On Yom Kippur, Jews ascend to the highest spiritual level, to the point that they become like angels. On this holy day, they neither eat nor drink, following the example of the ministering angels, and it is customary to wear white garments in order to resemble the angels.
Yet this very pinnacle of spiritual elevation is also a time for confession and acknowledgment of sins and misdeeds. How is it reconciled that one imitates angels while simultaneously reciting confessions and striking one’s heart for sins, while saying: “ashamnu” (we have sinned), “bagadnu” (we have betrayed), etc.?
At first glance, the appropriate time to confess sins would seem to be when Jews are in their normal human state—capable of sinning—not when they resemble the ministering angels.
Why in the Middle of Prayer
A similar question arises regarding the request, “selach lanu” (forgive us), which we recite in every Amidah prayer. We say this request after all the preparatory sections of Pesukei Dezimra (Verses of Praise), blessings of the Shema, the Shema—at the very peak of the Amidah prayer, when a person stands at the highest spiritual level as “a servant standing before his master.”
At first glance, we might expect that one should ask forgiveness for one’s sins immediately upon beginning prayer. It seems logical that before turning to G-d to request one’s needs, a person should first ask pardon for their undesirable actions. Yet we do not ask forgiveness at the start of prayer; we ask in the middle, precisely at the height of the prayer’s elevation.
Relative Sin
Some actions are not considered sins in a person’s ordinary state because, given their current level and natural limitations, nothing more can be demanded of them. It is only when a person ascends to a higher spiritual level that a higher standard of service is required, and then one recognises that previous conduct, which once seemed acceptable, is now considered sinful.
Thus, when a Jew rises to the pinnacle of prayer, standing “as a servant before his master” in the Amidah, he recognizes and feels that what previously seemed complete and correct is actually flawed, and he must ask G-d: “Forgive us... for we have sinned.”
Elevation Brings Awareness
The same applies on Yom Kippur: during the month of Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance, a Jew has already repented for all undesirable actions and has already corrected them to the utmost perfection. At the spiritual level he reaches on the eve of Yom Kippur, he has no sins or misdeeds and stands complete in his service.
Yet when he enters Yom Kippur and elevates through the sanctity of the day—until he resembles an angel—he recognises and feels how far his spiritual work is from the required perfection. This heightened spiritual state causes him to feel pain over not serving his Creator appropriately. Therefore, he confesses his sins, and the confession deepens as he ascends even further during Yom Kippur.
When he enters the King’s palace, and especially when the King brings him into the innermost chamber, he understands that he must rise even higher, and he asks for forgiveness for his previous level of service.
(from the teachings of the Rebbe, Hitva’aduyot, 5742, Volume 1, page 96)
