To view the English translation, please scroll down to the bottom.
在猶太信仰中，有兩個最重要節日：一個是吹角節，或作新年（參閱部落格：吹角節）；另一個是贖罪日，也是“十日懺悔”的最後一天。
最近，我在「猶太人為猶太教」的YouTube頻道上發看到一個標題為「在天使之間飛翔」的演講，由國際知名的演講家和暢銷作者賴希曼拉比主講。我對他對贖罪日的觀點感到特別新鮮和激勵。因此想透過部落格與讀者們分享這美麗的內容，並邀大家一起踏上這個有意義的旅程，用新的眼光探索這個神聖節日的多種詮釋，共同追求更高的精神境界：
「在我們生命中，有一個極為重要但經常被誤解的概念，那就是靈魂的本質。許多人相信他們擁有靈魂，一種存在於內在的精神本質。然而，深入研究猶太教教義揭示了一個深奧的靈性秘密：你並不擁有一個靈魂，你本身就是靈魂。換句話說，靈魂不僅僅是你擁有的一部分，或者你存在的某種靈性元素而已，靈魂就是你這個人的本質。你是一個靈魂，是一個意識，是一個靈性的存在。當你提到「我」的時候，你指的實際上就是你的這個靈魂和你的內在自我。你有一個身體、情感和智力，它們都是你靈魂不同的層面和表現，但在根本上，你是一個靈魂，是一個無限廣闊的意識。
靈魂是天使般的完美、純潔、超越。然而，人一旦進入物質世界，這無限廣闊性的靈魂就被限制在肉體之內。身體是靈魂的容器，也是靈魂的工具，它能讓靈魂在這個世界上實現其意願。這是我們在世的使命：我們進入這個世界時帶著一個未開發的工具～就我們有限的身體。而靈魂，也就是我們存在的自我，已經是完美的，但我們尚未獲得完整的真實自我。隨著我們經歷人生旅程時，我們會不斷地挖掘自己的靈魂，就是那更大更深的自我層面。我們必須透過我們的肉體將這靈魂的層面體現到世界上。當我們這麼做時，我們提升了我們的肉體，使它們能夠深入挖掘我們真正的自我，開啟更廣闊、更深刻的層面。這就是生命美麗的循環：無盡地將自我擴展、表達到這個物質世界中。
雖然這種觀點有相當的震撼力也非常基本，但要實際的去實踐卻是挑戰重重，或許我們可以說這人類最重要的課題之一，因為絕大多數的人都相信我們的活在受限的存在體，卻忘了真實的自我。我們一出生就帶著虛幻的信念，以為我們只是我們所能看到的血肉。因為我們照鏡子看到的只有自己的肉體和骨骼，所以就相信這就是我們的全部。然而，這僅僅是我們的起點，因為生命中的轉折點在於我們認識到自己是一個被包裹在肉體之內的天使靈魂。我們的目標不是試圖以肉體的身份體驗靈性之存在，而是以靈性的方式提升我們的肉體。這就是整個贖罪日的核心主題。
贖罪日是一年裡唯一一天我們可以完全擺脫身體限制，來擁抱我們「天使自我」。這一天象徵我們真正的回轉，回歸到我們精神完美自我的最終之路。猶太人將贖罪日比喻為一年中唯一能夠成為天使的日子。在這一天，我們的低級自我、肉體慾望與衝動無法左右我們，無法讓我們陷入錯誤。若用希伯來文數值計算方式（註一）來解釋這個觀點，可以有以下的解釋：撒旦（הסטן～希伯來文的撒旦”Hasata”，意為「對手」或「控告者」）的希伯來文數值為364，而一年有365天。因此撒旦只有在364天中有權力，在贖罪日那天，撒旦對你無能為力的。這天你可以完全超越並體驗天使的完美。贖罪日許多禁令和命令的主要原因就在於這個奧秘：我們身體與靈魂之間存在著一個矛盾的關係。我們的靈魂—也就是我們自我，是卓越的、是無限的，是純精神的，是看不到、聞不到或觸摸到的意識、思維的自我，我們也永遠看不到別人的內心世界；然而，身體是受限制的，是物質的。因此，既然靈魂和身體是完全相反的，互相排斥，就像磁鐵的兩極一樣，那它們如何共存為一體呢？我們需要一種東西來保持靈魂與身體的聯繫，這種東西就是食物。
食物除了供應我們靈魂、精神和身體所需的能量之外，它幫我們保持這些元素之間的聯繫。因此不進食會帶來反效果，讓我們感到虛弱。如果持續節食，可能會導致暈厥，如果過長時間再不進食，我們的靈魂最終會離開身體導致死亡，因為食物是維持靈魂和身體聯繫的關鍵，這是維持生命的必要條件。現在我們可以更清楚地理解齋戒的觀念，特別是贖罪日。在這一天，我們努力模仿天使，超越物質世界。
我們在贖罪日禁食的目的是讓我們的靈魂在一定程度上超越我們的身體，使我們有機會在這一天體驗像天使一樣的生活方式。這也有助於我們更深入地理解為什麼贖罪日會設定禁令。在贖罪日，我們不參與物質世界，因為這是一個超越人類體驗物質的特殊日子。這個獨特的機會使我們能夠超越並體驗無限的可能性。不同於其他齋戒日，贖罪日並不是一個充滿痛苦和哀悼的日子，而是一個屬靈超越的時刻。
這就是為什麼邁蒙尼德斯（Maimonides 參註二）說，我們在贖罪日禁食並不是因為這是一個禁令痛苦的日子；相反，這是一個完全擁抱靈性、深入我們的根本、我們真實自我的日子。
贖罪日的超越體驗為一整年的基礎打下了基石。儘管物質若被濫用可能會對我們造成傷害，但「超越體驗」的目的並不在於完全超越我們的肉體。相反，它的主旨在透過我們的肉體來表達更高層次的意義……身為人類，我們的目標不在於逃避物質世界，而是善用它來連接超越的領域。我們需要在精神層面建立穩固的根基，然後才能以超越的方式運用在物質世界。願我們在贖罪日這天充分體驗自己的天使本質，隨後將靈性完全融入日常生活，提升我們的行動和意圖，引領這個物質世界朝向其最終的精神根源。」
註一：希伯來文和數目字有非常緊密的關係。猶太人很看重數字學，有人把它翻成 “命理學”（“numerology”）。可能類似中國傳統一向重視姓名學，依據個人八字五行，以求有益之筆劃組合來取一個最吉祥的名字。希伯來數字傳統上是使用「希伯來字母表」中的字母書寫的。「零」除外，每個希伯來字母各會對應一個數字。 正因為如此，數字可以拼出不同的單詞，每個單詞加起來都有它的數值（參部落格：耶穌家譜）。
註二：馬蒙尼德（Maimonides）是一位中世紀的猶太哲學家，對猶太思想和一般哲學都有深遠的影響。他同時也是猶太法律的重要編纂者。他的著作在猶太知識史上佔據著永恆的地位。
