The Haftora we read on Yom Kippur afternoon is called Maftir Yonah. It is the longest of all Haftoras, it consists of the entire book of Yona and three verses from the book of Micha. It tells the story of our prophet Yona, who Hashem sent on a mission to Nineveh, to tell them to repent for their bad ways.
The Jewish people, at the time, were at odds with Yona, disrespecting him and calling him a false prophet. Thinking that Nineveh would listen to him and repent, and it would look poorly on the Jewish people, he chose to run away.
Everybody is familiar with the rest of the story. The ship he was running away on, was experiencing an abnormally rough sea, and at the same time, they were witnessing other ships passing by them in relative calm. They realized that it was from Hashem. They drew lots to see which of them were at fault. The lot pointed at Yona, who told them why this was happening, and they threw him off the boat. A fish swallowed him, and after three days he was spit out of the fish on the shore. He went to Nineveh, told them to repent and they did, and the city was saved.
Why is this Haftora read at mincha on Yom Kippur? First, like Yona, we can’t run from Hashem, and from the mission he wants us to do. Second, it is a story about teshuva, and the power of teshuva, that even the wicked city of Nineveh, who were not Jewish, repented and were forgiven by Hashem. How much more so, if we do teshuva, He will grant us forgiveness. Also, we see that reading it or listening to it, evokes a wanting to do teshuva.
It is said by mincha, because mincha on Yom Kippur is a preparation for the holiest prayer of the day, Neila, and because our sages say about the greatness of the mincha prayer, that Eliyahu wasn’t answered, but by the mincha prayer. Mincha time on Yom Kippur is also the called “raava d’raavin,” the time of the “ultimate good will” of Hashem, and when it comes to doing teshuva, it’s the most opportune time.
It is our custom to call this Haftora Maftir Yonah. It begs the question: If it is all about teshuva, why don’t we call it Haftoras teshuva?
The answer that is given for this, is in accordance with what the Zohar says, that Yona is symbolic of the descent of the neshama into the body. The Zohar goes on to explain the details of the story of Yona and how they mirror the journey of the neshama. When the neshama is in the body, it has to deal with things that it never had to deal with in the highest of heights. For the neshama to get the body to do what Hashem wants, it has to be like Yona, from the word onaa (trickery).
May Hashem accept our teshuva, and may our teshuva bring us to our desired destination, the ultimate redemption, when we will witness the greatest revelation of Hashem, greater than any prophecy. May it happen now.
Adapted by Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz from the teachings of the Rebbe, yitzihurwitz.blogspot.com. Rabbi Hurwitz, who is battling ALS, and his wife Dina, are emissaries of the Rebbe in...
