The central underlying concept of the Yom Kippur liturgy is constant Vidui or Confession. The “oshamnu bogadnu” Vidui, the constant “al cheits” again and again, and “sholosh esrei midos of Hashem Hashem”. What is the purpose of all these verbal confessions? I know what I did! Hashem knows what I have done! Why is verbalization of what I have done wrong such a critical requirement in the Yom Kippur process of T'shuva Repentance and Slicha V’Kaporoh Forgiveness and Atonement? One simple understanding is that Vidui helps a person to clearly express his mistakes and to clearly accept his wrongdoing as fact, in order to strengthen one's commitment for change, the raison d’être for T’shuva.
But there is another deeper understanding of a verbal Vidui. The Rambam in discussing halachos of T'shuva asks how does one know if he has successfully undergone the process of T'shuva? The Rambam says the ideal way is if a person undergoes the same situation and an opportunity shows up to transgress and the person overcomes and does not transgress. But the question is what happens if the test does not occur? Does the person need to actually live through the same temptation and overcome it in reality or is it enough that he has reached a level of T'shuva that if such a situation would occur he would not transgress? The Rambam answers that as long as Hashem can say testimony that a person has built up the strength to resist the temptation this is sufficient and you do not need to relive it. The Rabeinu Yona says something similar. When a person develops an awe of Hashem that can contain his negative inclination it is sufficient for T'shuva.
This concept of Hashem saying testimony as to the person's spiritual ability is uniquely reserved to T'shuva. The Gemora says that if a person resists doing an aveyra he gets a mitzva of Yiras Shomayim. But the Gemora says that this is only when a person actively resists. But if you don’t actively resist you do not get a mitzva. We do not say what the Rambam says by T’shuva that if a situation would arise and I would not transgress it is sufficient to earn the mitzva of Yiras Shomayim. Similarly in the beginning of the book of Iyuv we see that Hashem is testifying as to the deepest spiritual status of Job but nonetheless the prosecuting angel says "stretch out your hand and hurt him in his flesh and see if he will curse you". Hashem’s testimony of Iyuv’s alleged spiritual potential for not sinning was not enough. However, as the Rambam says, when it comes to the mitzva of T’shuva the occurrence of an actual situation is not a requirement. Why is T'shuva different?
What the Gemora cited above and the story of Iyuv illustrate is that even though Hashem is testifying as to the spiritual potential of a human being this will not carry a final verdict that the person is a Tzadik. The way Hashem set up our world with Midas Hadin Justice is that there is a requirement for real activity. The way Hashem set up this world is that the person must prove himself by living through it and in the face of a test actually point to his priorities. With all of person's potentials (even to the point where Hashem can testify as to the validity of his righteousness) the prosecution angel can still require the person to “prove it”.
Why then if we say that a proof in action is required in order for the person to be considered righteous but on the day of Yom Kippur Hashem's testimony is enough? The answer is that on Yom Kippur, Soton, the prosecution angel is absent. The Soton is simply not present on the day of Yom Kippur. The day of Yom Kippur has a unique quality. On Yom Kippur, as long as the person is in the process of doing T'shuva, Hashem's testimony to the person's deep qualities is sufficient. This is a phenomenal idea. The nature of Yom Kippur is not probation; let's see if the person will pass the tests in the coming year. But rather, as long as the person can build himself up inside on the day of Yom Kippur, Hashem will accept him and the prosecutor has no ability to challenge and demand “prove it”. This is what is meant in the Gemora that the word haSoton has a numerical value of 364 and that the Soton has no place on the day of Yom Kippur.
This is the tremendous gift of Yom Kippur. Even if I have blown the past 365 days I can in one short day build myself up and return completely. A person should not be discouraged by saying "how much can I pack in one day? I can't possibly have all the temptations of the year sitting in shul the whole day so I may as well give up. I have a whole year ahead of me to fail." This attitude is only true if the person did not build his spiritual potential on this day of Yom Kippur, then the person has not reached a level of true change. But if the person has absorbed the holiness of the day and built himself up then the return is complete. The person should never knock his ability to grow and return even in shoah achas, a very short period of time.
The source for this idea is in Hashem's response to Moshe after he has prayed with the Thirteen Attributes of Rachamim Hashem Hashem "hiney onochi koreis bris, neged kol amcho eh'ese niflo'os". The Ramban asks what Bris Covenant does Hashem refer to? What niflo'os are being referred to? And the Ramban answers the Bris is that "I will be with you in the hidden and deep". Hashem has defined the relationship with Klal Yisroel through T'shuva, a Covenant Bris which puts aside the part of Midas Hadin which requires the proof through action.
The question is what mechanism within the elements of T'shuva allows for this circumventing of the Midas Hadin requirement to "prove it"? There are various levels of justice but it must be consistent with truth. We can't just say that Hashem overlooks the requirements of Din. The answer is Vidui, a verbal confession of all his sins and wrongdoings. This is based on our understanding that Midas HaDin demands a test (“prove it”) to actualize the inner hidden spiritual potential of the person. The Beer Mayim Chaim in his seminal work Siduroh Shel Shabbos explains Midas HaDin that Din exists in order to force a person to live correctly, in accordance with the Torah life that Hashem has prescribed for Klal Yisroel. Therefore, we see that the purpose of Din is to bring out the hidden spiritual potential of a person to do Toiv Good into the open. When a person by his own free will confesses and admits to sinning and wrongdoing, the verbal confession brings upon him Din. And this Din breaks the barriers between the hidden and the open. If a person on his own will brings the hidden into the open then for such a person there is no need for the Midas Hadin to demand any further actualization, to “prove it”. The proof of actually withstanding a test is only to do just that, bring the hidden potential into the open. And the Vidui part of T’shuva accomplishes exactly that effect. May we all have a “Ve'Chasom l’Chaim Tovim".
