On Sunday night, September 29, Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz, Rav of the Beis Haknesses of North Woodmere and Director of Semikhah at RIETS, shared an inspiring shiur at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills as part of the Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld Education Center.
Rabbi Daniel Rosenfelt, Rav of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, greeted everyone and shared that every shul in the neighborhood was co-hosting this program.
Rabbi Lebowitz shared that a Yom Kippur Jew means someone who brings that holiness of Yom Kippur into the whole year. He noted how last year we davened and somehow Hashem made painful decisions. The question now is what can we fix to yield a better result for the upcoming year?
He taught that pain demands a certain amount of cheshbon ha’nefesh. That feeling of exhilaration we experience at the end of Yom Kippur needs to be brought into the rest of the year more.
He shared a powerful story about a Jew who was exiled to Siberia and, in order to keep Shabbos, he underwent tremendous pain of having a tooth pulled so he could have the day off for Shabbos. He lost most of his teeth this way. He was a Yom Kippur Jew.
Yom Kippur is a once-a-year opportunity. The Kohen Gadol goes into the Holy of Holies and the day itself provides a kaparah. From the beginning of Creation, this day was set aside as a day of kaparah. It’s a day that has a personality. It draws power from the Six Days of Creation.
He shared a beautiful poetic quote from Rav Soloveitchik about the beauty of the day of forgiveness. Every day should have the elevation of Yom Kippur.
The Brisker Rav was taking a walk on Yom Kippur. His students asked why he was doing this on Yom Kippur. He said, I do what I do every day on Yom Kippur. For him, every day was like Yom Kippur.
Rav Soloveitchik taught that the halachah is a Kohen Gadol can only marry one wife. He is supposed to receive kaparah for himself and his house. The Ramban writes that the halachah of one wife for the Kohen Gadol applies throughout the year. Why is this so? The entire year, the Kohen Gadol must be in a state ready to enter the Holy of Holies. He needs to be avodah-ready throughout the year.
The Kohen Gadol is busy all day on Yom Kippur. There is no law of avodah throughout the year. The whole year he is waiting to perform the avodah of Yom Kippur. He does something every day as a reminder of Yom Kippur.
Another example of something we do once a year, yet we recall it throughout the year, is Pesach. We have an intense experience on Pesach night recalling the Exodus from Egypt. Every other night of the year we recall it in the third paragraph of Sh’ma. When a person recites Sh’ma, he welcomes the yoke of Heaven. We say we believe in You so much we are willing to die for you. We keep in mind Hashem’s Kingship when we recite Sh’ma.
He offered another example of something that applies on an ongoing basis with a more intense period of time. The obligation of the mitzvah of onah, making your wife joyful, applies throughout one’s life, but during the first year of marriage the husband is obligated to spend more time with his wife, making her happy.
He noted that Yom Kippur is the only holiday that also has a Katan. “We can use Yom Kippur to make lasting impactful changes in our lives. Yom Kippur moments are powerful.”
After October 7, we should think of one thing we can do or take on. We lost many young people and talmidei chachamim. The loss is overwhelming. We need to bring extra k’dushah into our lives. We should foster a yearning for k’dushah.
The goal of a Jew is to have Hashem in our life every day. We need to bring some of the Yom Kippur experience back into our life during the rest of the year.
The community thanks the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, and its president, Rabbi Stuart Verstandig, for this outstanding community program.
By Susie Garber