It was the time between Musaf and Mincha on Yom Kippur, and young Daniel Shapiro went to see his Rabbi.
"Rabbi Pollak, you must help me. I know very well that this is a fast day, but I’m so thirsty... All I need is a glass of water... Would you give me permission?"
"Daniel," said the Rabbi, "I’m sorry, but I could only give you permission if your life were in danger... A case of pikuach nefesh..."
"But you don’t understand, Rabbi... If I don’t have a glass of water right away, I’m going to faint from thirst... Believe me, I might even die..."
Finally, the Rabbi instructed the gabai of the synagogue to bring the young man a glass of water, which he then drank voraciously.
Seeing the color and smile return to Daniel's face, the Rabbi asked, "And now, Daniel, do you feel better?"
"Yes," replied the young man. "But believe me, Rabbi... I swear on the Torah, this is the last Yom Kippur I’ll have herring for lunch."
If we go by the statistics, the fast of Yom Kippur is, by far, the most observed mitzvah by Jews across the globe.Only an urgent matter would cause the vast majority of Jews to break their fast on this day, even if throughout the rest of the year they might be distant from Jewish traditions.For years, I’ve wondered about the magnetic pull of this mitzvah.
What makes this particular mitzvah so special, elevated above all others? Why would a Jew systematically disregard 613 commandments… except the fast of Yom Kippur?
Why, if they are going to choose just one, wouldn’t they choose something less painful, like the moving Havdalah ceremony or the lighting of the Chanukah candles? Why is this the one mitzvah that makes it into the "CV", the resume, of the vast majority of Jews around the world?
I invite you to think about the difference between a resume and a biography.
The resume is perfect, it’s marketing.
We only include the aspects of our lives that we believe are worth highlighting and that may bring us some benefit. No one would ever write their failures, dismissals, or frustrations in a resume. But a biography, on the other hand, includes everything. The highlights, as well as what we would rather hide.
A CV is concise. But a biography is rich in detail.
A resume is crafted by our own hands. A biography, which it is meant to be objective, must be written by others.
On this holiest day of the year, The Lord does not read our resume; He reads our biography... Everything will be there; nothing can be hidden. Our failures cannot be disguised as successes, nor can we inflate the numbers of our achievements...
In our resume, it might read:
5780 – Fasted on Yom Kippur.
5781 – Fasted on Yom Kippur.
5785 – Fasted on Yom Kippur.
But on this day, it’s not the resume that counts.
On this day, we should feel as though we are standing before a mirror that may show us an image, we would rather not see... the image of our biography, not the façade of a resume tailored to our tastes.
The question is not whether we fasted from 5780 to 5785. The question is how that fast impacted our lives. How much effort did we put into incorporating that fast into our "system". How much did it help us to change.
Fasting without opening the heart to teshuvah is like flooring the gas pedal while the car is in neutral. It’s like someone immersing in the purifying waters of the mikveh while holding an impure animal in their hand; a Talmud statement called Tovel Ve-Sheretz Be-Yado.
Hen BeYom Tzomchem Timtze'u Chefetz. "On the day of your fast, you seek your own pleasure..."
Hen LaRiv Umatza Tatzumu Ulehakot BeEgrof Resha. "Look, you fast for strife and contention, to strike with a wicked fist..."
HaLaze Tikra Tzom. "Is this what you call a fast?"
Halo Zeh Tzom Evcharehu. "This is not the fast I have chosen for you. It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the homeless into your house..."
This is how the prophet Isaiah will strike us on Yom Kippur morning when we read the Haftarah. What does this mean? That the fast doesn’t matter?
It means the fast is part of a context and a biography. The fast has a "day after" that CV usually forget and conceal... but biographies do not lie...
HaLaze Tikra Tzom. "Is this what you call a fast?"
Do you fast without changing anything in your life? So that the day after is the same as the day before?
Yom Kippur, the holiest and most solemn day of the year, is the time that The Lord has given us to outline the final lines of our biography...
With sincerity, commitment, and conviction, because biographies don’t lie.
In recent days, I shared a video on social media that reminded me of my school days and the subjects we studied in Hebrew.
The video spoke about how the word "history" doesn’t exist in the Hebrew language. It is simply a borrowed term from other languages, but it’s not native to Hebrew. In Hebrew, history classes don’t refer to the History of the Jewish People, but rather Toldot Am Yisrael—the legacy of the People of Israel.
It’s not about what happened in the past, but how those events changed the present and how those people were able to project themselves into the future. If we ensure that the events of this past year affect our lives, then in the future, they won’t just be data in a history book or on Wikipedia. The events of 5784 must change us so that our biographies aren’t just resumes but are filled during 5785 with actions, commitments, and simple but meaningful deeds that will leave a mark on those we love, on our community, and on society.
I have seen people who do not forgive even when forgiveness was sincerely sought. I have seen people who don’t ask for forgiveness out of pride. I have seen the weight of indifference towards others driven by selfishness. I have seen the seed of egocentrism that ignores the opinions of others. I have seen the disengagement from the Jewish community and the fear of identity in difficult and violent times.
We all make mistakes.
As I like to repeat once and again, our system of Teshuvah is so brilliant that it acknowledges we make mistakes year after year, month after month, day after day. The secret of Teshuvah is that we must correct them. We must repair the damage we’ve caused or continue to cause, even without realizing it.
We are not members of the Jewish People just to have some privilege, but to fulfill the task of improving this world a little more each time—Tikkun Olam—and to better ourselves each day, each year, little by little, to write ever better biographies with more powerful legacies.
As we continue trying to mend our hearts and stand firm after a difficult week of remembrance, we direct our deepest feelings towards an essential aspiration in these turbulent times: That we may always rise with courage and pride, supported by our loved ones and by the community and the people to which we belong.
That we may respond to violent attacks with wisdom and cunning, avoiding useless conflicts.
That we may continue to teach our truths to finally put an end to the lies and slander against us and our history; that we may achieve spaces of peace and understanding amidst the madness of violence; that this long day of Yom Kippur may bring strength to our souls, comfort to our hearts, and clarity to our minds; that we may continue to believe in the value of our struggle, in humanity’s ability to overcome darkness, and in our community’s ability to remain strong in the face of adversity.
May we be able to turn our resumes into biographies.
May we be able to switch our histories to legacies.
May we be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life.
May we find comfort and peace amid so much pain.
And may the coming year bring the light and tranquility we so deeply long for
Gmar Chatima Tova,
Rabbi Gustavo Geier