Yom Kippur
There are two main High Holy Days in Jewish faith: The first one is Rosh Hashanah also known as the New Year celebration (Please refer to my blog post: Rosh Hashanah); The second one is Yom Kippur, often referred to as Day of Atonement which marks the last day of the “10 days of Repentance.”
I came across a presentation on the "Jews for Judaism" YouTube channel titled "Flying Amongst Angels" by Rabbi Shmuel Reichman, an internationally renowned speaker and best-selling author. I found his perspective on Yom Kippur both refreshing and inspiring. I wanted to use my blog as a platform to share this beautiful content with readers, to invite you to embark on this meaningful journey exploring the diverse interpretations of this sacred day, and together, pursue a higher spiritual state."
“Arguably, one of the most important concepts in life, often misunderstood, is the nature of the soul. Many people believe that they possess a soul, some spiritual essence within themselves. However, deeper Jewish sources reveal a profound spiritual secret: You don't have a soul; you ARE a soul. In other words, the soul is not merely an aspect of yourself or some spiritual component of your being; it is your very essence. You are a soul, a consciousness, a spiritual being. When you say "I," you are referring to your soul, your inner sense of self. You have a body, emotions, and an intellect, all of which are different aspects and expressions of your soul. But fundamentally, you are a soul, an infinitely expansive consciousness.
Now, a soul is angelic, perfect, pure, and transcendent. However, the moment one enters this physical world, the infinite expansiveness of the soul is confined within the physical body. The body is the container of the soul, but it's also the soul's vehicle and tool, allowing the soul to manifest its will in this world. And this is our mission in life: we enter this world with an undeveloped vehicle, our limited body. And the soul, our existential self, is already perfect, but we don't yet have access to the fullness of our true self. As we journey through life, we tap into greater and greater aspects of our soul, our self, and we must then manifest them into the world through our physical bodies. In doing so, we uplift our physical vessels and enable them to tap into greater and greater aspects of our true self. This is the beautiful cycle of life: the endless expansion and expression of self into this physical world.
