Yom Kippur: One

 In the 1960s, the late Harry Nilsson wrote a very sad song entitled: ‘One’.

Its first stanza read:

‘One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do’

We can survive as single entities but for many of us, it is the company of others that helps to brighten our lives, be it with fellow humans or even pets.  On the surface, at least, having a ‘me party’ isn’t as much fun as spending the evening with two or more friends, is it? Given the choice of an odd or even quantity, which would you prefer?

Keeping this idea in mind, how about celebrating Yom Kippur not for one, but instead two days?

The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 21a) tells us that:

Rava would regularly sit in observance of the fast of Yom Kippur for two days in case Elul had been declared a thirty-day month and Yom Kippur should be observed on what was observed in Babylonia as the eleventh of Tishrei.  It once happened in accordance with his opinion.  Elul had been declared a thirty-day month, and he was the only one who observed Yom Kippur on the correct day.  It was related that Rav Naḥman had once fasted the entire day of Yom Kippur as usual.  In the evening, toward the end of his fast, a certain man came and said to him, “Tomorrow is the great day, Yom Kippur, in the West, Eretz Yisrael, and it is therefore necessary to fast tomorrow.”

Fortunately for us, the Rabbis didn’t agree with this line of thinking and so this did not become the accepted custom!

I will be the first to admit that although there are legitimate reasons to prefer even numbers, I have a weakness for the number ‘one’, singular in nature as it may be.

I am the only child of an only child (my father had no siblings) and although I love being the father of four, step-father of another four and grandfather of three (nearly four), if left on my own for a few hours, I can always find something to occupy my time, be it reading, writing a drasha or watching one of my favourite films.  To me, one is anything but a lonely number and guess what?  Both Stephnie and my birthdays are on the 1^st of August and December respectively and our chuppah was on the 1^st of Tevet!

In fact, ‘one’ is a very Jewish number and it is inexorably linked to Yom Kippur.

For at the very end of the fast, a single note from the Shofar will signify the completion of the holiest day in our calendar.  One note is all that is needed.

Our prayers focus on the singularity of the one Gd.  During the emotional closing stages (shortly before the blowing of the Shofar), we recite the most famous prayer in our liturgy – “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our Gd, the Lord is One.”

Yom Kippur was the only day in the year when the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

The fast itself is the only one (of our six) that is mandated in the Torah.

Yet, at times for us, the Jewish nation, ‘one’ was a very lonely number.  We were alone, isolated and facing destruction.  A case in point was the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, exactly fifty years ago this afternoon (which coincidentally began when the Egyptians started an offensive at 2:00 Israeli time, which was 1:00 over here).   One small nation facing the might of the Egyptian and Syrian armies.

Despite the odds, both half a century ago and further back, we survived and held faith in the one Gd that we believe in.  The very same that we turn our hearts and minds to on this day and pray for peace inside our beloved State of Israel.  That He helps us to find a way to reunite as a unified nation and agree on a resolution to solve the very serious and complex problems facing the country at this moment.

My father, of blessed memory, always said that he was not afraid of what Israel’s enemies could achieve.  He was much more concerned regarding the damage we could do to ourselves as has been demonstrated so many times in our long history.

We can be ‘Am Echad BeLev Echad – One people with a single heart’ if we choose to be and when we come together, as we did recently against Corbyn, we can achieve miracles.  As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

You may recall a few years ago that I connected the five prayers we recite over Yom Kippur to the levels of consciousness that exist within our souls.  For on this holiest of days, not only are we compared to angels but also it is the unique occasion that all souls are judged by Gd, both in heaven and earth.  The Nefesh is the level that connects with our mortal beings, followed by the Ruach, Neshama and Chaya.

The highest level the soul can attain is that of the Yechida, whose root is ‘Echad’ – one- where the soul is bound to Gd Himself.  Literally, it is at ‘one with Hashem’ which is the ultimate connection with Yom Kippur.

One man, Moshe Rabbeinu, was able to fight for our survival.  It is because of his efforts that our ancestors were saved from Gd’s wrath when our greatest Prophet and leader descended from Mount Sinai.  He was holding the second set of Tablets on the very first Yom Kippur and this showed our ancestors that they had been forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf.

And all these years later, we are a united nation that prays together, irrespective of where we happen to find ourselves in the world on the single day in our calendar that acts a catalyst to bring us together.  We ask Gd, to forgive us, both on a personal level and as a people, united in hope and belief that things can improve.  It demonstrates the power of ‘one’.

Returning to my original theme, I think that when it comes to appreciating Yom Kippur we can respectfully disagree with Mr Nilsson.  One is certainly not the loneliest number.

It represents purity, unity and resilience.  It is our story.  We are the singular nation that survived despite the odds (pun intended).

We should use the opportunity that Yom Kippur provides us with, to ask for forgiveness from Gd.  On the same day that we received the second set of tablets and thousands of years later nearly faced the prospect of losing Eretz Yisrael, let us consider the power of this very day - the ONE period of 25 hours that will impact the rest of the year.  It all depends on the effort we put into our prayers, irrespective of the language we choose to utilize.

A single word, spoken from the heart is worth more than a hundred uttered thoughtlessly.

Wishing you all a continued meaningful and easy fast on this very special and unique day.  Gmar Chatimah Tovah – may we all be blessed with a wonderful year and one that we will wish to remember for all the best reasons - the one that we have prayed for.

Chag Sameach.