This essay was first published by us exactly 30 years ago.
We ask of Hashem, "Who is like You, merciful Father, who mercifully remembers His creations for life." The repetition of the reference to mercy, after we have already described Hashem as merciful, requires explanation. Another of our supplications which needs explaining is "...that the Beis Hamikdash be built speedily in our days and grant our portion in Your Torah." What is the connection between the two requests which are mentioned together?
We begin our explanation by quoting the mishna and gemora, (Yoma 19,) which describe the efforts made to prevent the Cohen Godol from falling asleep on leil Yom Kippur: "If he wanted to nap, the young cohanim would snap their forefingers in front of him and say, `My master, the Cohen Godol, stand up and display a kidda on the floor to dispel your drowsiness.' They would occupy him until the time for shechita arrived."
The gemora adds, "We have learned: they occupied him neither with lyre nor harp but by word of mouth etc. The distinguished men of Yerushalaim would not sleep all night long so that the Cohen Godol would hear their noise and not be overtaken by sleep. We have learned: `Abba Shaul says, they would do so in the rest of the land as well, as a remembrance of the Beis Hamikdash but they used to sin.' What is the purpose of mentioning the shame of Bnei Yisroel and their sins in this context?
The explanation appears to be as follows: Yom Kippur is a holy and fearful day, one which we spend entirely in prayer. When the Beis Hamikdash stood, people would come there to watch the day's special avoda. They watched the Cohen Godol offer the korbonos and send off the goat, and they watched the burning of the goat and bull outside of the Beis Hamikdash.
That there were spectators watching the avoda is apparent from the mishna's comment (Yoma 68), "Whoever watched the Cohen Godol read [from the Torah] did not see the burning of the goat and the bull." One must nevertheless see to it that even on this day, the obligation of "vehogiso bo yomom volailo," learning Torah day and night, is fulfilled.
I heard from my master, my father and teacher zy'a, how he once entered the holy chamber of his grandfather, the holy sage of Tzanz zy'a, on leil Yom Kippur, and found him sitting poring over a Ketzos Hachoshen, (whose author was almost a contemporary of his.) The gemora, (Megilla 3,) says: "Learning Torah is greater then the offering of the regular daily korbonos." This is because Torah is compared to both fire (as the posuk says, "Are these words of Mine not like fire, says Hashem") and to water (as it says, "All who are thirsty, go to the water") for through Torah it is possible to mollify all the harsh judgments and to draw mercy and kindness upon ourselves.
There were a number of tzadikim throughout Polish Russia, whose custom it was to hold Torah shiurim on leil Yom Kippur just as on any other night. Through their learning, they wanted to draw mercy onto Bnei Yisroel. One should learn Torah at the very least, after tefillah.
This is why the distinguished Yerushalmim would stay awake all night on Yom Kippur learning. "If the Cohen Godol himself was a chochom, he would deliver a Torah discourse, if not, then talmidei chachomim would say Torah in front of him ... Zecharya ben Kevutal said, "many times, I read to him from Daniel, (mishna, Yoma 18)."
Their intention was that the Cohen Godol in the Beis Hamikdash should draw down mercy onto Bnei Yisroel through learning Torah. They read Daniel in order to hint to him that he should hasten the redemption, for even then, while the second Beis Hamikdash still stood, they already anticipated the building of the third Mikdash made of fire, which would descend from heaven.
When yet another year had gone by and they had not been redeemed, they came to the Cohen Godol with the request that he bring the redemption to pass through learning Torah, as the gemora, (Bava Basra 8,) says, "If they would learn all [of Shas], I would gather them in right now." The worthy Yerushalmim did not watch the avoda of the Cohen Godol, nor did they gaze as the scarlet thread turned white. Instead, they spent the entire day weakening the harshness of the judgment through learning Torah.
It is related that the Chasam Sofer zy'a, had a similar practice. On leil Yom Kippur, he would deliver a shiur to his pupils on the halachos of the avoda of Yom Kippur. This corresponds to the mention in the above gemora, that in the rest of the land too, people would stay awake throughout the night, emulating the custom of the worthy Yerushalmim.
