Shulchan Aruch (604) states, בערב לאכל מצוה בסעודה ולהרבות הכפורים יום, "There's a mitzvah to eat on erev Yom Kippur and to make a large seudah..." The source for this mitzvah is from the pasuk (Vayikra 23:32), נפשותיכם את ועניתם לחודש בתשעה, "You shall fast on the ninth day of the month." The Gemara asks, "Do we fast on the ninth day? Behold, we fast on the tenth day!" The Gemara answers that the pasuk is telling us to eat on erev Yom Kippur, and we will be rewarded as if we fasted. A reward is generally in accordance with the difficulty. This time, for the easy mitzvah of eating, we are rewarded as if we fasted.
The Tur (Orach Chaim 604) writes, "The Torah is telling us to prepare on the ninth day [of Tishrei] for the fast that will be on the next day. Hashem's love for Bnei Yisrael is evident here because we are obligated to fast not more than one day a year, and this fast is for our benefit, to atone for our aveiros. Hashem commanded us to eat and drink before the fast so the fast shouldn’t harm us. It is a mashal to a king who had an only son. He commanded him to fast one day, and at the same time, he commanded him to be well fed before the fast, to be able to tolerate the fast."
The Tur is telling us a wonderful lesson. Due to our many aveiros, we may think it necessary to fast many days. But Hashem loves us, and He makes our teshuvah easy. He requires us to fast only one day a year and to eat well before the fast so the fast won't harm us. That is all that's needed, and our aveiros are removed.
The Tur continues, "The Midrash tells a story of a mayor who sent his servant to buy fish for him. There was only one fish in the market, and the servant offered to pay a gold coin for it. A Yiddishe tailor was in the market, and he raised the price. The bidding rose higher and higher as they fought to purchase the fish until the tailor bought it for five gold coins. The servant returned to the mayor and told him what happened, and the mayor summoned the tailor.
"What do you do for a living?" the mayor asked.
"I am a tailor" (a low-paying job).
"So why did you buy a fish worth one gold coin for five gold coins, and why did you take it away from my servant?"
The tailor replied, "I would even pay ten gold coins for this fish because Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded us to eat and drink and trust that He will forgive our aveiros."
The mayor replied, "You acted properly," and let him go free.
The Midrash concludes that the tailor opened the fish, found a diamond inside, and he had parnassah from it for the rest of his life.
So, we have another reason for the mitzvah to eat on erev Yom Kippur. It is because we have bitachon, and we are certain that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will forgive our aveiros.
Reasons for the Meal on Erev Yom Kippur
The Rabbeinu Yonah (Shaarei Teshuvah 4:8-9) writes three reasons for the meal on erev Yom Kippur:
- To Express our joy that our aveiros will be forgiven.
- Since we can’t make a seudah on Yom Kippur, as we do during every other yom tov, we make the seudah on erev Yom Kippur. The seudos on Shabbos and yom tov are important because when a mitzvah is performed with joy, the reward is far greater.
- "So that we will have strength and energy on Yom Kippur to pray and to seek ways to do teshuvah."
Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz zt'l expressed another reason for this mitzvah:
About a fast day, we say, שיהא מלפניך רצון יהי המזבח גבי על מונח כחלב היום שנתמעט ודמי חלבי מיעוט לפניך, "...May it be Your will that my fats and my blood that became less today due to my fast be considered like the fats and blood that went on the mizbeiach."
Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz explains that we don't want to sacrifice regular blood and fats on Yom Kippur. We want to offer to Hashem the blood and fats we increased in ourselves from a mitzvah. We have a mitzvah to eat on erev Yom Kippur, which increases our fats and blood, and it is these fats and blood from a mitzvah that will be sacrificed with our fast on Yom Kippur.
The Sfas Emes Hakadmon (quoted in Ein Yaakov, Yoma, 81: Anaf Yosef) teaches that the purpose of the meals on erev Yom Kippur is to put people in a good mood so they will be willing to forgive their fellow man. He writes, "I think the atonement takes place more on the ninth day than on the tenth. Because on the ninth day, Yidden make peace with one another. Chazal say that if you sinned to your fellow man, you aren't forgiven before you receive his forgiveness. When one fasts, he can get short-tempered, and that divides people. But when one eats and drinks, he has a happy heart, and all Yidden unite."
