This week’s Shabbos will be much different than normal. The reason is, as we know, because we will not be eating any meals, as Yom Kippur is upon us. Are we ready for this Final Day of Judgment? Yom Kippur can be a very scary day – I have so many sins that I need to get rid of. How can I possibly get a good sealing in these final moments?

The RAMBAM states in Hilchos Teshuva (Laws of Repentance), a person should always look at himself as being half good and half bad. View yourself always as 50/50: the smallest sin can tip the scale towards a bad judgment, but also the smallest mitzvah can tip it towards a good judgment. This RAMBAM teaches a person how to approach doing repentance and also Yom Kippur. If a person is 50/50, then we do not need to get rid of all of our sins! All we need to do is get rid of one sin and then the scale is tipped in our favor! If we can erase one sin, then we are no longer 50/50, but the scale will be leaning a little bit more towards the good side. This is enough to get us written and sealed in the Book of Good Life!

But Yom Kippur is not really this easy, as then Yom Kippur would not need to be 25 hours long. There is a little more to it, but don’t get nervous as it is only a little more. The RAMBAM stated a person should always look at himself as being 50/50 – every moment of his life. Therefore, after he completely repented for one sin, he should once again look at himself as being 50/50 and start the process over again. This should not get a person scared though, because once again, all you need to repent for is one sin, not all of them. The RAMBAM is teaching us a key to doing true Teshuva – focus on only one sin at a time. I do not have millions of sins to get rid of, but only one.

Does this really accomplish anything? The story is told of a man walking along a beach and he found thousands and thousands of starfish that had been pushed up by the waves onto the sand. Suddenly, a boy came along and picked up one of the starfish, and he threw it into the water. Then, the boy picked up another one and threw it into the water. He continued picking up one at a time. The man asked the boy what he was doing and the boy said he was saving the starfish’s life. The man laughed and asked the boy if he actually thinks he will be able to save all of the starfish’s lives. The boy picked up one, threw it into the water, and said, “I saved that one.” He picked up another one, threw it, and said, “Also that one.” And continued.

Yom Kippur is NOT hopeless – let’s get rid of one sin at a time and we will be successful.

May we all be Sealed for a Good Life! Gmar Chasima Tova!
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