כַּפָּרוֹת: "בְּנֵי אָדָם - וּלְשָׁלוֹם" שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים, וּבְכָל פַּעַם מְסַבֵּב ג' פְּעָמִים, סַךְ הַכֹּל מְסַבֵּב ט' פְּעָמִים. עַד סוֹף תִּשְׁרֵי אֵין אוֹמְרִים תַּחֲנוּן. מַלְקוּת: הַמַּלְקֶה וְהַנִּלְקֶה שְׁנֵיהֶם אוֹמְרִים וְהוּא רַחוּם שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים.

In [the expiation ceremony known as] Kaparos,1 the passage from Bnei adam until u’leshalom is recited three times. The chicken is circled above one’s head three times after each recitation, for a total of nine times.

[From this day] until the end of the month of Tishrei, Tachanun2 is not recited.

[Accompanying the 39 stripes of the nominal flogging called] malkos,3 the verse beginning Vehu Rachum4 is recited three times by both the person administering the lashes and the one receiving them.

בְּעֶרֶב יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים הָעֲבוֹדָה הִיא חֲרָטָה עַל הֶעָבָר, בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים — קַבָּלָה עַל לְהַבָּא.

On the eve of Yom Kippur,5 one’s avodah should focus on regret over the past; on Yom Kippur itself, it should focus on commitment for the future.6

Delving Deeply

Traditionally, teshuvah7 comprises both of the above aspects. Nevertheless, as the above teaching reminds us, one’s Divine service on Yom Kippur should be future-oriented.

According to the conventional translation of teshuvah as “repentance,” the springboard for future change is simply remorse over one’s past shortcomings. According to the literal translation of teshuvah, which is “return,” the springboard for future change is not so much an awareness of our inadequacies, but rather a return and rediscovery of the infinite potential propelled by the Divine spark within each of us.8 This is our genuine “I,” which remains untarnished by the superficial accompaniment of sin and evil.

We sense a glimmer of this return to one’s real self as Yom Kippur approaches. This awareness awakens us to a perception of that day as a foretaste of the Era of the Resurrection, when G‑dliness will be manifest and will occupy our entire attention. Already now, the spiritual climate of this day immerses us in a positive experience of G‑dliness. True, this may heighten our feelings of remorse, for we feel ashamed of all the trivialities in which we may have been involved. But the almost tangible spirituality of the day should prevent unproductive guilt feelings from paralyzing us; instead, it should transform our remorse into a dynamo that will impel us forward and energize us as we tackle our life tasks afresh.