Yom ha'Kippurim Round-up: 5775 - 5784

Here's a round-up of my various articles, shiurim, and podcast episodes on topics related to Yom ha'Kippurim. I don't know whether I got them all, but I definitely got most! Enjoy and share!

Sep 24, 2023

The Torah Content for the remaining Aseres Ymei Teshuvah has been sponsored by Alex. Thank you, Alex! And I'd like to start off this new year by thanking everyone else who has supported my Torah - whether through sponsorships, Patreon membership, paid substack subscriptions, free substack subscriptions, reading my articles, watching my videos, listening to my shiurim, attending my Zoom classes, or even just reaching out to let me know that you appreciated an idea. I am grateful to you all.

Yom ha'Kippurim Round-up: 5775 - 5784

Last Updated: 9/24/23 at 11:59am

Here's a round-up of my various articles, shiurim, and podcast episodes on topics related to Yom ha'Kippurim. I don't know whether I got them all, but I definitely got most!

Yom ha’Kippurim is a time to reflect on habits. As I hurriedly reformatted all these articles for substack and easy printing, I noticed a habit I seem to have developed: almost every year, I crank out a new article on Erev Yom ha’Kippurim, finishing it JUST in time, without editing or proofreading it, and I almost never end up going back to finish it. Consequently, a lot of these articles should be considered in the 80-90% complete range.

Bear in mind that these are listed in reverse chronological order. There are some cases in which later articles presuppose that you’ve reader earlier articles. Also note that my writing has undergone significant evolution over the past 10+ years, including my choice of audience. Some articles were written for advanced readers, and contain more jargon and fewer translations and background information. Others were written for general audiences. Most are in-between.

Lastly, one of my main goals for this year is to spread my Torah by growing my substack. If you know ANYONE who might appreciate these articles and shiurim, please take 5 seconds to share some of this content with them! If you think people in your family, shul, or social circles might benefit from a particular article, print out a few extra copies to distribute. If you’re in a WhatsApp group in which it’s socially acceptable to share stuff like this, and you think ANYONE might be receptive, please share! Even ONE idea might have a huge impact on someone’s Yom ha’Kippurim and subsequent life!

Thank you, and gmar chasimah tovah to us all!

Yom ha'Kippurim Articles

Shabbos Shuvah 5784: How to Do Teshuvah, Little by Little
Date: 9/22/23
Length of article: 2 pages
Synopsis: Have you ever felt intimidated by teshuvah? Have you felt pressured to radically change yourself? Hoshea (according to Ibn Ezra) has some advice: SLOW DOWN! How? One answer can be found in a poem.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article, and click here for the audio.

Nitzavim: What Would Teshuvah Look Like If It Were Easy?
Date: 9/8/23
Length of article: 2 pages
Synopsis: This may very well be the most radical idea about teshuvah I've ever written about. I'm not even certain that it's correct, but if it is, it's a game-changer. I'd love to hear what you think.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article, and click here for the audio.

Yom ha’Kippurim 5783: Musings on Erev Yom ha’Kippurim Anxiety
Date: 10/4/22
Length of article: 1 page
Synopsis: Perhaps I shouldn't have cranked this out as a 1-pager a few hours before Yom Kippur. Nevertheless, I hope it will yield truth and insight regardless of your premises and preconceived notions are.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article, and click here for the audio.

Yom ha'Kippurim 5780: Kaparah as a Means to an End
Date: 10/8/19
Length: 6 pages
Synopsis: If you've ever felt hopeless going into Yom ha'Kippurim, then perhaps this partially developed approach will be a game-changer for you as it was for me.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.

Yom ha'Kippurim 5778: Vidui Yom ha'Kippurim
Date: 9/29/17
Length: 7 pages
Synopsis: The vidui (confession) on Yom ha'Kippurim differs in six major ways from the standard vidui following teshuvah. This is my attempt to explain those differences. This one was also a game changer for me.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.

Yom ha'Kippurim 5777: On Being Human
Date: 10/11/16
Length: 3 pages
Synopsis: Most of the content in this article was not written by me. It's largely an excerpt from Richard Mitchell's "The Gift of Fire," which I read every Erev Yom ha'Kippurim to get into the proper mindset. It pairs well with the 5780 article, and with my 5782 shiur.
Click here for the printer-friendly version of this article.

Yom ha'Kippurim 5776: Fasting as "Literal" Self-sacrifice
Date: 9/22/15
Length: 5 pages
Synopsis: This article is my understanding of why we fast on Yom ha'Kippurim according to the Kabbalistic reason brought down by the Abravanel with some help from Marty McFly.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.

Yom ha'Kippurim 5775: What is Kaparah?
Date: 10/3/14
Length: 4 pages
Synopsis: This is my unfinished theory of what we mean by kaparah (which differs from the approach I wrote about in the 5780 article). I still think these ideas are valuable, even if I haven't fully succeeded in fleshing them out.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.

