Engraving Torah on the purified heart

איתא בתדב"א כי במ' ימים האחרונים שעלה מרע"ה להר התענו בנ"י וביום האחרון קבעו תענית לילה ויום ונתרצה להם הקב"ה וקבע אותו ליום סליחה ומחילה לדורות.

It is brought in the Tana D'vei Eliyahu that during the last forty days that Moshe Rabbeinu ascended the mountain, Bnei Yisrael fasted, and on the final day they established a fast for the night and the day, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu was appeased toward them and set that day as a day of selichah (forgiveness) and mechilah (pardon) for all generations.

The very first Yom Kippur was born from the teshuvah Bnei Yisrael did during Moshe's last forty days on Har Sinai. Their fasting and turning back to Hashem caused Him to be appeased, and that appeasement was fixed forever as the day of forgiveness.

ובודאי היה זה בכח אהרן כאשר נשתתף עמהם בחטא החזיר אותם בתשובה ולכן נמסר כפרת היום ביד אהרן כה"ג.

And surely this was through the power of Aharon, for since he had been joined with them in the cheit (the sin of the egel), he brought them back in teshuvah; and therefore the kapparah (atonement) of the day was given over into the hand of Aharon the Kohen Gadol.

Because Aharon had a share in the cheit ha'egel, he was precisely the one able to lead Bnei Yisrael back to Hashem. One who descends together with others can lift them up. That is why the Yom Kippur avodah of atonement was placed specifically in the hands of Aharon, the Kohen Gadol.

ותקנו בזה מה שבראשונה הקדימו נעשה לנשמע וע"י החטא איבדו בחי' נעשה ועתה (ע"י) התשובה הקדימו נעשה לנשמע שקבעו לעצמם יום תענית מה שעתיד הקב"ה אח"כ לצוות להם.

And through this they repaired that which at first they had given precedence to "naaseh" before "nishma" (we will do before we will hear), and through the cheit they lost the aspect of "naaseh"; and now, through teshuvah, they once again placed "naaseh" before "nishma," for they established for themselves a day of fasting — that which Hakadosh Baruch Hu was destined only afterward to command them.

At Har Sinai Bnei Yisrael declared naaseh venishma — committing to act before even hearing the details. The cheit ha'egel damaged that quality of pure "naaseh." By taking a fast upon themselves on their own, before Hashem ever commanded a Yom Kippur, they restored that same self-initiated readiness to do Hashem's ratzon — once again putting the doing ahead of the hearing.

וביוהכ"פ ניתנו לוחות האחרונות.

And on Yom Kippur the last luchos (tablets) were given.

The second set of luchos, given after the teshuvah for the egel, was handed to Moshe on Yom Kippur — the day of forgiveness is bound up with the renewal of the Torah's covenant.

וע"ז אומרים בתפלת שבת ושני לוחות אבנים הוריד בידו וכתוב בהם שמירת שבת.

And concerning this we say in the Shabbos tefillah: "and two tablets of stone he brought down in his hand, and written upon them was the keeping of Shabbos."

The Shabbos prayer recalls that Moshe brought down luchos inscribed with the mitzvah of Shabbos. The Sefas Emes draws a link between the luchos and Shabbos as a way into the deeper meaning of the engraving.

דיש זכור ושמור זכור בפה שמור בלב וכתיבות הלוחות הוא החקיקה בלבות בנ"י כמ"ש כתבם על לוח לבך וע"י החטא לא יכלו לקבל הלוחות.

For there are "zachor" and "shamor" (remember and guard): zachor with the mouth, shamor in the heart; and the writing of the luchos is the engraving upon the hearts of Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "Write them upon the tablet of your heart" (Mishlei 3:3); and through the cheit they were unable to receive the luchos.

Shabbos is expressed through "zachor" — spoken remembrance — and "shamor" — an inner guarding in the heart. So too, the engraving on the luchos corresponds to an inner engraving of the Torah upon the hearts of Bnei Yisrael, the "tablet of the heart." Because of the cheit ha'egel, that inner readiness was lost, and they could not receive the first luchos.

ואחר שנמחל להם ונטהרו הלבבות ביוה"כ נחזר להם זו החקיקה בלב.

And after they were pardoned and their hearts were purified on Yom Kippur, this engraving upon the heart was restored to them.

Once Yom Kippur brought mechilah and cleansed their hearts, the inner engraving of the Torah upon the "tablet of the heart" returned. The purification of the heart is what makes it a fitting surface to receive Hashem's writing again.

ובאמת חטא העגל שמור לדורות ולעומת זה בכל יוהכ"פ בכל שנה ושנה נמחל קצת מזה החטא ונכנסין בשערי הקדושה לקבל הרשימה בלב:

And in truth the cheit ha'egel remains stored up for all generations, and corresponding to this, on every Yom Kippur, year after year, a portion of this sin is pardoned, and we enter the gates of kedushah to receive the imprint upon the heart.

The residue of the cheit ha'egel lingers across the generations. But each Yom Kippur erases another measure of it, and as it is cleansed, every Jew is able to enter the gates of holiness anew and have the Torah's imprint re-engraved upon his heart.

Summary: The first Yom Kippur arose from Bnei Yisrael's self-initiated teshuvah during Moshe Rabbeinu's last forty days on Har Sinai, led by Aharon, who repaired the lost "naaseh" of naaseh venishma. On that day the second luchos were given, restoring the inner engraving of Torah upon the purified heart that the cheit ha'egel had erased. Each year Yom Kippur pardons another measure of that sin, letting every Jew enter the gates of kedushah and receive the imprint of Torah upon his heart anew.