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Yom Kippur: A Fresh Start

We begin the Yom Kipur Davening in a seemingly puzzling way: by reciting the passuk אור זרוע לצדיק, light is planted for the Tzaddik. What does this have to do with Yom Kippur?

R’ Moshe Feinstein explains that in truth, this reminds us what the point of Yom Kippur is supposed to be. We do not fast and cry on Yom Kippur to mourn what was. Rather, we are planting for the future.

Just as a seed must disintegrate in the ground before it can produce new life, so too must we go through a process of undoing what has been before we can start anew. But the point of this process is not destruction, it is creation.

On Yom Kippur, we access a spiritual light that is not available to us the rest of the year. But we should not let that light just pass us by. Rather, we should try to internalize as much of the spirituality of the day as we are able to, and let that guide us in our future development.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום