בס”ד 26 April 2024 - י״ח בניסן ה׳תשפ״ד‎

Yom Kippur Questions

question markQuestions to think about and discuss about Yom Kippur:

  1. What is one of the special things makes Yom Kippur different to every other day of the year?
  2. Each festival has its own Mishnayos named after it – e.g. Mishnayos Shabbos, Rosh Hashana, Sukka, etc. Why then is the name for the Mishnayos of Yom Kippur called a different name of Yuma?
  3. On Erev Yom Kippur there is a special inyan to eat and this is considered as having fasted (Gemora Rosh Hashana 9a-b). Why?
  4. Both on Yom Kippur and on Tisha BiAv we fast with five afflictions. What is the difference between them?
  5. Why call it in davening יום הכפורים in the plural tense and not יום כפור in the singular?
  6. What sins are atoned for on Yom Kippur?
  7. Why do we blow the shofar at the very end of Yom Kippur?
  8. Why don’t we celebrate Shavuos on Yom Kippur as then Moshe came down with the second Luchos?
  9. Yom Kippur is the climax of the forty days of Yimei Rotzoin. How is this significant?
  10. Why does Yom Kippur come after Rosh Hashana?
  11. Avrohom Ovinu had his bris mila on Yom Kippur. (Tosfas Rosh Hashana 11a) How is this significant?
  12. Usually the amount that counts for eating is measured as a kezayis, the size of an olive, or kebeitza, an egg. Why then is there a different smaller amount for Yom Kippur, the size of a dried date?
  13. The Midrash on Lidovid Hashem Oiri brings that the word “Yishi” (salvation) alludes to Yom Kippur. Why?
  14. What does the feast of Achashveirosh have to do with Yom Kippur?
  15. Why is Yom Kippur only given to the Jews and not also to all the other nations?
  16. Yom Kippur is referred to in the Torah as Shabbos Shabbosoin. What lies behind this name?
  17. There are five tefillos on Yom Kippur. What is the significance of this number?

Ideas for answers on Yom Kippur:

  1. The Gemora (Yuma 20a) brings that there is no Soton on Yom Kippur. This is seen in the gematria that השט”ן=364 meaning that he is in operation for 364 days in the year but not on Yom Kippur. Yet we see people sinning on Yom Kippur? It must mean that there is no new evil inclination for other things that a person has not previously been attracted to.
  2. The Maharsha (to Yuma 2a) brings that Yuma in Aramaic means day expressing that Yom Kippur is a special day of the year. This new name highlights it being spiritually higher than the other festivals.
  3. Even though eating and fasting are usually two opposites, however at times they can be complementary. This is when the eating is in order to assist better fasting. By doing so, it can be even considered as fasting itself!
  4. The five afflictions on Tisha BeAv come as a sign of mourning. However, on Yom Kippur they come as an atonement as well as raising us to the levels of Angels.
  5. This is because this day atones for the living as well as for the dead. (The dead are judged for the effects that they had on people during their lifetime that continues through the living people.) Perhaps another idea is that this day atones for people in different ways each person on their level.
  6. Yom Kippur only atones for sins done between man and Hashem. However, the sins done between man and his fellow need a separate atonement. This is why people ask each other forgiveness before Yom Kippur so that on that day both these types of sins will have been forgiven.
  7. This is to remind us of the Yovel year when the shofar would be blown on Yom Kippur and since we do not know which year is the yovel, we therefore do it each year. Another idea is as a sign of victory over the Soton who tries to make us sin and now we have achieved forgiveness for those sins. It also acts as a warning sign to remind us to not sin again in the coming year.
  14. The Midrash Eliyohu (on Megillas Ester) suggests that Achashveirosh purposely arranged the feast so that the final day of it fell on the 10th of Tishrei, Yom Kippur! His intention was to prevent the Jews from repenting on Yom Kippur so that Hashem would not forgive them!
  15. Perhaps because on Yom Kippur Moshe came down with the second Luchos. The Torah was offered to all the other nations who refused it. Therefore the receiving of the second Luchos and the Torah that comes on Yom Kippur is only for the Jews who were the only ones to accept the Torah.

question markQuestions on the Soton on Yom Kippur:

The Gemora Yuma 20a brings that השט”ן=364 alluding to the fact that the Soton functions for 364 days of the year but the 365th day of Yom Kippur the Soton does not function.

