Yom Kippur is the inner state of a person when they realize that within them operates only unceasing egoism, and that they must rise above themselves. The main commandment of the Torah is “Love your neighbor as yourself,” yet we are absolutely distant from this, even opposite to it. Therefore, we ask forgiveness.

It appears that by being within the will to receive, we are in disparity of form with the Creator, and that we need to overcome this evil inclination in order to come into adhesion with the Creator; to recognize Him as One, and that “there is none else besides Him”. 

This is the meaning of “For the inclination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth,” meaning that the Creator created him this way, since the will to receive is the actual Kli [vessel], except it must be correct.

RABASH, Letter No. 14

Since such a degree is completely opposite to our nature, everything we do is within the will to receive, and there is nothing that can help us. It is clear that we ourselves cannot correct anything, and the sins we have committed are not ours at all because it is the Creator who created the evil inclination that rules over us and forces us to sin.

Indeed, we are not guilty that we are immersed in egoism, which every time pushes us to think only about ourselves and not about others or about the Creator. Therefore, both sins and their correction are not our fault and not our merit because the Creator does everything. He has prepared all the sins and all the corrections against them for us, and we are between one and the other, like in a vice.

We should interpret that the sin is in saying that there is an evil inclination instead of “There is none else besides Him.” If a person is unworthy, he is cast out from above. This comes by clothing in the will to receive, called the “evil inclination.”

RABASH, Letter No. 14

Thus, on Yom Kippur, we say that there are two ways to ask for forgiveness (and they are united in one another): prayer and repentance.

What we are asking to be forgiven for is not for the fact that we received from the Creator, but rather that we also received an opportunity to emerge from this evil inclination and an opportunity to identify and get closer to him, and yet we did not use this opportunity sufficiently and correctly. 

This is what we have to account for, to scrutinize and to have a judgment over. To feel remorse and forgiveness to those opportunities that the Creator gave us in order to overcome our desire to receive, and in order for us to study it in such a way that by overcoming it, we’ll learn what is the good inclination.

“Repentance” in Hebrew (“Teshuva”) comes from the word “to return”: 

• as we want to return to the the state of Adam HaRishon – as it is said “repentance refers to Adam HaRishon prior to the sin being adhered, but became removed because of the sin” (RABASH, Article No. 244, “Repentance”)
• and as we want to return everything unto the Creator – as it is said “what he receives, he does not want to receive for his own sake, but rather all that he receives is in order to bring contentment to the Creator” (RABASH, Article No. 33, “What Does It Mean that the Creator Favors Someone, in the Work?”)

Hence, our work is to relate everything to the Creator, both the sins and the corrections – to return everything back to Him. We can only connect sin with correction when we can understand and feel that both of them come from the Creator and not from us. The Creator is above sins and above corrections. This is a special higher power above everything. 

Thus, we must pray so as to see that “there is none else besides Him”. Even though it is a will to receive, we want Malchut to receive the same qualities as Zeir Anpin – the giver, the bestower. This is actually our entire request, our whole hope. 

In other words, as ZA gives, so will Malchut acquire such a correction, where by repenting, when we say that henceforth, all the actions will be in order to bestow, which is called Rachamim [mercy], like ZA, it follows that repentance causes Malchut, who is called “the quality of judgment” prior to the correction, to become Rachamim [mercy] after the correction, like ZA.

RABASH, Article 13 (1990), “What Does It Mean that by the Unification of the Creator and the Shechina, All Iniquities Are Atoned?”

Our entire spiritual work actually needs to lead us to a prayer, because everything comes from above, as everything that happens to us happens is the direct influence of the Creator, and we have to respond. The response is called “a prayer”: what we want, what we think, what we yearn for; all of that is prayer. 

We have to convince the Creator that we are ready and worthy of being closer to him, and to the extent that we can convince Him of this matter, we are worthy of being closer to him. 

If the Creator does not give him this power, to feel that “we have a great King,” he has no strength to work for the sake of the Creator [...] Therefore, when the Creator helps him and gives him the desire to bestow, and he feels that he has a great King, only the Creator can give this. [...] Namely, “Only You can make us feel that we have a great King and it is worthwhile to work for Him, to bring Him contentment.”

RABASH, Article No. 1 (1991), “What Is, ‘We Have No Other King but You,’ in the Work?”

In the fight, we start to feel the differences between ourselves and the Creator, between the desire to receive and the desire to bestow and in this we establish the force of overcoming, the screen and the entire system of Kedusha (holiness) meaning giving and connection that we establish inside of us, and through this system, on Yom Kippur, we make up for all of our sins and transgressions.

That is why Yom Kippur is a day of special joy that allows us to rise even higher above creation, to connect with the higher power, and to reach its level. All the sins and all the egoism that have been created by the Creator and the corrections that are achieved thanks to Him are necessary for us to understand the step that is above the evil and good inclinations, that is, to understand the Creator, who cannot be attained in any other way.