When we cry about all our sins on Yom Kippur, we’re really saying, “Hashem, look at all these sins, look at this pile of garbage, of refuse, the distractions I enjoy… I enjoy them because I have this gaping hole in my life…”

“Hashem,” we’re saying, “if I had You, if You and I were closer, I wouldn’t need any of this, but because of our distance, I’m stuck.”

With that understanding, we can understand what we’re doing. We’re coming close, begging for a deeper relationship, saying, “Hashem, I don’t really want any of these things. The distance between me and You is the only problem. I just want to be closer to You.”

That’s Yom Kippur.

~ R’ Yossi Bensoussan

I wish you all a g’mar chasima tova!