A few days ago, someone wished me a happy holiday. Given that the upcoming holiday is Yom Kippur, the somber, serious, even frightening Day of Atonement, my first, unshared thought was that that wasn’t really the appropriate greeting for the occasion. But I thought about it some more, and realized that it wasn’t so far off after all.
Many have a costume of wearing white on Yom Kippur, to signify cleansing and purification. Married Ashkenazi men frequently wear a kittel, a white robe also worn at the Passover Seder.
In the service of Yom Kippur, two goats were taken, and lots were cast: one was sacrificed in the Temple, and the other, the original scapegoat, was escorted away and thrown from a precipice. A thread of red wool was tied, half to a rock and half between the horns of the goat sent away. When that goat fell to its death, the thread miraculously turned white to indicate the sins of the People had been forgiven.
Similarly, Isaiah (1:18) says in part: “If your sins will be red as scarlet, they will be whitened like snow; if they are red as crimson, they will be [white] like wool.” So wearing white is like placing ourselves in the “after” frame of the picture, expressing confidence that we will, indeed, be forgiven. And that is truly the message of Yom Kippur: that with sincere repentance, we are able to turn a new page, and G-d will recognize our change of heart and forgive our past transgressions.
Although Yom Kippur is associated with penitential practices like fasting, confession of sins, and not wearing leather shoes, at the end of the day, after the special Ne’ilah prayer, it is indeed a happy time. We blow the shofar, indicating freedom. At a personal level this means freedom from previous sins and transgressions, as we move forward into a year of better deeds and spiritual growth. We have accomplished the task of the holy day, and that is indeed both a happy and deeply satisfying feeling.
So this Yom Kippur, may we all take advantage of this solemn, special time, and emerge happy and confident that we are both forgiven and on a better path for the year ahead. Put concisely, yes, Happy Yom Kippur!
