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The meaning of Yom Kippur

שו"תThe meaning of Yom Kippur
שאל לפני 9 שנים

Hello, Your Honor. In the past year, I have re-approached Judaism. You could say that I was an atheist (not with much pleasure… I connect with the religious and ethical being. Only out of necessity do logical conclusions about the truth of things), until I encountered a number of philosophical issues that gave me no rest. Among other things, I found a lot of logic in the rabbi's ideas, and as a result I am in a different place.
The issue of freedom of choice is one of these issues. I have great difficulty adopting the traditional religious view regarding the settlement of freedom of choice and private providence, when in my opinion there is really no settlement here. Therefore, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are holidays that I have a very hard time with. I do not believe that my fate is written and sealed and that all the events of the year will determine my day, because in my opinion this sterilises the essence of freedom of choice.
I wanted to ask how the rabbi perceives the essence of Yom Kippur and how he directs his prayer, if at all.
Thanks in advance and have a good fast,
Tair


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מיכי צוות ענה לפני 9 שנים
Hello Tair. First, thank you. Letters like these are worth investing time and effort and getting into all the exhausting arguments here. To your point, my argument is that there is no problem with free will, neither scientifically nor theologically. Scientifically, see my books on the science of freedom or in the article here on the website:
למשמעותם של “רמזי אלול” או: אלול בליטא (טור 27)
Regarding theological considerations (the question of knowledge and choice), my opinion is that it is clear that God does not know in advance what will be chosen. There is a simple logical proof for this from Newcomb's paradox (see there and there). I have written quite a bit about this on this site, both about knowledge and certainly about His involvement in the world. In my opinion, there is very little involvement, if any. By the way, I don't think the difficulty lies with freedom of will. It is certainly possible to act completely of free will, and yet God is involved in what happens to me (not determining everything, but involved and predetermining and setting a framework in light of the terrible days and in light of my actions). But, as mentioned, none of this seems reasonable to me either, but for other reasons. Therefore, for me, the Day of the Lord is a day of accepting the yoke (the queen), meaning creating a commitment to the word of God. Whereas Yom Kippur is a day of self-examination about my ways, thoughts, and qualities, and not necessarily a day of judgment in the sense that God determines what will happen to me this year (perhaps in the world to come. I don't know). See also here:
למשמעותם של “רמזי אלול” או: אלול בליטא (טור 27)
May you be signed and sealed in the book of life,

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