Erev Yom Kippur ערב יום כיפור

But on the tenth day of this seventh month, it is Yom Ha-kippurim, it shall be a sacred festival for you, and you shall afflict your souls and bring a sacrifice to God. You shall not do any labor on this same day, for it is Yom Kippurim, to atone for you before the Lord your God. For every soul that is not afflicted on this same day shall be cut off from its nation….It is a Shabbat Shabbaton for you, and you shall afflict your souls, on the ninth of the month in the evening, from evening until evening, you shall rest on your Shabbat.

Rabbi Yishmael: ‘We add from the workday to the sacred,’ what is our source? It is derived from what is taught [in a baraita]: “And you shall afflict your souls on the ninth.” Could it mean on the ninth? Scripture teaches “in the evening.” “In the evening” could mean, from when it gets dark. Scripture teaches “on the ninth.” How is that? One begins fasting while it is still day. This teaches that we add from the workday onto the sacred. I have [established the obligation] only with its entrance; from where [can I derive it] with its exit? Scripture teaches “from evening until evening.”

“On this same day shall be cut off” – the punishment of karet applies to that very day, and there is no punishment of karet on the tosefet…

Reish Lakish said, why is no prohibition stated with affliction?… Rav Acha bar Ya’akov said, derive “Shabbat Shabbaton” [Yom Kippur] from Shabbat Bereishit [Shabbat observed weekly based on the seventh day of Creation]. Just as there, [the Torah] did not punish unless it prohibited, so here it did not punish unless it prohibited

Yom Kippur is derived from Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav, for Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav, and it was also taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: Scripture says “man or woman” (Bemidbar 5:6) – the verse equates a woman to a man for all the punishments in the Torah.

Isn’t it taught [in a baraita] “the citizen” to include the women citizens who are obligated in affliction…Why do I need a verse?…[Women’s obligation on] Yom Kippur is derived from Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav, as Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav…’Scripture equated a woman to a man for all the punishments in the Torah’…it is needed only for the tosefet of affliction. I might have thought that since the Torah excluded the tosefet of affliction from punishment and warning, that women are not obligated at all; this teaches us [otherwise].

And Rabbi Akiva, this “and you shall afflict your souls on the ninth” – what will he do with it? According to what Chiyya bar Rav from Difti taught, as Chiyya bar Rav from Difti taught, “and you shall afflict your souls on the ninth,” – and do we fast on the ninth? Don’t we fast on the tenth? Rather to tell you that everyone who eats and drinks on the ninth, Scripture considers him as if he fasted on the ninth and tenth

And thus is the meaning of the verse “and you shall afflict … on the ninth,” to say, prepare yourself on the ninth so that you will be able to fast on the tenth, and because the verse expressed it in terms of affliction, to tell you: behold, it is as if one fasts on the ninth.

Meaning, prepare yourselves on the ninth to renew and strengthen [yourselves] with eating and drinking in order that you should be able to fast the next day, [this injunction is] to show God’s love for Israel.

He commanded them to eat and drink first….so that God’s commandment, that He commanded us to fast on the tenth day, should be clear and revealed…

For on the other Yamim Tovim we sit down to a festive meal for the joy of the mitzva, for the reward for the joy of mitzvot is very great and exalted, as it is said (Divrei Ha-yamim I 29:17): “And now, Your nation that are found here, I have seen giving to You with joy,” and it is said (Devarim 28:47) “as retribution that you have not served the Lord your God with joy and with goodness of heart,” and since there is a fast on Yom Kippur, they were obligated to sit down to a festive meal for the joy of the mitzva on Erev Yom Kippur.

It is a mitzva to eat on Erev Yom Kippur and to increase [one’s] meals. Rema: And it is forbidden to fast on it.

A zav who had a seminal emission, and a nidda who expelled semen…require immersion, and Rabbi Yehuda exempts.

Like Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira, who said, words of Torah are not susceptible to ritual impurity. Some explain: specifically for Torah, but for prayer, one requires immersion, and Ri explains that there is no difference. One who immerses on Erev Yom Kippur should not recite a beracha, and if one recites a beracha it is a beracha in vain.

One can immerse … whenever one wants, as long as it is before night; and one does not recite a beracha over the immersion. Rema: One needs to immerse only one time, without viduy (confession), on account of seminal emission; and pouring nine kabim of water is also effective.

We do not seek to resemble the angels in their aspect of masculinity, but only in matters of Yom Kippur. And in this, women can certainly also resemble…. For on Yom Kippur in eating and drinking and walking barefoot and being clean of sin – there is no distinction between men and women.

Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya expounded this: “[For on this day it will atone for you to purify you] from all your sins before God you will be pure” (Vayikra 16:30). Sins between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones. Sins between a person and his fellow, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow. Rabbi Akiva said: Happy are you, Israel! Before whom do you become pure? Who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven, as it is said “And I will cast upon you pure water and you will be pure” (Yechezkel 36:25) and it says “God is the mikveh of Israel” (Yirmiyahu 17:13) – just as a mikveh purifies those who are impure, so the Holy One, Blessed be He, purifies Israel.