The Chasam Sofer too, wanted to bring the redemption through learning Torah. It is known that in 5600 (1840), he said that he had always anticipated that year as the year in which the redemption would take place and that since he saw that that would not be the case, he no longer wished to live. And in fact, that was the year he, as well as a number of other tzadikim, passed away. Throughout his life, the way he served Hashem on leil Yom Kippur was the same way as the Cohen Godol—hastening our redemption through learning Torah.
"For the lips of the Cohen will store understanding and they will seek Torah from his mouth," (Malachi 2:7.) The principle task of the Cohen was not the avoda of offering up the sacrifices, nor even entering the kodesh Hakodoshim, which required such a lofty spiritual level that not even the chayos (spiritual creatures) of Hashem's merkava were permitted to be there at that time (Yerushalmi Yoma 1:5.) His main task was learning Torah, which supersedes all else in importance.
For Hashem and His Torah are one and the same and when one attaches himself to Torah, he is cleaving to Hashem yisborach which is a higher level than entering the kodesh Hakodoshim. Thus, during the night when he still did not have to perform the day's special avoda, the Cohen Godol sat and learned Torah.
However, in the light of all this, I always had difficulty in understanding what it was about the fact that the Cohen Godol never became impure on leil Yom Kippur, that warrants its inclusion amongst the ten miracles which were performed for our ancestors in the Beis Hamikdash (Avos 5.) Since he was prevented from falling asleep, what is so remarkable about his having escaped this particular form of impurity?
Another question that has been asked is why the Cohen Godol is more worthy of mention than anyone else. Even the simplest Jew takes care not to sin on this night.
The answer to this difficulty lies in the gemora's comments about the people in the rest of the land, who also stayed up throughout the night and yet sinned, the inclusion of which fact we asked about earlier on.
The gemora records a conversation between Eliyahu Hanovi and Rav Yehuda on the subject of these sins, with the latter asking the former what Hashem says about them. The reply is that Hashem says the posuk, "Lapesach chatos rovetz"—sin lurks at the entrance to this world. What this means here is that Hashem created all good and evil things according to a certain balance. On a night as holy as leil Yom Kippur, the yetzer hora is also correspondingly stronger. Despite being awake all night long and surrounded by the holy youth of the cohanim, the Cohen Godol was liable to become impure were it not for the special miracle that prevented it.
The main protection against this happening was through the Torah which they learned, which acted as a guard. This is the reason that even though they stayed awake in the rest of the land, they nevertheless sinned, since they were not learning Torah. This attribute of Torah learning is mentioned by Chazal in Kiddushin (daf 30): "Thus said Hashem to Bnei Yisroel, "I created the yetzer hora and I created Torah as its antidote. If you are busy learning Torah, you will not be delivered into its power, as the posuk says, "If you..." If you don't busy yourselves with learning Torah, you will be delivered into its power, as it says, "sin crouches at the entrance."
This is what my venerated uncle, the holy gaon of Dukla zt'l, told: "Know that I have undergone fasts from Shabbos to Shabbos, I have gone into self-imposed exile, I have consumed myself with "briechen" (a certain herb which causes an inflammation of the skin which was worn by tzadikim for self-mortification) and I have gone for half a year without changing my tunic. Yet after all, there is no other way to emerge victorious over the yetzer hora, other then by learning a page of gemora, Rashi and Tosafos!"
Merely staying awake all night or saying the first four chapters of Tehillim cannot save a man from sinning in the way that learning Torah can, as we see from the customary practice of the Chasam Sofer, described above. Speaking in Torah was therefore the principal protection of the Cohen Godol.
On Yom Kippur, we too must apply ourselves to learning Torah, in whatever free time is available, for example, while the chazan takes his time over singing, or between aliyos. The awareness that each moment of this holy day is as significant as an entire year, should encourage us to overcome the weakness we feel from fasting and to busy ourselves with Torah without interruption.
