Last Thursday, we discussed the upcoming holiday of Yom Kippur, and specifically the Vidui, which is the prayers of verbal confession. On Shabbos, we did a siyum on Maseches Rosh Hashanah, and continued our discussion of Yom Kippur. We also discussed parsha Vayelech, including commentary from Rav Yeager. I would like to thank the Nisannis for hosting our Kiddush, and Rob Golder for leading the learning both Thursday and on Shabbos.
At our Thursday learning we discussed confessional prayers, specifically the Vidui which is coming up on Yom Kippur. We discussed how it is a mitzvah to confess our sins, but with the Vidui we seem to be confessing sins we did not commit. We discussed the reason for this, which is that we are all responsible for one another. We discussed how Moshe was the first to say Vidui, and confess for sins he did not commit. He had a responsibility for everyone, especially as the leader.
David has shared in the past a story from his Dad which illustrates how we are all responsible for one another. If someone is in a boat drilling a hole, and water starts leaking in and the boat is in danger of sinking, obviously it would be ridiculous for the guy drilling to claim his actions does not affect anyone else. Likewise, in our community, the actions of one or a few risk “sinking” our community, so we all need to join together to be concerned about, and help one another.
We discussed how normally we would do a confession in private, or very quietly, but on Yom Kippur we are not endanger of creating embarrassment, as everyone says the prayer out loud together. We discussed how sins are from the heart, and not from the head, which explains why we touch our heart while making the confessions. We discussed is how it is essential to stand during the confessional prayer.
We discussed how on Yom Kippur we want to “afflict” our souls, however we cannot do this by working. We discussed how on Yom Kippur we refrain from eating and drinking, wearing leather, taking baths, washing, anointing ourselves, and marital relations.
As we discussed last Shabbos, during the 10 days of repentance it may be too much to close the gap between where we are and where we want to be, but we can at least point our life in the direction of where we want to go and make some progress. As we do teshuva, we remove the obstacles that have distanced ourselves from Hashem.
We discussed how in this world, the purpose of any reward is to encourage us to do more mitzvah. From Rav Yeager, when we do a mitzvah, it leaves an impression on the soul. At the same time, we feel good emotionally which encourages us to perform more mitzvah. However, it is not until the world to come, that our soul will fully experience the state of reward and closeness to Hashem that has been attained.
David has told a story from his father, Rabbi Dr George Schlesinger, about how getting ready for the world to come by receiving these impressions on the soul, is analogous to getting ready for an opera. If we are not ready for the opera, we become very bored and perhaps uncomfortable during its performance. Likewise, if we are not ready for the world to come, we will be empty of the closeness to Hashem that would have been available to us. Franco pointed out that the “world to come” may also refer to this world at some future point in time, when we may all feel a reward and closeness to Hashem that none of us feels today.
This Shabbos, we did a siyum on Maseches Rosh Hashana. We finished the last daf of this tractate. We discussed how davening by some, can fulfill the mitzvah of davening for others who cannot be present in shul. Specifically, we discussed workers who are out in the field and unable to come to shul. After finishing the daf, we held a siyum.
This Shabbos we discussed parsha Vayelech, including commentary from Rav Yeager. Harold Katz, a regular reader of these notes, commented to me later on Shabbos, that we are reaching the last parshas of the Torah and will be starting the cycle again soon.
I would like to apologize if I have harmed anyone in any way over the last year. With these notes I have never meant to write anything that anyone would take personally or that would make anyone feel bad. I tend to be a perfectionist and just write down everything but want to improve. Have an easy fast!
This Shabbos, we did a siyum on Maseches Rosh Hashana. We finished the last daf of this tractate. We discussed how davening by some, can fulfill the mitzvah of davening for others who cannot be present in shul. Specifically, we discussed workers who are out in the field and unable to come to shul. After finishing the daf, we held a siyum.
This Shabbos we discussed parsha Vayelech, including commentary from Rav Yeager. Harold Katz, a regular reader of these notes, commented to me later on Shabbos, that we are reaching the last parshas of the Torah and will be starting the cycle again soon.
I would like to apologize if I have harmed anyone in any way over the last year. With these notes I have never meant to write anything that anyone would take personally or that would make anyone feel bad. I tend to be a perfectionist and just write down everything but want to improve. Have an easy fast!
This is a summary of what we discussed. No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
No comments:
Post a Comment