A man who was unable to pay the mortgage on his home and was 6 months behind on his payments, was very surprised when he received a letter from his bank saying that his past due balance was wiped clean.
Now, he no longer owed anything for back payments and all he needed to do is to start paying his bill from now on.
The bank explained that they understood that his failure to pay was due to financial problems rather than malicious or fraudulent intent, and that is why his past due debt was wiped off.
The bank knew that this man did not have a job and may not be able to continue paying the bill at the moment, however, they knew their customer, and they knew that his intentions are to pay his debt but due to hardships he did not do so.
The bank went on to say that if the customer takes the time to go down to the bank to explain why he did not pay and apologize for his previous actions, his debt will not only be wiped off, but the bank will write him a check for the amount of money he failed to pay.
When the man told his friend about this deal, the friend decided to stop paying his bill and hoped it will be wiped away as well.
After failing to pay for 6 months, the friend got a foreclosure notice. The friend went to the bank and demanded to know why his debt was not wiped clean? The man was informed that the bank knows his financial situation and that his refusal to pay was malicious, hence his debt is not forgiven.
This is the power of actual day of Yom Kipper. Hashem gave us a special gift the day of Yom kipper, it cleans us of all sins.
As it says in ויקרא פרק טז פסוק ל
כי־ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה’ תטהרו
For on this day, atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord.
Even if a person does nothing on this day, he/she just sits home and does nothing, Hashem wipes away all his sins.
רבי אומר על כל עבירות שבתורה בין עשה תשובה בין לא עשה תשובה יום הכפורים מכפר (יומא פה:)
Even thought Hashem knows this person may likely sin again, Hashem know his intentions are pure and he/she really wants to be great and connected to Hashem.
Since Hashem created each person, He knows the person’s weaknesses and human nature, he knows that the person may fall and default on his good intentions.
However, Hashem warns us that there are two things which prevent our sins from being forgiven and wiped away on Yom Kipper.
- Any sin committed between man and a fellow man. בין אדם לחברו.
If you speak Loshen Hora, hurt or humiliate someone, failing to pay wages or a debt, borrow without returning, ect. These sins will not be forgiven or wiped away on Yom Kipper until you ask for forgiveness from the person you hurt and pay what you owe.
2. Or if a person says I can sin since on the day of Yom kipper my sins will be forgiven, those sins are malicious and are not wiped away.
יומא · פרק ח · משנה ט
אחטא ויום הכיפורים מכפר, אין יום הכיפורים מכפר
Since the day of Yom Kipper is so big, why is there the need to repent, pray and give
Tzedukah?
1. ותשובה ותפילה וצדקה מעבירין את רוע הגזרה- repenting, praying and giving charity to the poor will change your lot and will take away any bad decrease there may have been in place for you for this coming year.
2. If you repent, pray and give charity to the poor, not only will your sins be wiped away, but all your sins change into mitzvahs, and you will earn rewards for them as well. (You get paid for it the same way as the bank wrote a check to the man equal to the amount of the past due payments.)
If you see someone not following the Torah or transgress any of the Torah Laws between him and Hashem בין אדם למקום don’t look down at them as on Yom Kipper Hashem forgives sins done when the Yetzer Hora and lowly desires overwhelmed them.
However, when you hear a person speaking Loshen Hora, humiliate or hurt another person in any way, run, run for your life don’t be friends with them as they are likely still filled with sin from last year as such sins are not forgiven.
The Gemarah asked how was it that in the times of King Achov when the Jews were sadly worshiping idols, but were very good to one another, they won all wars. However, in the times of King Shaul, when Jews learned a lot of Torah, but were fighting with each they lost the wars.
The Gemarah explains that even though Hashem hates idol worshipers, Hashem loves it when His children get along very well and help each other as well as widows and orphans with Tzedakah and Chessed. However, when Jews don’t get along, Hashem says He does not need such Torah and Tfillah.
In the time of King Achov the people were forgiven every year on Yom Kipper for the sins against Hashem so when they went to war they had only few sins.
However, the people in the time of King Shaul, while the people were learning Torah, their sins were not forgiven as they were between man and man, so when they went to war they had a lot of sins and did not merit Hashem’s protection.
דברים רבה · ה · י · >>
דבר אחר: (דברים יז יד): “ואמרת אשימה עלי מלך”
אמר רבי יהודה ברבי אלעאי: על ג’ דברים נצטוו ישראל בכניסתן לארץ, ואלו הן:
למחות זכרו של עמלק,
ולמנות להם מלך,
ולבנות להם בהמ”ק.
ומינו להם מלך, ומיחו זכרו של עמלק,
ולמה לא בנו להן בהמ”ק?
שהיו ביניהם דילטורין.
תדע לך, דאמר רבי שמואל בר נחמן: דורו של אחאב עובדי עבודת כוכבים היו, והיו יוצאין למלחמה ונוצחין.
ולמה כן?
שלא היה ביניהן דילטורין. לפיכך היו יוצאין למלחמה ונוצחין.
תדע לך, כשבקשה איזבל להרוג כל נביאי ה’, מה עשה עובדיה?
הטמין אותן במערות, שנאמר (מלכים א יח): ואחביא מנביאי ה’ חמשים איש במערה, ולא היה אדם שאמר לאחאב כך וכך עשה עובדיה.
אבל דורו של שאול כולן היו דילטורין. תדע לך, כשהיה שאול רודף אחר דוד, היו הכל אומרים עליו לשון הרע לשאול, שנאמר:
(תהלים נב): בבוא דואג האדומי וגו’.
(תהלים נד): בבוא הזיפים ויאמרו לשאול.
לפיכך היו נופלים במלחמה.
May we all be zocha to learn Torah along with doing Tzedukah Vechesed and refrain from sins against others.
