, and completely dedicated to the holiness of Hashem.
שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים יֵעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן קֹדֶשׁ לה כָּל הָעֹשֶׂה מְלָאכָה בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת מוֹת יוּמָתShmot 31:15
Rabbi Yaakov Kappel Chosid (d. 1787), the father of the Vizhnitzer dynasty and recognized by the Baal Shem Tov as a devout servant of Heaven, was invested with the chassidic cultivation of the entire Marmarosh mountain region in Romania, including more than 160 kehillas. Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Chosid served as the shaliach tzibbur for the Baal Shem Tov and his melodious nussach hatefilah is still used by all Vishnitzer descendants.
Rabbi Yaakov Kappel Chosid in his siddur raised some issues where Shabbat and Yom Kippur coincide:
- Since Yom Kippur is called a Sabbath of complete rest, how can we rely on the afflictions of Yom Kippur? Rather the opposite, if Yom Kippur is considered like a Sabbath, then shouldn't there be a measure of Oneg (pleasure) to it.
- Since Yom Kippur is called a Sabbath unto you, how do we understand this in light of the Gemorah in Shabbat (118A), He who observes the Sabbath according to its laws, even if he practises idolatry like the generation of Enosh, is forgiven. Yet by Yom Kippur we see (Yoma 86A) that there are 4 types of atonement (Tshuvah, Yom Kippur, Suffering, Death), and only for transgressions of negative mitzvoth is tshuvah suspended and Yom Kippur itself can only atone. But for sins punishable by heavenly excommunication and capital punishment, then only tshuvah, Yom Kippur and great suffering can atone. It appears that Shabbat is stronger than Yom Kippur at providing atonement since Shabbat is considered a day where ones iniquity is forgiven.
- Also it is difficult that verse states by Yom Kippur "from all your sins" while the Gemmorrah in Yoma only specifies that Yom Kippur is operative for transgressions of negative commandments punishable by lashes or less.
The Special Day
Let's look at the commentary of Tanna D'bei Eliyahu on the verse in Tehilim:Your eyes saw my unformed body, and on Your book they were all written; days have been formed and one of them is His.The phrase "days have been formed and one of them is His" can be referring to the day of Shabbat, or possibly to the day of Yom Kippur. Really out of all of the great and holy days in the calendar (like the Shalosh Regalim), the most special day for Hashem, that is completely devoted for Hashem, and a Jew is completely disconnected from this world, is either Shabbat or Yom Kippur.
גָּלְמִי | רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ וְעַל סִפְרְךָ כֻּלָּם יִכָּתֵבוּ יָמִים יֻצָּרוּ וְלוֹ אֶחָד בָּהֶםTehilim 139:16
Source of Power
To understand the uniqueness of these days, we must look at two essential concepts in Chassidut:- Awakening from above - Dlaila "אתערותא דלעילא": is where purity comes down to man from above, stirring his soul.
- Awakening - from below - Dltata "אתערותא דלתתא": is a mental awakening that is generated from man, to overcome the material world and try to reach up and get closer to Hashem.
Yom Kippur is a "אתערותא דלתתא" - the effort of man himself arouses his soul, drawing him close to Hashem. This is starts and is wholly dependent on man declaring when the month begins. The importance of the day is a result of the efforts of the Jewish People and the service of the Kohen Gadol in the Temple and in the Holy of Holies.
This is the essential discussion that the Tanna Debai Eliyahu engages as to whether the special day is Shabbat, which is empowered by Heaven, or Yom Kippur - an awakening from below and contingent on the efforts of the Jewish people.
Receiving the Torah
Another fundamental difference between Shabbat and Yom Kippur is seen in the receiving of the Torah. The Talmud (Shabbat 86B) tells us that the Torah was given on Shabbat, where Hashem revealed Himself to the Jewish nation and spoke to them the Ten Commandments (the Luchot Rishonot). Thus when the people of Israel sinned at the golden calf, the 'luchot' did not remain, having come from above, heaven sent.But the second time around, the 'luchot' were given over on Yom Kippur, a day empowered from below. Thus these 'luchot' endured and remained, since what people themselves achieve has a permanent and eternal standing.
