Yom Kippur as revealed inner light and joy

מערב עד ערב כו' ולמדו מכאן תוספות מחול אל הקודש.

"From evening to evening..." (Vayikra 23:32) — and from here they derived the addition (tosefes) from the mundane onto the holy.

The Torah's phrasing of the fast's span teaches that we must add from the ordinary time before and after onto the sacred day of Yom Kippur.

כי יוהכ"פ הוא מעין עוה"ב והוא יום מיוחד מכל ימות השנה כמ"ש ז"ל על פסוק ימים יוצרו ולא אחד בהם זה יוהכ"פ שמאיר בו הארה מעולם העליון.

For Yom Kippur is a foretaste of Olam Haba, and it is a day set apart from all the days of the year, as Chazal said on the verse "the days were formed, and not one (lo echad) among them" (Tehillim 139:16) — this is Yom Kippur, in which a light from the upper world shines.

Yom Kippur is unlike any other day; it is "the one" singled out, in which a radiance from the World to Come breaks through into our world.

ואפילו השטן אין לו רשות להשטין.

And even the Satan has no permission to accuse.

On Yom Kippur the prosecuting force is silenced and cannot bring accusations against Bnei Yisrael.

ומאחר ששס"ה ימים בשנה הם נגד שס"ה גידין בנפש.

And since the 365 days of the year correspond to the 365 sinews (gidin) in a person.

The Sefas Emes draws on the parallel between the days of the solar year and the sinews of the human body.

נראה כי זה היום הוא גיד המילה.

It appears that this day corresponds to the sinew of the milah (circumcision).

Among all the days/sinews, Yom Kippur corresponds to the specific organ of the bris milah.

לכן ניתן לבנ"י רשות להסיר הערלה מזה הגיד.

Therefore Bnei Yisrael were given permission to remove the orlah (foreskin) from this sinew.

Just as milah removes the orlah, on this day Bnei Yisrael are empowered to strip away the spiritual "covering" that blocks holiness.

וכמו כן הוסר השטן מזה היום.

And likewise the Satan is removed from this day.

The removal of the orlah parallels the removal of the Satan: the obstructing force is taken away on Yom Kippur.

לכן איתא בפרקי דר"א כי אאע"ה נימול ביוהכ"פ.

Therefore it is taught in Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer that Avraham Avinu, alav hashalom, was circumcised on Yom Kippur.

This connection of Yom Kippur with milah is borne out by the tradition that Avraham underwent his bris on Yom Kippur.

ויליף גז"ש בעצם היום הזה דכתיב במילת אברהם וביוהכ"פ כתיב עצם היום.

And he derives this by a gezeirah shavah (verbal analogy) from "on the very same day (b'etzem hayom hazeh)," which is written regarding Avraham's milah, and regarding Yom Kippur it is also written "etzem hayom" (Vayikra 23:28).

The identical phrase "the very same day" appears both at Avraham's circumcision and at Yom Kippur, linking the two through this textual analogy.

והרמז כנ"ל שיש בו התגלות אור פנימי והערלה מוסרת מזה היום ומזה המקום.

And the hint is as above: that there is in it a revelation of inner light (or penimi), and the orlah is removed from this day and from this place.

On Yom Kippur the inner light is uncovered, and the "orlah" — the concealing barrier — is stripped from both the day itself and the holy place (the Mikdash/Kodesh Hakodashim).

ולכן זה היום והמקום מאיר לכל הימים.

And therefore this day and this place illuminate all the days.

Because its inner light is revealed, Yom Kippur radiates its glow into every other day of the year.

וכמו כן גיד המילה כולל כל הגידין וכל האדם ומעלה כולם כמ"ש מי יעלה לנו כו'.

And likewise the sinew of milah includes all the sinews and the whole person, and elevates them all, as it is written: "Who will go up for us..." (the word ya'aleh hinting at milah).

Just as the bris elevates the entire body, Yom Kippur, corresponding to milah, lifts up all the days and the whole person along with it.

וכמו כן זה היום מעלה כל הימים, ודבר שהי' בכלל ויצא כו' ללמד על הכלל כולו יצא וניתן זה היום לבנ"י עדות שהם מוכנים לעוה"ב.

