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Yom Kippur: 3-min. Moshiach video https://youtu.be/Fdm0fHICM7Q
Yom Kippur-Haazinu
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This Shabbat is called Shabbat Shuva (the Sabbath of Repentance). It prepares us for the upcoming holiday of "Yom HaKipurim" (literally 'the day of forgiveness') the only day of the year when the High Priest used to enter the Holy of Holies.
We also read the Torah portion “Haazinu” which ends with the death of Moses on Mount Navo.
The Torah is not just a book of religion; it is the blueprint of creation and the instruction manual for reality. So, there must be a meaningful, practical connection between these three; Forgiveness, the passing of Moses and the High priest in the Holy of Holies.
But they seem to have no connection at all.
First; today we have no Holy Temple, no Holy of Holies, and no High Priest.
Second; Forgiveness is a deeply personal and spiritual thing between us and G-d while the Temple, Moses and the High Priest were 'outside of us'. How can they bring forgiveness?
Third; why does the Torah tell us here where Moses died since it later tells us that no one knows where he was buried (34:6)? And the Talmud tells us that Moses didn't really die at all (Sota 13b)!
To understand all this, here is a story.
Over four hundred years ago in the city of Sefad, Israel lived a simple Jew who we will call Shimon.
He was a good-natured fellow, always careful to do what G-d wanted and to ask the Rabbi of the town what to do if he had doubts.
It so happened that one Shabbat (perhaps it was the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av commemorating the destructions of the first and second Temples) the Rabbi gave a sermon about how G-d Himself suffers from the destruction of the Holy Temple; the sacrifices are called G-d's 'food' and 'bread' and since the Temple sacrifices ended G-d is (so-to-speak) 'hungry' and suffering.
Reb Shimon heard these words with an open mouth and eyes wide as saucers. 'Could it really be?' He thought to himself. 'Could it be that G-d is hungry? G-d is suffering?'
He didn't hear much more of the speech about how our prayers and good deeds are in the place of the sacrifices because he was too busy pondering and digesting (as deeply as his simple mind would allow him) what he had heard.
At first, he couldn't believe that the Rabbi would say such a thing; he always thought that G-d was infinite and had no body or stomach that could get empty. But the more he thought about it, it began to make horrible sense.
First of all, if the Rabbi said it, it must be true. Second if G-d is infinite then why can't He have a stomach also? Third, we really can't understand G-d anyway. So maybe He has an infinite stomach and now He's hungry.
In any case when Reb Shimon returned home for the Shabbat daytime meal related the grim news to his wife. G-d was starving! The Rabbi even said it!! And he burst out crying.
His wife, who was a bit more practical by nature, also cried but she thought it over for a while, dried her eyes and came up with a solution.
She had read that in the Temple there was 'Face Bread' (Lechem HaPonim); twelve loaves of bread put on a special six layered table each Friday and eaten by the priests a week later when new bread was brought.
She told her husband that she would bake a few extra loaves of bread each Friday and he would bring them to the synagogue and place them in the Ark where the Torah scrolls were kept, and hope that G-d would eat them.
Shimon clapped his hands with joy at the idea and he and his wife went to work. They saved up money all week and early the next Friday afternoon, when he was sure no one was there, Shimon tiptoed into the Synagogue with three freshly baked loaves, quietly approached the ark, opened the door, put the breads in, closed the door and backed out of the building as fast as he could.
Later that afternoon the Rabbi came into the Synagogue to learn Talmud for a few hours as was his custom but as soon as he entered, he was greeted by the fragrant aroma of bread that filled the room.
The Rabbi went to the ark, opened it and discovered the source of the aroma! Three, still warm, loaves! He asked the custodian about them and when he didn't know where they came from the Rabbi decided that rather leaving them to go stale, he would take them home for Shabbat.
That Shabbat in the daytime services when the Synagogue was full and the ark was opened to take out the Torah scroll Shimon was all eyes, craning his neck to see without attracting attention and imagine his joy when he saw that the breads were GONE!! 'G-d ate my breads!!! G-d wasn't hungry anymore!!' Shimon was silently thinking to himself, bursting with glee!!
He would have jumped up and begun clapping his hands with joy but that would give the secret away so he just sat and dried off his tears of joy!
And so it continued for months. Every Friday the Rabbi found delicious warm bread in the ark and every Saturday morning Shimon was flush with pride and accomplishment, certain that G-d took them. Everyone was happy!!
But good things sometimes come to an end.
It so happened that one Friday afternoon the custodian came in early to clean up. He was in another room when he heard someone enter the synagogue and peeked in to see Shimon sneak up to the ark, put the breads in, give them a kiss, close the ark door and leave.
A few hours later when the Rabbi entered the custodian approached him. "Excuse me Rabbi. Remember a few months ago you asked me about those breads in the ark?" The Rabbi smiled raised his eyebrows and shook his head yes.
