Yom Kippur, one of our holiest days, completes the "Ten Days of Repentance" which began on Rosh Hashanah. The verse that the Rabbis use to describe these days is "Search for G-d while He can be found, call upon Him when he is near" They explain that G-d is close to every Jew during these days. This knowledge and innate feeling helps each person make a greater effort to come even closer to G-d. During each of the Ten Days, this energy grows until it reaches its height on Yom Kippur,
Psalm #130,(that we add in our prayers this week begins with the words) "A song of ascents, out of the depths have I called you, G-d. My Master, listen to my voice, may Your ears hear my calls for grace". The simple meaning of the verse is that a person calls out to G-d from the depth of his pain and difficulties. The inner dimension of the verse requires from us something more: "Out of the depths" refers to a level of consciousness attainable by every Jew, that through our concentration and effort, we call to G-d from our innermost place, the depths of our soul.
The Baal Shem Tov said that each person gets a stream of blessings from heaven; a person's negative actions can cause those blessings to be reduced or blocked. When a person prays from the depth of his soul, digging deep, opening himself up, something changes in the person himself (!), altering him entirely. The Heavenly Court can then remove those blockages.
Let's not let the Ten Days of Repentance pass without taking full advantage.
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