There is a way of looking at Yom Kippur that could surprise you
The Joy of Returning: Teshuvah as an Act of Hope
Many of us approach the High Holiday season with a sense of heaviness. We think of confession, judgment, and the ways we have fallen short. Yet Jewish tradition offers a surprising image of this day. The Mishnah teaches that there were no days as joyful for the people of Israel as the fifteenth of Av sometimes called the Jewish Valentine’s Day — and, perhaps most amazingly, Yom Kippur.
The reason may seem unexpected. The Mishnah describes how, on Yom Kippur, young women in Jerusalem would go out in white garments and dance in the vineyards, inviting young men to look beyond outward appearances and recognize the qualities that truly matter. This scene of matchmaking reveals a profound insight: Yom Kippur is not only a day of judgment and reflection. It is also a day of new beginnings.
This portrayal of Yom Kippur as a day of joy reflects a deeper rabbinic understanding of the day. According to the Talmud, Yom Kippur became a day of joy because it was the day Moses descended from Mount Sinai with the second tablets after the sin of the Golden Calf. Thus, Yom Kippur celebrates not human perfection, but the possibility of return. Even after profound failure, the covenant could be renewed.
Looking at the meaning of the Hebrew word teshuvah might help us understand this rabbinic vision. Often translated as “repentance,” teshuvah points to a deeper meaning of “return.” It suggests that the work of the High Holidays is not about becoming an entirely different person. Rather, it is about returning to our deepest values and restoring our relationships.
This does not mean teshuvah allows us to avoid responsibility for our wrongdoing. The High Holidays call us to engage in cheshbon hanefesh, an “accounting of the soul,” which demands sincere remorse, and the difficult work of repairing the harm we have caused. We are asked to examine our actions honestly: Where have we caused harm? Where have we failed to live according to our values?
This self-examination is not an expression of despair, but of hope. If we believed that people could never change, there would be no reason to apologize, seek forgiveness, repair relationships, or make commitments for the future. The very act of self-reflection demonstrates a deep faith in human potential.
The Talmud teaches, “Great is teshuvah, for it brings healing to the world.” Teshuvah is not only an individual spiritual practice. When we grow, those around us are affected. A sincere apology can restore trust, and communities that are willing to examine themselves become more compassionate and more just. This is why Jewish confession is expressed in the plural. We recite Ashamnu and Al Chet together: “We have sinned.” The High Holidays remind us that our lives are interconnected. Teshuvah asks not only, “What have I done?” but also, “What kind of people—and what kind of community—do we want to become?”
The High Holidays do not ask us to become someone other than who we are. They invite us to become more fully who we are capable of becoming. They invite us to return: to ourselves, to one another, and to the work of building a better future together. The goal is not to erase who we have been, but to become more fully who we are capable of becoming. May we have the courage to face the truth about ourselves, the compassion to forgive, and the faith that every return is also a new beginning.
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