"Well, I know where they came from, or rather where they come from. It's Shimon."
"Shimon?" asked the Rabbi incredulously. "Why would he bring breads?"
"Who knows?" The janitor replied "Maybe ask him. But one thing for sure... it's him. I saw him just a few hours ago."
Now this Rabbi was no ordinary Jew. He was a genius pupil of the Holy Rabbi Isaac Luria (AKA the Ar"i) the greatest Kabbalist that ever lived, and this completely baffled him. Why would a Jew put bread in the ark?
So the Rabbi right then and there walked to Shimon's humble house, knocked on the door, asked to enter, sat Shimon down and calmly and quietly asked for an explanation.
"Ahhh!" Said Shimon "Well, I'm glad you asked Rabbi. To tell you the truth I didn't want anyone to know. It was just between me, my wife and HaShem. But, well, you know how you said in a sermon a few months ago that since the destruction of the Temple G-d is hungry? Right? Well, my wife and I decided to do something about it. So, since then, she bakes a few breads every Friday and I take them to the Shul (Synagogue) for G-d to eat.
"And you know what Rabbi? G-d actually eats them!! Oy it's such a miracle! I put them in the ark and in Shabbat morning they're gone! Gone! Gone!!! It's such a miracle! But please don't tell people. unless you want to. But I'd rather keep it a secret."
The Rabbi looked at Shimon like Shimon just popped out of the ground. "What?!" He exclaimed, "You're doing this because what I said?! You want to blame this on my sermon!?"
Poor Shimon's smile faded and his eyes opened in horror. "But Rabbi... I just thought.."
"You thought? If you would have thought you would have asked me for an explanation! What, do you really think G-d eats your bread? Why that's crazy! G-d eats them?! I've been eating them! That's right, Shimon! I have been eating the breads. Now I want you to stop this insanity right now!! Do you hear?! This is the last time you bring those breads! Understand? I can't believe this is happening! You really think G-d eats bread? Shimon!!"
Shimon was stunned like he had been hit with a board and his wife retreated into the other room where she was crying silently into her dishtowel.
The Rabbi shook Shimon's hand, got a promise from him not to bring more bread and returned to the synagogue.
But as he arrived there a young man waiting for him .... with a message; "The Holy master, Rabbi Isaac Luria, wants to see you".
"Oy!" he said to himself "The Rebbe wanted to see me! Now I'm late to see the Rebbe because of those simpletons!"
The Rabbi almost ran to the house of the Ar”i only to find him in a serious mood.
"Prepare your household and write your last will and testament." said the Ar'i. "You have only a few days to live!"
The Rabbi was startled! The Ar'i continued,
"Since the destruction of the Temple G-d has not had such pleasure as He received from the breads of Shimon and his wife. You scoffed at their simple sincerity. Prepare to leave the world."
This answers our questions about Moses' death and Yom Kippur.
What G-d really wants is sincerity. True, Shimon in our story should have known better, but because he honestly and simply believed he was feeding G-d, his sincerity not only canceled out his mistake, it pleased G-d like the sacrifices did.
But, in fact, Shimon wasn't really wrong.
G-d does get 'nourishment' and 'pleasure' from our deeds (Nachat Ruach). And although they must be according to the Torah... they must also be with 'soul' and a pure heart.
And sometimes this pure heart is the most important thing.
That is why G-d told Moses to go on Mountain called Navo hinting at the fiftieth gate of intellect (Nun=50 Bo). It was a physical PLACE where the SIMPLE essence of G-d; above time and above death, was revealed. That is why the Talmud says Moses didn't die and the Torah says the place remains unknown.
This is the same level of G-dliness as the Holy of Holies which eliminates all sins.
From there G-d ignores the 'limited' mistakes we made and looks only at our 'unlimited' potential PRESENT. There is where the essence of every Jew is one with the essence of G-d.
That is why the High Priest could bring forgiveness for all the Jews, because he is an expression of this 'general' Jewish soul, above all limitation that is common in every Jew.
Just as Moses was able to bring forgiveness for all Israel for sin of the Golden Calf and brought them the second Tablets on Yom Kippur. Because he was a general soul; above time, place and divisions.
That is what the Talmud means when it says Moses didn't die. He and his inspiration live today.
And this is what Moshiach; the ultimate general soul, will do to the entire world.
This is the connection to the Day of Forgiveness: The day the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies where the only thing there was the Torah Moses brought from Sinai and G-d's unity with His people, and consequently with the entire world.
We must look at the world from our Jewish soul's point of view (this is true repentance). There, above time and space; the Holy of Holies, the scroll of Moses and the High priest still exist in each of us. And there each of us has a perfect, unlimited future.
And we have the power to make it happen one moment sooner!
We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish faith, hopes, prayers and suffering. Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even good thought, can tilt the scales.
Wishing all our readers a happy, healthy, successful NEW year with ....... Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel
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