  1. What does this mean as we find that people sin also on Yom Kippur?
  2. Why should it be that there is no new Soton on Yom Kippur? Why is Yom Kippur picked as the day in the year for there to be no Soton?
  3. The Jews count according to the lunar year that has 354 and a bit days. Why then bring an allusion based on the solar year of 365 days?
  4. The gematria is of the word “the Soton”, Why include the letter Hei in it as opposed to an allusion in just the name Soton?
  5. The Gemora Bava Basra 16a brings that the Soton, Yetzer Hora and Malach Hamoves are all done by the same Angel. Why then do we find that these functions seem to all continue on Yom Kippur?
  6. Does this mean that the Soton ceases to persecute or does it mean that in addition to not persecuting he actually becomes a defender of the Jews?

Ideas for answers on the Soton on Yom Kippur:

  1. It must mean no new evil inclination to sin. When we see people sinning it is them repeating a previous urge.
  2. The Soton and Yom Kippur are two opposites. The Soton represents the physical world and free will and potential evil and getting man to sin. Yom Kippur is when the Jews are raised to levels out of this world, entering a realm of Olam Habo and them becoming Angels. In this place, sin does not exist and therefore forgiveness is found. Perhaps it is because of this contradiction for Yom Kippur to atone it first requires the Soton to cease functioning then!
  3. The power of the Soton and evil is alluded to in the solar year that is counted by the other nations. …
  4. The Yaros Devash learns that the extra Hei that has the gematria of five comes to include five days between Yom Kippur and Sukkos when the Soton is also partially disabled. This is seen in the Midrash that Sukkos is called Yom Rishion, the first day for sinning – i.e. the five days before it are still connected to the day of Yom Kippur when the Soton is somewhat passive.
  5. We have to say that it is not the Malach itself that is disabled but rather the function as Soton is disabled. However, the other functions can continue working…

question markQuestions on the davening of Yom Kippur:

  1. Why do we the adult men wear a tallis for all the tefillos of Yom Kippur including for Maariv?
  2. Why is there the custom to wear white on Yom Kippur?
  3. Why wear a kittel on Yom Kippur?
  4. Why are six people called up for the Torah reading on Yom Kippur?
  5. Why do we say the usual whispered words of Boruch Shem aloud on Yom Kippur?
  6. Why is there a custom to stay awake during the night of Yom Kippur?
  7. Why omit the usual introduction for Mincha of Ashrei and Uva Letzion (and instead say it by Neila)?
  8. Why do we say Shechiyonu at the beginning of the davening before Borchu?

Ideas for answers on the davening of Yom Kippur:

  2. White usually alludes to purity and reflects the nature of the day of atonement and forgiveness.
  3. A kittel reminds us of the burial shrouds and therefore makes a person feel lowly and assist him in his pursuit of teshuva. It also reflects the colour white and purity that follows on from achieving teshuva.
  4. Five is the amount of people called up on an ordinary Yom Tuv. To show that Yom Kippur is greater, another person is called up.
  5. We are raised to the level of Malochim who see this clarity and therefore we say it aloud. It is only throughout the year with the Soton and evil of this world making Hashem’s Presence hidden that causes us to whisper this. However, on Yom Kippur when we are raised above evil and come closer to Hashem this reality is proclaimed out aloud.
  6. We find in the Mishna in Yuma that the Kohen Godol stayed up all night. This is to prevent any possibility of becoming tuma through keri and also reflects how a person feels the fear of the power of the day that he must act decisively and show his sincerity and seriousness of the matter at hand.

question markQuestions on Neila:

  1. What does the word Neila mean and why is the last tefilla of Yom Kippur called this?
  2. Why is the Oron Hakodesh left open throughout the tefilla of Neila?
  3. We know that each tefilla parallels one of the founders and Judaism. Shachris with Avrohom, Mincha with Yitzchok and Maariv with Yakov. Musaf is associated with Yosef. With whom is the tefilla of Neila of Yom Kippur associated with?
  4. When else during the year is the tefilla of Neila said?
  5. Why do we blow the shofar at the very end of Yom Kippur at the end of Neila?
  6. Why is Neila considered such an auspicious time?

Ideas for answers on Neila:

  1. Neila means “closing” and refers here to the last tefilla of the day of Yom Kippur that can enter before the Gates Above are closed and the decree of the year is signed. The Rambam (Hilchos Tefilla 1:7) says that it alludes to the close proximity to nightfall when it is davened, a time when the gates are nearly closed.
  2. The Aron Hakodesh remains open for its entire duration as this expresses how there still is time for our tefillois to enter the gates of Heaven.
  6. Neila is the last time of the Aseres Yemei Teshuva when Hashem is specially close to us. It is known that at moments before two friends depart from each other their closeness gets emotional. We can also see from Rashi in Parshas Pinchos when he describes the special time of Shemini Atzeres it is also this idea of staying one day for a special closeness to Hashem