Yom Kippur is
set aside by the holy Torah as the day of judgement. On it the Holy One Blessed
be He so to speak opens up his book of memories from which nothing is omitted
and decides what He will allot to everything in creation including every man.
He will decide who will live and who will die, who will have troubles and who
will have peace and quiet, who will become rich and who will become poor, and
who will wander and who will settle down.
Often judgement
is associated with a policeman or a prosecutor. People may think a policeman is
doing a good job if he arrests many people or a good prosecutor is one that
throws people in jail with a harsh sentence. With HaKadosh Baruch Hu it is not
so, rather He is compared to a shepherd examining his flock. Other comparisons
would be like a businessman taking inventory, a rosh yeshiva (school principal)
evaluating his students for the coming year, and a man deciding who to invite
to his son’s wedding.
When a
businessman looks at his merchandise, he likes to say this is something fine I
can sell it for a high price. Other things he sees he can only sell cheap.
Other things he is forced to concede that an article is useless and must be
disposed of. He certainly would not manufacture something to be an ugly piece
of garbage. A rosh yeshiva is proud of his students that receive high grades,
is embarrassed by the ones with low grades, and is loath to expel a student
especially if it is a small school. When sending out invitations to a wedding
the father is happy to invite people who love and respect him, but he may not
be very selective because if he is too choosy it will be a very small party.
So it is with
the Ribono shel Olam (Teacher of the World). He may be happy to wash His feet
in the blood of evil doers and inflict pain on those who hate Him. But, it is
an imperfect joy. It’s even more difficult for Him to chastise good people who
love him, much like a father spanking a good but occasionally errant son while
saying this will hurt me more than it hurts you. This is because Hashem is the
creator. Everything He created, He created for His glory. Therefore he wants
everything to flower and produce fruit. This is especially true of man which is
the crown of the creation and even more so the Jewish people who He calls His
son.
On Yom Kippur
Hashem turns to the standards He has set and makes an honest judgement. He examines
a person’s heart, thoughts, and attitudes, including those that are hidden. He
talks to the creation straight and when necessary suppresses His anger.
Decisions are fair but never the less merciful. The judgements purify those
that love G-d and for those that serve Him, he inducts into His service. He
does not desire the death of an evil doer. Rather He hopes that he will repent
and live. G-d is extremely patient and will even wait for a person their entire
life and if they return, He will immediately accept them.
לע"נ מאיר בן חיים ז"ל נלב"ע כה תשרי תשנ"ב
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
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