Women are accustomed to immerse three times [corresponding to] in”pure water and you will be pure …I will purify you” (Yechezkel 36:25), “and he shall purify him and sanctify him from the impurities of Benei Yisrael” (Vayikra 16:19), “to purify you …before God you shall be purified ” (ibid. 30). Therefore, one who immerses on Erev Yom Kippur dunks his head under the water three times.

Just as the one who has intention to become pure, since he immersed, he is pure, even though there is no change in his body – thus the one who has intention to purify his soul from the impurity of souls, which are the thoughts of evil, since he committed to separate from those counsels and brought his soul into the pure waters of knowledge, behold, He says, “I will cast upon you pure waters and you will be pure from all your impurity and from all your idolatry I will purify you” (Yechezkel 36:25).

One can immerse – the author (Shulchan Aruch) wrote briefly; earlier, he should have written that it is a custom to immerse … on Erev Yom Kippur, and even youths and maidens, because they are above bar or bat mitzva, immerse

Rabbi Yochanan said: Whether at the right time or not at the right time, she immerses only at night, because of her daughter following [this example].

What is remarkable: How did they not decree immersion for a single woman, so that the masses not come to sin through her? And there is no place to wonder here! For since the single woman is prohibited, as I have written. On the contrary! If she were to immerse, there would be a stumbling block with her: For they would be lenient with a woman who is prohibited, since she is only prohibited rabbinically.

…It is the custom of the women of our household and our relatives to immerse on Erev Rosh Ha-shana and Erev Yom Kippur for purposes of purity from relations, even though they are pure from nidda. And furthermore, even a woman who has not immersed following nidda, because she is still within the seven clean days that are not complete, they also immerse within the seven clean days for purposes of purity alone, so that she should come to the synagogue and pray on the Yamim Nora’im in purity, and after the seven clean days she will then immerse according to halacha for the sake of [resuming contact with] her husband. Furthermore, even the maidens in the house also do thus, to immerse before Rosh Hashana so that they should come to the synagogue and pray in purity….. There is no proof from the reason Rivash wrote why they did not establish immersion for single women to object to our case, for one can say that in that case the single women have no purpose or reason to immerse, and if they would tell them to immerse in order that the masses not come to sin through them, this would be an enactment for sinners, and as if they set them up to fail, which is not so in our case, where she immerses for a purpose and has a reason so that she should pray and enter the synagogue in purity, therefore….. here when they immerse within the seven clean days for the sake of purity for a pure prayer…they do not cut their fingernails and they also don’t [intensively] comb the hair on their heads, and thus several practices of a woman’s immersion for her husband are omitted, but only for the purpose of spiritual purity and cleanliness for worship and prayer of the Yamim Nora’im, therefore, we should not rebuke them for this…

Yom Kippur is a time of repentance for every individual and for the masses, and it is the ultimate time of pardon and forgiveness for Israel; therefore, everyone is obligated to repent and confess on Yom Kippur, and the mitzva of viduy on Yom Kippur is to begin on the eve of the day, before one eats… And even if one confessed before eating, he confesses again on the night of Yom Kippur at Ma’ariv and confesses again at Shacharit and at Mussaf and at Mincha and at Ne’ila. When does one confess? The individual after his tefilla, and the prayer leader in the middle of his tefilla in the fourth beracha.

All the mitzvot in the Torah, whether positive or negative, if a person transgressed one of them, whether deliberately or in error, when he does teshuva and repents of his sin he is obligated to confess before God, blessed be He, as it is written, “a man or woman who do … and they confess their sin that they did” (Bemidbar 5:6-7), this is verbal confession. This confession is a positive mitzva. How do we confess? One says: “Please, God, I have sinned, I have transgressed, I have strayed before You and done such and such, and behold, I have regretted and I am ashamed of my deeds and I will never do this thing again,” and this is the essence of viduy, and whoever confesses a lot and extends the matter, this is praiseworthy.

Our rabbis taught: the mitzva of confession on Erev Yom Kippur is at dark, but the Sages said, he should confess before he eats and drinks, lest he become disturbed at the meal, and even though he confessed before he ate and drank, he confesses after he eats and drinks, lest a sin happened at the meal, and even though he confessed at Ma’ariv, he confesses at Shacharit, Shacharit – he confesses at Mussaf, at Mussaf – he confesses at Mincha, at Mincha – he confesses at Ne’ila.

It seems according to the precise reading of this language that the viduy he confesses after eating is not in the Ma’ariv prayer, because it is not taught, “and even though he confessed before he ate and drank, he confesses at Ma’ariv,” as it is taught [in the continuation of the baraita] “and even though he confessed at Ma’ariv.” Furthermore, it is taught that the viduy of Erev Yom Kippur is “at dark” – that is, after he eats and drinks, but that the sages had him confess earlier, before he eats, lest he become disturbed at the meal. Regarding this it says that even though they required him to confess earlier, the primary viduy does not lose its place, and he needs to confess after he eats and drinks – that is, at dark. Ma’ariv is not called “after he eats and drinks,” because it is not adjacent to that eating, and the Ma’ariv prayer has a name.

There are poskim who maintain that one also needs to confess after eating before dark, and it is proper to be stringent in accordance with this opinion, and therefore today we have the custom to recite Tefilla Zaka then.