Now, while this perspective is both powerful and fundamental, its implementation is elusive and perhaps humanity's most central struggle, because many people believe that they are a body of physical finite beings. Having forgotten our true selves, we're born with the illusory belief that we are only that which we can see. We look into the mirror, and we only see flesh and bone, and we believe that this is all that we are. However, this is merely our starting point, because the turning point in life is the moment we realize that we are angelic souls in a physical casing. We're not physical beings attempting to have a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings trying to uplift our physical experience. And this is the central theme of Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is the one day of the year when we completely free ourselves of our physical limitations, embracing our angelic self. This day embodies true Teshuvah ( Note: תשובה repentance/ return) or , where we return to our ultimate route to our spiritually perfect self. Yom Kippur is characterized as the one day of the year when we have the ability to become a malach (Note: messenger, or angel). On this day, our lower self and physical urges are powerless; they can't bring us down. This idea is illustrated in the following gematria value ( Note: geometry- is a way of interpreting Jewish texts by adding up the numerical values of words ( Note 1) : Hasatan ( הסטן,Satan in Hebrew, means “the adversary” or “the accuser”) the evil inclination, has a numerical value of 364, and there are 365 days in the year. Satan only has power on 364 of those days. Yom Kippur is the one day when Satan has no power over you. On this day, you can completely transcend and experience angelic perfection. This secret is the root behind many of the prohibitions and commands of Yom Kippur. For example, there's a paradoxical relationship between the body and the soul. Your soul, which is yourself, is transcendent, infinite, and purely spiritual. You can't see, smell, or touch the consciousness, the mind, the self. You'll never see someone else's inner world, and yet, the body is finite, limited, and physical. So, if the soul and body are complete opposites, how do they manage to coexist as one, when we expect them to repel each other like two opposite sides of a magnet?
This is the powerful purpose of food. There needs to be something to keep your soul attached to your body, some kind of glue. Eating food generates the energy which keeps your neshama (Note: Hebrew: נשמה which can mean "soul" or "spirit") connected to your body, and this is why the lack of eating has the opposite effect. What happens when you don't eat? You become faint. And what happens if you continue to fast? You'll pass out. And if you still don't eat, your soul will eventually leave your body, and you'll die because eating maintains the connection between your soul and your body. It's what keeps you alive. We can now understand the concept of fasting, especially on the day of Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we attempt to live as Malachim (מלאכים) as angels, completely transcending the physical world.
And we, therefore, fast, allowing our soul to somewhat transcend our body, enabling us to experience one day of living in an angelic state. This sheds light on the prohibitions of Yom Kippur. We don't engage in the physical world on Yom Kippur because it's a day for transcending the physical aspects of human experience. Yom Kippur presents a unique opportunity to transcend and experience the infinite. Unlike other fast days, Yom Kippur is not a day of suffering and mourning but one of spiritual transcendence.
This is why Maimonides ( Note 2) stated that on Yom Kippur, we rest from eating. It's not a day of prohibition and suffering; it's a day of completely embracing the spiritual and tapping into our absolute root, our truest sense of self. The transcendent experience of Yom Kippur lays the foundation for the rest of the year. While the physical can be destructive if misused, the ideal is not to completely transcend the physical but rather to use the physical to reflect something higher…Our goal as humans is not to escape the physical but to use it as a means of connecting to the transcendent. Our root must be transcendent, firmly grounded in the spiritual, and then, on that foundation, we can descend into the physical and use it in a transcendent way. May we be inspired to fully experience our angelic selves on Yom Kippur and then infuse the totality of our spiritual acquisition into our physical life, elevating our actions and intentions as we move this physical world towards its ultimate spiritual root.
Note 1: Hebrew and numerals share a close relationship. Jewish people place great importance on numerology. This parallels the traditional Chinese emphasis on name analysis, where the components of a name are chosen based on the strokes of individual Chinese characters (生辰八字) to create an auspicious name. Hebrew numerals are traditionally written using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. With the exception of "zero," each Hebrew letter corresponds to a number. Consequently, numbers can be spelled out with different words, and each word has its numerical value (Please refer to my blog post: Genealogy of Jesus)
Note 2: Maimonidesis a medieval Jewish philosopher with considerable influence on Jewish thought, and on philosophy in general. He also was an important codifier on Jewish law. He is fuse and writings hold a permanent place in Jewish intellectual history.
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