And likewise this day raises up all the days; and a matter that was included in a general category and then singled out... is singled out to teach about the entire category — so this day was set apart and given to Bnei Yisrael as testimony that they are prepared for Olam Haba.

By the rule that a singled-out case teaches about the whole, Yom Kippur — the one day of revealed inner light — testifies that all of Bnei Yisrael's days, and the people themselves, are fit for the World to Come.

כמו כן במילה דכתיב ועמך כולם צדיקים כו'.

Likewise regarding milah, as it is written: "And Your people are all tzaddikim..." (Yeshayahu 60:21).

The bris milah similarly bears witness that all of Bnei Yisrael are fundamentally righteous and destined for their portion in the World to Come.

ולכן צריכין לבטל כל הימים אל זה היום ולערב אותם כדי שיה' לכולם יניקה מזה היום.

And therefore we must nullify (bittul) all the days toward this day and blend them in, so that all of them should draw nourishment from this day.

We "attach" the ordinary days to Yom Kippur — through tosefes, adding from before and after — so that every day can be nourished by its inner light.

וזהו הרמז מערב עד ערב.

And this is the hint of "from evening to evening."

The span "from evening to evening," with its added time, expresses this drawing of the surrounding days into the holiness of Yom Kippur.

ופי' ולו אחד בהם קרי וכתיב לו בוא"ו ובאל"ף.

And the meaning of "and not one among them" — it is read (keri) and written (kesiv) as "lo," with a vav and with an aleph.

The word can be read both as "lo" (not) with an aleph and "lo" (to Him/to it) with a vav, yielding a double meaning.

פי' שזה היום מעלה כל הימים למעלה מן הטבע כמ"ש במ"א כי ע"י הביטול אל שורש הנעלם זה עיקר הקיום.

The meaning is that this day raises all the days above nature, as explained elsewhere, for through bittul to the hidden shoresh (root), this is the essence of existence.

Reading "lo" as "to it," all the days belong to and are lifted by Yom Kippur above the natural order; nullifying oneself to the hidden Source is the true foundation of all existence.

ולכן יש לשמוח בבוא זה יום הקדוש.

And therefore one should rejoice at the arrival of this holy day.

Far from being only a day of awe, Yom Kippur's revealed inner light is a reason for genuine joy.

לכן האוכל בתשיעי כו' בזו השמחה יש בו הארה מיוהכ"פ.

Therefore one who eats on the ninth... (Chazal: it is as if he fasted on the ninth and tenth) — in this joy there is a radiance of Yom Kippur.

The mitzvah to eat festively on Erev Yom Kippur is itself charged with the joy and inner light of the holy day.

וכמו כן במוצאי יוהכ"פ דכתיב עד ערב וקשה ג"כ וכי בערב מתענין הלא ביום מתענין.

And likewise at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, as it is written "until evening" — and it is also difficult: do we fast in the evening? Surely we fast during the day!

The Sefas Emes raises the question: why does the verse stress "until evening," when the fast is really kept by day?

רק האוכל ושמח במוצאי יוהכ"פ כאלו התענה.

Rather, one who eats and rejoices at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, it is as if he had fasted.

The festive meal of joy after Yom Kippur is counted as part of the avodah of the day, as though it were an extension of the fast.

ונמשך הארה ע"י זו השמחה מיוהכ"פ לכל הימים.

And through this joy, a radiance from Yom Kippur is drawn out to all the days.

This post-Yom-Kippur joy channels the inner light of the holy day outward into the rest of the year.

וכמ"ש לך אכול בשמחה כו':

As it is written: "Go, eat your bread with joy..." (Koheles 9:7).

The joyful eating that carries Yom Kippur's light into the world is what the pasuk means by eating with simchah.

Summary: Yom Kippur is a foretaste of Olam Haba, the single day "lo echad" in which a light from the upper world shines and even the Satan cannot accuse. Corresponding to the sinew of milah among the year's 365 days, it is the day when the "orlah" — the concealing barrier — is stripped away and inner light revealed, both at Avraham's bris and on Yom Kippur ("etzem hayom"). Like milah elevating the whole body, this day lifts all the days and testifies that Bnei Yisrael are fit for Olam Haba. We therefore "attach" all the days to it through tosefes and bittul, so they draw from its light. And because its essence is revealed light, Yom Kippur is a day of joy — the festive eating before and after it carrying that radiance into all the days of the year.