My master, my father and teacher zy'a, told me that on leil Yom Kippur, it was the custom of my holy grandfather, the Rebbe of Gorlitz zy'a, to lie down to rest on a sheet that was spread over the floor of the beis hamedrash. Although he appeared to be sleeping, everyone knew that in fact he didn't sleep a wink since he would not wash his hands upon rising in the morning. Instead he had been murmuring divrei Torah all night long. He continued this practice into his old age.
One night, I too saw my master, my father and teacher zy'a, lie down on his bed and place his right hand on the wall, separating his fingers as the cohanim do when they give their blessing. He lay thus for several hours and did not wash his hands when he arose. Such was the holy behavior of righteous individuals who clung continually to the Torah of truth, day and night, without a moment's interruption. In this way, they worked to draw the redemption closer.
The Rambam writes (in Hilchos Teshuva 9:2 and Hilchos Melachim 12,) that the reason why Klal Yisroel have always craved the arrival of the Moshiach, is because they will then be released from the yoke of serving foreign rulers, which prevents them from fully occupying themselves with Torah and mitzvos. After Moshiach's arrival we will find tranquility and will be able to grow in wisdom in order to merit the world to come...
Those who possess merits will not run off to gaze as the third Beis HaKodosh is being built for the halacha is that "the Torah study of young children is not interrupted, even for the building of the Beis Hamikdash (Shabbos 119.) If this applies to actually taking part in the building, how much more is it true for merely gazing as others build it! They will rather increase their Torah learning in a calmer state of mind, as the mishna (Avos 4) states, "Whoever fulfills the Torah in poverty will ultimately fulfill it in riches."
Those however, who neglected Torah study during the exile will find new diversions for themselves even after their ascent to Yerushalaim. They will go to watch the Beis Hamikdash being built or stand and gaze at the Cohen Godol.
On the other hand, those who learn Torah in our times will be endowed by Hashem with extra understanding that will enable them to contemplate the laws of the service in the Beis Hamikdash and of purity and impurity so that they will then be able to fulfill all the laws of impurities in the Beis Hamikdash.
Their added attainments in Torah will also enable them to understand the conversation of our ancestors, when they rise up. They will look upon their descendants and see their puny spiritual stature. In order to understand them, the Torah scholars will then be eager to learn Torah with redoubled intensely.
This is the meaning of our prayer "that the Beis Hamikdash be built speedily in our days," to which we then add "and grant our portion in Your Torah." Let us not waste our time looking on as the Beis Hamikdash is being built, nor at the fire that comes down from heaven or at the cohanim as they perform the service, under the erroneous impression that watching these things will increase our yiras Shomayim. We should know that then, as well as now, our most important task will be learning Torah.
Chazal have said (Brochos 18,) "Reshoim are referred to as being dead, even in their lifetimes." This is due to the fact that from birth, man is destined to lead a life of labor and toil. His labors can be devoted either to Torah or to various types of worldly work. If he neglects to learn Torah, he will be forced to toil at some other kind of backbreaking labor with the result that his life will be unbearable. Moreover, idleness leads to boredom. During the day, he will be longing for the night, when he will be able to lie down and go to sleep while at night, as he lies awake, he will long for the arrival of day. Thus his entire life becomes loathsome to him.
We therefore ask Hashem to spare us from a life devoid of Torah study, saying, "Who is like You, merciful Father, who remembers His creations for life," specifying that the remembrance for life be "merciful," granting us a good life that is suited for learning Torah.
This is also why we address Hashem as a father. The Chida writes that whereas unlearned Jews are termed Hashem's servants, talmidei chachomim are known as His sons. We thus ask: "Who is like You, merciful Father, who remembers His creations for life," asking Hashem to grant us our portion in Torah in order that we may counted among His sons.
All Jews should see to it that when Moshiach comes, they do not interrupt their learning to run and look but continue until the clouds of glory arrive to transport them to Yerushalaim. Even after arriving there, Torah study must not be neglected for we will need to learn and to know even more then, as we have explained.
May Hashem Yisborach help us to witness all the things we have been discussing and "that our eyes behold Your merciful return to Tsion. May we merit hearing the sound of the great shofar, at which our enemies will confounded and we will be permanently redeemed bimheiro beyomeinu Omein.