Fundamental Difference Between Shabbat and Yom Kippur
Why is Shabbat referred to as "the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to Hashem" while Yom Kippur is "a Sabbath of rest for you"? Yom Kippur relates directly to us since, as we have see, Yom Kippur is inherently dependent on our efforts.We also see this in Yom Kippur with "and you shall afflict your souls", since the fate of the soul is dependent on our actions, that we must polish and prepare the soul to be suitable for being endowed with the greatness of the day.
As opposed to Shabbat. Shabbat is dependent on basking in the essence of Hashem, as the verse states:
and you call the Sabbath a delight, the holy unto Hashem and you honor it by not doing your wonted ways, by not pursuing your affairs and speaking words.Shabbat can have eating and drinking, because the day is empowered from above. The holiness of Shabbat is greater than Yom Kippur since Yom Kippur is done without eating and drinking, while Shabbat has the power to elevate even material elements from this world. As we have stated, Shabbat is the awakening from above, while Yom Kippur is the awakening from below.
וְקָרָאתָ לַשַּׁבָּת עֹנֶג, לִקְדוֹשׁ ה' מְכֻבָּד, וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת דְּרָכֶיךָ, מִמְּצוֹא חֶפְצְךָ וְדַבֵּר דָּבָרYeshayahu 58:13
Mystical Insight into Shabbat and Yom Kippur
According to the Zohar, Shabbat is a day for the soul and not for the body at all. Shabbat illuminates the soul. Shabbat is pleasant for our souls, since the Holy Shabbat fills our souls with grace and sweetness. The Shabbat has no connection to the body. Rabbi Noah of Lechovitch (previous Slonimer Rebbe) says that the holiness of Shabbat is so high that the blessings from Shabbat have no impact on the material world, and all material influence and blessing from below continue via the Holy Shabbat ONLY based on the adding (tosefet) on to Shabbat that a Jew does (having Shabbat last longer). But the Shabbat itself is the holy of holies only to the soul.That is why the verse says "the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest" that the Shabbat is the elevated, godly aspect to inspire Jewish souls.
But for Yom Kippur the verse states "For on this day He shall effect atonement for you" in order to purify the body from all dirt and contamination. That is why the verse states "a Sabbath of rest for you" and "and you shall afflict your souls" - in order to polish and purify the body.
But by Shabbat, which is a day of soul, it is written "and you call the Sabbath a delight", since the whole day is holy to Hashem.
Dveikut - Holy Bonding
The Holy Shabbat has an aspect of Dveikut (bonding) to Hashem through love as it says "Between Me and the children of Israel, it is forever a sign" (Shmot 31:17) This bonding is made possible by the Holy Shabbat. As Chazal says, "The assembly of Israel shall be companion." This is the task of Shabbat, for through the power of Shabbat a Jew can bond with Hashem out of love.But Yom Kippur is Dveikut (bonding) out of fear. This is encompassed by "Your fear I'm running to you," since the efforts for the day of Judgement are motivated by fear of judgement.
As we learn in the Holy Zohar, in the verse:
and you call the Sabbath a delight, the holy unto Hashem and you honor it by not doing your wonted ways, by not pursuing your affairs and speaking words.
וְקָרָאתָ לַשַּׁבָּת עֹנֶג, לִקְדוֹשׁ ה' מְכֻבָּד, וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת דְּרָכֶיךָ, מִמְּצוֹא חֶפְצְךָ וְדַבֵּר דָּבָרYeshayahu 58:13
- "and you call the Sabbath a delight" - this is Shabbat
- "the holy unto Hashem and you honor it" - this is Yom Kippur
Is Shabbat More Powerful than Yom Kippur
It appears that Shabbat is stronger than Yom Kippur at providing atonement since Shabbat is considered a day where ones iniquity is forgiven. Only for transgressions of negative mitzvoth is tshuvah suspended and Yom Kippur itself atoneד. But for sins punishable by heavenly excommunication and capital punishment, then only tshuvah, Yom Kippur AND great suffering can atone.Yet the verse states by Yom Kippur, "you shall be cleansed from all your sins" This is just as we learn by Chazal that also with very serious sins when one does Tshuvah then he is immediately made into a Baal Tshuvah and is suitable for providing testimony - only still needing to undergo suffering.
