Typically, Yom Kippur is thought to be a day of fasting, prayer, and asking for forgiveness for the things we have done wrong throughout the year. Because of this, it is easy to center the day around punishment and guilt. However, Yom Kippur can also be a much more hopeful day. It is not only a day for us to reflect on our past actions, but also a day to change them! It is a day that says that our mistakes do not define us. We have the ability to move forward.
Teshuva is one of the most important themes of Yom Kippur. Often, it is translated as “repentance”, but it is more than just simply saying sorry. Teshuva means recognizing that what we have done was wrong and making a genuine effort to change. If I hurt someone and then say “I’m sorry,” but continue to treat that person in the same negative way, have I really done teshuva? Yom Kippur pushes us beyond simply feeling guilty. It challenges us to think about what we can truly do differently.
Sefer Yonah, which is traditionally read on Yom Kippur afternoon, reflects this same sentiment. In it, Hashem sends Yonah to the city of Nineveh and tells him to warn its people that their city will be destroyed because of their behavior. Instead of immediately following Hashem’s command, Yonah runs away. Eventually, he goes to Nineveh and delivers Hashem’s warning. The people of Nineveh respond by recognizing their wrongdoings and changing their ways. When Hashem sees their teshuva, He decides against the destruction.
The people’s response reflects an important part of teshuva: actions matter. They did not simply hear that they had done something wrong, feel bad about it, and continue with their lives. Instead, they responded by changing their behavior. The people of Nineveh show us that teshuva is not simply about punishment; it’s about recognizing that we can choose a different path.
Yonah’s story doesn’t end there. One of the more interesting parts of the story is the Kikayon, the plant that grows over Yonah and provides him with shade. When the plant later died, he grew angry at Hashem. He is angry that Hashem allowed the plant to die, even though he did not create it or have any control over it. Hashem uses this moment to teach Yonah an important lesson. If Yonah can care so deeply about a plant that he barely knew, why should Hashem not care about the thousands of people living in Nineveh?
This moment forced Yonah to think beyond himself. It asks him to develop compassion for the people of Nineveh and change the way he sees them. This is an important connection to Yom Kippur. Teshuva is not just about changing our behavior; sometimes it is about changing our perspective.
Sometimes we are willing to ask Hashem or even other people to forgive us, but it is much harder for us to forgive others. We can recognize that people are capable when it is convenient for us, but we are more stubborn about believing that they can, and that they deserve the opportunity to.
This is what makes Sefer Yonah so meaningful to read on Yom Kippur. It is read in the afternoon when you’re halfway through your day. By that point, we may have spent hours praying, fasting, and reflecting. Maybe we have already thought about how we want to change or have become distracted and forgotten. Reading Yonah reminds us that it is not too late. This story becomes a reminder that teshuva is not exclusive to one specific moment. The story of Nineveh plants an extra seed of hope. If an entire city of people can recognize and reflect on their mistakes and change, then our mistakes do not need to permanently define us either. Sometimes the hardest thing to change is how we think about others and not just changing our behavior.
Ultimately, Yom Kippur is not about being perfect. It is about having the willingness to change and become better. Throughout our lives, we all hurt people, make mistakes, and even fall short of being the people we want to be. But Yom Kippur allows us to pause. It gives us a chance to acknowledge our wrongdoings, take responsibility for them, and do teshuva because our mistakes do not permanently define who we are.
Maybe the message of Yom Kippur is not that we should spend the day afraid of everything we’ve done wrong. Maybe it is that we should spend one day believing that we can do better. Yom Kippur is not the end of the story. It is a chance to start writing the next part differently.
