DVAR TORAH Our Sages teach that the happiest days on the Jewish calendar are the Fifteenth of the month of Av and Yom Kippur.
But how is Yom Kippur a happy day? To the contrary, Yom Kippur would seem to be a somber day, even a dreadful day!
The answer may be found in a teaching of Rav Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of modern Israel. Over the course of Yom Kippur, we recite the confession of “Ashamnu” ten times, each time singing the words to an almost joyous tune. Why is a tune appropriate?
The answer he suggested is that both a confession, i.e., an acceptance of responsibility, and a self-rebuke which emanates from deep within one’s soul and says, “I do not want this sin.” Thus, “Ashamnu” is uplifting, even joyous. Its purpose is not so that one will wallow in sin, but, to the contrary, to liberate oneself from them.
As long as one has not confessed, the halachic principle of “shetikah k’hodaah” [lit. “silence is acquiescence”] is operative, and one is considered as if accepting of one’s sins. But once we recite the “Ashamnu” it is as if we stand before G-d and reject the past and look forward to a better future.
Certainly, confession has the painful aspect of recognizing our shortcomings and errors. But it also is joyous, for it expresses one’s inner purity and liberates one from the heavy burden of sin [Orot Ha’Teshuvah Im Be’ur by Rabbi Reuven Sasson p. 367].
HALACHA OF THE WEEK: THE MINHAG OF KAPAROT The minhag of "kapparot" - to take a live chicken before Yom Kippur, wave it over one's head, and proclaim that "this should be instead of me, it should be my exchange, and my substitute" - is an ancient custom, dating back to the Geonic Period. In fact, an early but variant form of this custom is already mentioned in a comment of Rashi on the Talmud [Shabbat 81b s.v. "Hai"] and in a more direct comment in the Teshuvot HaGeonim [Sha'arei Teshuva no. 299].
Yet, despite its long history, this custom has also been subject to a great deal of controversy. According to the Ramban [Orchot Chaim, Hilchot Erev Yom HaKippurim no.1], kapparot is too closely related to idolatrous practices ["Darchei Ha'Emori"] and, therefore, should be prohibited. The Rashba [Teshuvot HaRashba 1:395] agreed and outlawed this practice in his community, and Rabbi Yosef Karo in the Shulchan Aruch ruled this way as well [Orach Chaim 605:1]. Nevertheless, the Rama [ibid.] disagreed and wrote that kapparot was a longstanding Ashkenazic custom of the pious and should not be disregarded.
While the Rama did not address the objections of the Ramban, his reasoning may have been that he did not view kapparot as a substitute for the sinner. Instead, he may have considered this custom as either a tangible means to elicit thoughts of repentance [Teshuvot Mahari Veil, no. 191] or, as the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch states explicitly, a means for a person to remember all of the punishments that could (and should) have happened as a result of one's sins [Kitzur 131:1].
Interestingly, there are also some practical concerns beyond the classic debate about the appropriateness of kapparot. For example, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef [Yechave Daat 2:71] raised the issue of the quantity of chickens that must be slaughtered properly in such a short period of time. He suggested that if a community does kapparot with live chickens, the ceremony should be spread over several days so that the shochet can slaughter the chickens correctly and without undue pressure.
Nowadays, many no longer use a chicken for kapparot but give tzedakah instead. The source may be the Rashi cited above, where he described a ceremony similar to kapparot performed with baskets of legumes. According to some [see: Hilchot Chag B'Chag, Yamim Nora'im pg. 276] Another reason for using money instead of chickens is to avoid the problem raised by the Ramban.
Finally, the Rama also notes that the custom was for a pregnant woman to do kapparot twice, once for herself with a chicken and once for her unborn child with a rooster - since the fetus may be a male. The Magen Avraham [Orach Chaim 605 note 2] goes further and rules according to the Ari that a pregnant woman should perform two additional sets of kaparot - one with a chicken and one with a rooster, just in case the fetus is a girl.
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MAZAL TOV * to Paul Bromberg on the birth of a great grandson. * to Mike and Evey Margolies on the birth of a granddaughter.
THANK YOU! * to the Seating Committees – thank you for all of your hard work to ensure that everyone had a place in one of our multiple minyanim over the Yamim Noraim. * to the Kumzitz Committee, led by Avery Amster and Josh Lipman, for their tireless efforts to ensure that Wednesday evening’s Kumzitz with Eitan Katz was such an unbelievable and inspiring evening.
SPONSORS @ KINS To sponsor a Kiddush, Seuda Shlishit, or to donate to the Kiddush Fund or Learning Fund please click here.
Rabbi Reiss' Shabbat Shuva Drasha is sponsored by an anonymous donor in honor of Rabbi Reiss' great leadership of our community.
Rabbi Leibtag’s Shabbat Shuva Drasha is sponsored by David and Miriam Meyers for a Refuah Shleima for their grandson, Yaacov Eliezer ben Sharona Chaya.
Kiddush at KINS North is sponsored in honor of Shoshana and Howard Bendtizson’s birthdays by their children, grandchildren, and friends.
Seudah Shlishit at Main is sponsored by Leo and Sylvia Feigenbaum in commemoration of the yahrtzeit of Leo’s father, David Feigenbaum z’l.
Bnei Akiva Kiddush this week is sponsored by Rickey Rothner in honor of Bnei Akiva’s first minyan at KINS North and by Sam Medow, in honor of the 1st anniversary of his son Levi’s Bar Mitzvah.
A Donation to the Kiddush Fund was made by Eddie and Shelley Stopek in commemoration of the yahrtzeit of Eddie’s father, Harry Stopek z’l.
DAILY & WEEKLY SHIURIM DAF YOMI – Mon.-Fri. after 6:25 Shacharit; Sunday - 6:45am PARSHA PERSPECTIVE – RECORDED Sunday-Friday
MONDAY NIGHT SEDER - 8:00-9:00pm Mondays DAYTIME DIALOGUES: Wednesdays noon 30 MINUTES OF PARSHA - Wed. 8:00p/Shabbat 8:30a
SEMICHAT CHAVER PROGRAM - will resume after the chagim
SHABBAT WOMEN'S SHIUR - will resume after the chagim
TALMUD CLASS – will resume after the chagim
SEFER YESHAYAHU - will resume after the chagim
BIRTHDAYS Mr. Elly Bachrach (9/23) Mr. James Matanky (9/23) Mr. Amiel Naiman (9/23) Mr. Howard Rieger (9/25) Mrs. Sharyl Ross (9/25)
BIRTHDAYS (cont'd) Mr. Ari Lebowicz (9/27) Levi Medow (9/27) Kol Bernstein (9/29) Mr. Tzvi Frankenthal (9/29)
Congregation K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park Main: 2800 W. North Shore Ave & North: 3003 West Touhy • Chicago, IL 60645 P 773.761.4000 • F 773.761.4959 • www.congkins.org
MONDAY NIGHT SEDER - 8:00-9:00pm Mondays
SEMICHAT CHAVER PROGRAM - w
SHABBAT WOMEN'S SHIUR - w
TALMUD CLASS – w
SEFER YESHAYAHU - w