Yom Kippur
Rabbi Jablinowitz
The Gemara in Yoma 86B teaches in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov that one should repeat a confession on Yom Kippur for sins that he has already done Teshuvah for in previous years. The Rambam brings this teaching in Hilchos Teshuvah, Chapter 2, Halacha 8, and so does the Shulchan Aruch in Siman 607 Se'if 4. The basis of this halacha is a pasuk in Tehillim (Chapter 51, Pasuk 5), Ki Fesha'ai Ani Eidah, V'Chatasi Negdi Tamid. Dovid HaMelech says, my sin is always before me.
Why is it important to constantly be aware of past transgressions? Surely it would be better to do Teshuvah for an aveirah and move on. Why do the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch pasken this way?
Rav Tzadok answers in the following manner. A person is always moving in life and never standing still. Either he is moving forward and growing or he is moving backward, but he is never in neutral. This is part of the human condition. Moshe Rabbeinu expresses this idea in the beginning of parshat Vayelech. He tells Bnei Yisrael that he is about to die and he says (Chapter 31, Pasuk 2), Lo Uchal Od Latzeis V'Lavo, I will no longer be able to go out or come in, i.e. go backward or move forward. Since life is all about movement, he expresses his imminent death as not moving forward or back. In a similar vein, the Gemara refers to one who dies as, Nach Nafshei, his soul rested. Once a person no longer moves and he comes to a standstill, he is no longer alive.
Every year on Yom Kippur a person views himself in relation to past years. One might have sinned last year and done Teshuvah, but if he is on a higher level this year, he must repent again. How can his previous atonement suffice for him now that he is on a higher level? His new status would not allow for the remorse and regret he experienced last year as part of his Teshuvah process; there needs to be an upgrade of the entire process.
Perhaps a similar review is necessary when he is on a lower level as well. If he is sliding downhill, he must repeat his Teshuvah in order to ensure he doesn't repeat the sin. He is coming dangerously close to repeating past errors. And perhaps a whole review is necessary given his lower state. Maybe the previous confession wasn't sincere enough and therefore must be repeated.
Either way, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov is teaching us a very profound point. On every Yom Kippur we do an accounting. And part of that accounting is checking where we are in comparison to previous years and do we need to redo past acts of repentance. Maybe we've outgrown our past acts of Teshuvah and need to refurbish them to that which is commensurate with our present level. Or maybe our present state itself points to something lacking in our Teshuvah and therefore it needs to be repeated.
The highlight of Yom Kippur in the Beis Hamikdash was the Kohen Gadol going Lifnei V'Lifnim into the Kodesh Hakadashim. This is very symbolic for all of us every Yom Kippur. We are constantly striving to move forward and reach a place of intimacy and closeness with Hashem. We want to be in the inner sanctum. This is the direction of movement we strive for. May it be His will that our direction in life be towards the holiness of the Kodesh Hakadashim, and that we repeat confessions on Yom Kippur in order to satisfy a newer and higher level of intimacy with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
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