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Reb Shlomo Carlebach zt"l on Yom Kippur

09/22/2023 03:17:58 PM

Sep22

Transcribed by Stuie Wax

Getting Clean From Sins

What do we do when we make mistakes? You know what happens to us? Each time you make a mistake you begin to hate somebody you love, because you don't want to be angry at yourself.

Adam made a mistake. So what does he do? Adam's angry at Eve, Eve is angry at Adam, they are angry at G-d, and then they are angry at their children.

But I'll tell you something else. When you make a lot of mistakes then you don't know anymore what you really want because I need a big excuse why did I do it in the first place. You can't understand anymore why you did what you did.

You know what happens to us on Yom Kippur? What is G-d cleaning us of? If G-d wants to just to forgive us he can do it any Wednesday and G-d really does forgive us on Wednesday.

Yom Kippur is not when G-d has the board of directors get together and they sign a declaration. 
You know what Yom Kippur is? That suddenly G-d cleans me so much that I realize I didn't want to do the sin in the first place.

I want you to know something. When we say "Al Chet," all the mistakes made, you know what I am telling G-d? I did it, but I really didn't want to. I really didn't want to. You see, each time we say Al Chet it's not asking G-d for forgiveness, because G-d can forgive you on a wholesale level. but it's mamesh something else.

Imagine my whole life I am so happy saying bad things about other people. Yom Kippur, with a little holiness shining into my heart, suddenly I really don't want to anymore. I didn't want to walk around from house to house telling bad things, destroying marriages, destroying friendships. I really don't want to. And Yom Kippur gives me the strength to realize this.

The question is, what do you really want?

So Yom Kippur is mamesh when G-d gives me the strength to cleanse myself from everything I don't really want.
G'mar chatimah tovah!

May you be sealed for a good year.

Sat, October 12 2024 10 Tishrei 5785