Shiurim in Audio and Video Form

Interpersonal Teshuvah (Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 2:9-11)
available in audio and video
Length: 1 hour
Synopsis: This morning (9/22/23), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we reviewed the halachos of interpersonal teshuvah in the Rambam and raised a bunch of questions - several of which were new to me this year. These new questions gave rise to a new theory of interpersonal teshuvah which, I believe, answers all of the questions and yields a richer understanding of why we ask our fellow Jews for their forgiveness. Let me know what you think!

How to Do Teshuvah, Step by Step (Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 2:2,9-11)
available in audio and video
Length: 1 hour
Synopsis: This morning (9/15/23), in our first Machshavah Lab series for women this season, we decided to review the Rambam's procedures for regular teshuvah and teshuvah on interpersonal sins. Even though many of us have learned this before, I certainly feel like we arrived at a greater level of clarity than in previous years. We asked and answered all of our questions on the basic teshuvah procedure, and then raised a bunch of questions on the interpersonal teshuvah process, which we will attempt to answer next time (בג"ה).

Yom ha'Kippurim 5783: Ne'ilah - It's Not What You Think It Is
available in audio and video
Date: 9/30/22
Length: 1 hour
Synopsis: I can PRETTY much guarantee that if I ask you, "What is Neilah?" the answer you give will be incorrect. There are some basic facts about Neilah of which most people are unaware. In today's shiur we examined Neilah in light of those facts, and in so doing, arrived at a new - and more accurate - understanding of Ne'ilah and its place within the halachic system.

Q&A #03 - Assorted Aseres Ymei Teshuvah Questions
available in audio and video
Date: 9/30/22
Length: 48 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (9/30/22), in our Friday Q&A, we covered a number of questions relevant to the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah, including: (1) How does the judgment on Rosh ha'Shanah and Yom ha'Kippurim work? (2) Why do we stand when the Aron ha'Kodesh is open? (3) How can we live up to the seemingly impossible ideal of making use of every moment we have? (4) How do we live each as if it's our last while simultaneously planning for the future? (5) What can we do to up our mitzvah observance during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah, and is that even a legit thing?

Yom ha'Kippurim 5782: Vidui Yom ha'Kippurim and the Inner Bears of Our Nature
available in audio and video
Date: 9/10/22
Synopsis: What is the difference between the year-round mitzvah of vidui (confession) and the special mitzvah of vidui Yom ha'Kippurim? After reviewing the facts and noting the differences, we develop an approach for understanding those differences - based on a Rambam in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim, but inspired by an encounter I had with a bear in southern Washington state. Although we didn't answer all of our question, we did develop a solid approach which (God willing) can help us to gain more out of our Yom ha'Kippurim.

Yom ha'Kippurim 5781: Ralbag on the [13] Middos [ha'Rachamim]
available in audio and video, which are slightly different
Date: 9/27/20
Synopsis: I frequently refer to this as the most important shiur I’ve ever given. This is especially true for Yom ha’Kippurim, when the Yud Gimmel Middos ha’Rachamim take center stage. The aim of this shiur is threefold: (1) to provide a general framework for understanding the 13 middos ha'rachamim in context, (2) to define each middah, and (3) to learn how to incorporate the recitation of these middos into our davening in a manner that obtain rachamim from the Av ha'Rachamim. For a condensed summary of the main ideas of the shiur in note-form which you can tape into the cover of your machzor, click here.

Vidui Yom ha'Kippurim: This is the "shiur version" of the 5778 article which I gave at Lomdeha last year. I recommend the article over the video, but the essential content is the same.

Rambam Bekius Shiurim: There are around a dozen Rambam Bekius shiurim I’ve given on teshuvah as well, but - frankly - I don’t have the energy to compile them here this year. You can find them by scrolling through the podcast titles.

The Stoic Jew Podcast Episodes

A Stoic Approach to the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah
Length: around 18 minutes
Synopsis: My morning reading of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, combined with my review of the Rambam's Hilchos Teshuvah and my reading of the most recent issue of The Imperfectionist (by Oliver Burkeman, author of my current favorite non-fiction book: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals), led me to a more effective way to approach the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah than in years past.

Vidui Yom ha'Kippurim and Memento Mori:
Length: around 10 minutes
Synopsis: In this episode I explain how, according to my understanding, Chazal intended the viduy of Yom ha'Kippurim to serve as a vehicle of memento mori (remembering death) in order to spur us to do teshuvah with a greater sense of urgency.

TSJ Interlude: Removing the Evil of the Decree:
Length: around 20 minutes
Synopsis: Here are some semi-scattered thoughts I had about the line in Unesaneh Tokef: "u'teshuvah u'tefilah u'tzedakah maavirin es roa ha'gezeirah."

Seneca - Letter #18: On Festivals and Fasting (Part 2)
Length: around 17 minutes
Synopsis: In this episode I discuss the haftarah we read on Yom ha'Kippurim, in which Yeshayahu ha'Navi exhorts us about how we should and shouldn't relate to our fasting on the day.

If you have a comment on a specific article, please comment on that article. But if you have any general Yom ha’Kippurim comments or requests for future Yom ha’Kippurim articles, feel free to leave a comment here!

The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack

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