Yom Kippur, all Jews will somehow find their way to a Shul, they will fast and wish each other a Sweet New Year. Even Jews who never set foot in a Shul, will do the same.
Why do they do this?
Because this is what Jews do, on Yom Kippur you fast and you go to Shul, don’t ask for any explanations, this is what Jews do on Yom Kippur.
For 40 days G-d reached out and asked us to come back and return, and after 40 days we finally returned.
Return to what?
Return to ourselves, to our essence!
What is our essence?
G-d!
The essence of the Jewish soul is G-d.
I hate to say this, but Hitler was on to something when he said this: “If one little Jewish boy survives without any Jewish education, with no synagogue and no Hebrew school, it [Judaism] is in his soul. Even if there had never been a synagogue or a Jewish school or an Old Testament, the Jewish spirit would still exist and exert its influence. It has been there from the beginning and there is no Jew, not a single one, who does not personify it.”
The Jewish spirit is something that cannot be explained, it need not be explained, it has no explanation, it just is what it is, it has been there always, it is here now, and it will be there forever, it is just plain G-dly, eternal!
And on Yom Kippur the soul just opens up and connects with its source, G-d!
That’s why we ask for forgiveness on Yom Kippur, and that’s why G-d forgives us, because in essence we are one, and since when does someone not forgive themselves.
G-d says return to me and I will return to you, and we become one holy soul, on this one holy day, in this one holy place, the shul, and G-d says welcome home, we are family, we are one, and family forgives.
So let time, space, and soul, converge on this holy day to celebrate with G-d, because this is what Jews do.
And G-d forgives and wipes the slate clean for a Sweet and Happy New Year.
Have an easy fast!