The one hundred and fifteenth "cheder" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Friday, 9 Tishrei, Erev Yom Kippur, 5704.
Shiurim: Chumash, Beracha (Parshas Vezos HaBeracha), sheini... sixth aliyah, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, ninth of the month, one recites from chapter 49 through chapter 54 inclusive, and the three chapters added today — 112, 113, 114.
Tanya: On this day we continue studying Iggeret 20 in Iggeret HaKodesh. The daily portion begins on page 132, with the words "U'lefi mah shenit'baer beSefer," and concludes on page 264, with the words "bemakom acher."
At the beginning of the teaching, the Rebbe addresses several of the customs observed on this day, the eve of Yom Kippur. The first reference is to the custom of Kapparot. The wording of the saying: "Kapparot: 'Benei adam' - through 'ulshalom,' three times, and each time one circles [it] three times, for a total of nine times." Let us explain: In the text printed in the siddurim and machzorim there is a first passage that opens with the words "Benei adam" and concludes with the word "ulshalom" — the ending of "zeh chalifati," etc. The Rebbe first notes that one recites all of this three times, and each time, upon finishing and saying "zeh chalifati zeh temurati," one circles the Kapparah three times over the head.
What is the emphasis in this custom? When we examine the sefer "Shaar HaKollel" (chapter 44), it addresses the custom of kaparos and notes precisely the change in wording of the Alter Rebbe between what he wrote in the Siddur and what he wrote in the Shulchan Aruch: in the Shulchan Aruch the wording is "and one does so three times," whereas in the Siddur the wording is "and one recites 'bnei adam' three times." From this the author of "Shaar HaKollel" infers that the first passage, which concludes with the words "matzasi kofer," is recited three times, but the circling of the kaparah over the head while reciting "zeh chalifasi" it suffices to do once. On this the Rebbe here is precise in the saying, that one does the entire thing three times, and each time circles three times, for a total of 9 times.
The next matter the Rebbe notes — as is also written in the Siddur of the Alter Rebbe, in the passage before "Lamnatzeiach... Ya'ancha" recited in the morning — that "through the end of Tishrei one does not say Tachanun"; from this day, 9 Tishrei, until the end of the month of Tishrei, Tachanun is not said on any of these days.
The third matter — an observation regarding what is stated in the Shulchan Aruch concerning the malkos (symbolic lashes) administered on the eve of Yom Kippur before the Mincha prayer. In the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe the wording is that the custom was for the one being flogged, the one receiving the malkos, to recite confessions (viduyim) while being flogged; whereas the one administering the flogging, the one giving the malkos, recites "Vehu rachum yechaper avon" three times, which together contains 39 words, corresponding to the 39 lashes. On this the Rebbe comments here in the custom, that in practice the observance is — let us read the wording: "Malkos: the one flogging and the one being flogged both say Vehu rachum three times" — meaning that the one being flogged does not recite viduyim, but he too says "Vehu rachum" just like the one administering the flogging.
The final passage is the daily teaching, which the Rebbe notes: "On the eve of Yom Kippur, the avodah is regret over the past, and on Yom Kippur — resolve for the future". This saying appears in the Rebbe's journal, and there is an interesting explanation of it, which the Rebbe Rayatz stated in the maamar beginning "Vayaged lecha taalumos chochmah", on the night after Yom Kippur in the year 5691.
There the Rebbe Rayatz explains at length that the confessions recited on the eve of Yom Kippur — when the entire confession is said twice before "Kol Nidrei" — constitute the avodah of regret over the past. In contrast, on Yom Kippur itself, and especially when one reaches the conclusion of the day with the recitation of "Shema Yisrael" and the seven times "Hashem Hu HaElokim," this is a movement of acceptance for the future, in which the Jew takes upon himself to change his very essence and the disposition of his soul in such a way that he simply desires to be entirely bound up with the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Rebbe Rayatz brought there the analogy of a son delighting in the very essence of his father, than which there is no greater joy. This is also why, immediately upon the conclusion of the fast of Yom Kippur, there is a great joy, an immense enthusiasm, and a profound closeness expressed in song and melody from the deepest inner point of the heart — for this is a movement in which a person connects, like a prince connecting to the very essence of his father the king. This is the essential avodah of Yom Kippur.