Really Yom Kippur can atone for ALL sins even for the serious ones. This is the significance of the phrase "For on this day He shall effect atonement for you to cleanse you. Before Hashem, you shall be cleansed from all your sins" - only suffering will complete the process for atonement.
According to this it is possible to say that by Shabbat that all the iniquities are forgiven, but he would still need to undergo suffering like by Yom Kippur.
Fear and Love
Tshuvah on Yom Kippur is out of fear, where our intentiional sins are made like accidental, still requiring suffering. Yet by Shabbat, Tshuvah comes out of love, and all the iniquities are covered in love. Shabbat is the day of love between Hashem and the Jewish People. Thus even idolatry in the generation of Enosh is forgiven, and intentional sins are converted to merits. And no further suffering is required because out of the power of Shabbat all of our sins and blemishes are converted to merits.The Power of Shabbat and Yom Kippur Together
Shabbat and Yom Kippur, two forces that exist as one. They clean the Jew from even the most serious impurities.Here R. Nahum from Chernobyl (1730–1797) a student of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch, and one of the pioneers of the chassidic movement, establishing the Chernobyler movement.
Rebbe Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl dedicated much of his life's work to redeeming imprisoned Jews. In those days, if a Jew could not pay his debts to the local landlord, he was often thrown mercilessly into a dungeon or pit, sometimes with his entire family. Rebbe Nachum raised money to redeem these unfortunate Jews, saving them from sure death.
It came to pass that Rebbe Nachum was also imprisoned. Daily he would bribe the prison warden to let him out of the pit for a short time to pray and to immerse in the mikveh. One day, Rebbe Nachum did not bribe the warden. He explained that he did not need to do so, for he would be released from prison on that very day.
When asked how he knew that he would be released, he related that on that night Sarah had come to him in a dream. Rebbe Nachum asked Sarah what he did to deserve being thrown into a pit. Sarah answered that because Rebbe Nachum had devoted his life to redeeming captives, it was necessary for him to experience a taste of captivity so that he could consummately understand the situation and subsequently devote himself to this mitzva in an even more rectified manner. When a person understands why G-d has involved him in a certain situation, this releases him from the situation. Thus, as soon as Rebbe Nachum understood the reason for his imprisonment, he knew that he would be released on that very day.Said the Rebbe from Chernobyl, Yom Kippur has the power to atone even to those people that do not do Tshuvah, that is to say even for sins that Tshuvah is not sufficient for. This is because Yom Kippur also atones for the known flaws. And on this idea, Tzadikim said that a Bat Kol (a Heavenly Voice) came forth and declared that the law was like how R. Nahum articulated it, meaning that Yom Kippur can clean a Jew from ALL of his blemishes.
And all the more so when Yom Kippur falls on a Shabbat, that together at the spiritual level they encapsulate the Holy of Holies. Here both the powers from above ( "אתערותא דלעילא") and the powers from the earth ("אתערותא דלתתא") come together, for bringing atonement upon the soul and the body, repentance out of love and fear. This is that true moment that we are seeking to ask, as it says in Tehilim:
But, as for me, may my prayer to You, Hashem, be in an acceptable time. O G-d with Your abundant kindness, answer me with the truth of Your salvation.We should all merit from this special time to be cleansed from all blemishes and be completely purified from toe to head.
וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לְךָ ה עֵת רָצוֹן קלוקים בְּרָב חַסְדֶּךָ עֲנֵנִי בֶּאֱמֶת יִשְׁעֶךָTehilim 69:14
Gmar chatima tova!
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