BH
Rebbe Nachman’s teachings, especially Likutey Moharan Lesson 24, offer a framework for how to approach this holy day with the right perspective and mindset.
The Exchange Chambers
Rebbe Nachman reveals the concept of the exchange chambers — an evil domain where good is swapped and stolen. This exchange can manifest in two ways:
- At conception: A soul may be placed in the wrong family, environment, or life situation, leaving a person out of place from the very beginning.
- Daily exchanges: Even within one’s life, the energy, blessing, or bounty meant for a person that day can be swapped and given elsewhere, leaving him drained and vulnerable.
The result is a deep sense of futility and failure. Because a person is missing the tools that should have been his, he struggles, sins, and often falls into sadness or despair. This sadness, in turn, nourishes the very forces responsible for the exchange.
The Power of Joy to Break Through
Rebbe Nachman teaches that the way out is through simcha. By generating new joy — even joy that feels small or manufactured — a person smashes through the grip of the exchange chambers. This joy allows him to retrieve what was taken and return to the place where he truly belongs.
Rosh Hashanah and the Extraction of Malkhut
On a larger scale, this dynamic plays out on Rosh Hashanah. The day is devoted to freeing Hashem’s Malkhut — His kingship — from the grip of evil. Evil conceals Hashem’s sovereignty in the world, just as it conceals the blessing and goodness meant for each person.
Through the prayers and efforts of the tzaddikim on Rosh Hashanah, Hashem’s Malkhut is extracted and restored to its rightful place. This is why Breslover chassidim, even after Rebbe Nachman’s passing, travel to his holy grave in Uman for Rosh Hashanah: to support the tzaddikim in their work of freeing Hashem’s kingship.
The Ripple Effect of the Tzaddikim’s Work
When many Jewish souls gather by a tzaddik on Rosh Hashanah, their combined sparks of holiness empower the tzaddikim to accomplish this cosmic task. The effects ripple outward to all of creation:
- Jews who were not present also benefit,
- Jews who are distant from Torah begin to awaken,
- Even the nations of the world sense more strongly the reality of Hashem’s kingship.
On a personal level, this also means that what was stolen from each Jew — his goodness, bounty, and blessing — begins to be restored. On a national level, it points to the future redemption, when Hashem’s Malkhut will be revealed universally.
From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur
Rosh Hashanah begins the process of freeing Hashem’s Malkhut from the grip of evil. Yom Kippur concludes that process. When Malkhut is extracted, it means that the blessings and goodness stolen from each Jew can begin to return. But to retrieve them, they must first be identified and recalled.
Why Confession Is Necessary
The difficulty is that we do not know what was stolen from us. What we do know are our sins — the failures and mistakes that resulted from having been deprived of the tools and energy we needed. Each sin testifies to something deeper that was taken.
By confessing sins on Yom Kippur, we are not only admitting guilt but also activating Hashem’s memory of what was stolen. Just as a guard forces a thief to empty all the items hidden in his pockets, each confession brings another piece of stolen goodness back to light.
A New Perspective on Yom Kippur
With this understanding, the endless repetitions of confession on Yom Kippur take on new meaning. They are not empty ritual or unnecessary guilt. They are the means by which the doors opened on Rosh Hashanah remain open until Yom Kippur — doors through which our stolen light, energy, and joy can return.
Confession as the Key to Restoration
Yom Kippur concludes the process that begins on Rosh Hashanah. When Hashem’s Malkhut is freed, the goodness that was stolen from us is also ready to be returned. But this requires that we recall it. Since we do not know what was taken, our sins serve as the evidence. Each failure points to a hidden light or blessing that was removed from us.
The gift of Yom Kippur is that it’s not only a day of atonement but also a day of restoration
The Role of Confession
By confessing our sins, we are not only admitting fault but also activating Hashem’s memory of what was taken. Just like a guard forcing a thief to reveal every stolen item, confession compels the return of the blessings stolen by the forces of evil. One sin after another is recalled, matched to its stolen root, until the entire package is restored.
The Ten Days of Repentance
This is why the Ten Days of Repentance are filled with additional prayers — Avinu Malkeinu, Slichot, and insertions in the Amidah. These prayers give us the chance to be exact, to name and elaborate on our state. Each word helps to link our sins back to what was taken.
Even for those who practice daily hitbodedut following Rebbe Nachman’s guidance, the devotions of these days are different. They are part of the open heavenly channel created at Rosh Hashanah, when Hashem’s Malkhut was extracted. Now each confession is magnified and used to secure the restoration of our own lost light.
Yom Kippur as Day of Return
Teshuva is usually understood as returning to Hashem. Here it also means returning what was stolen back to us. The more we confess during these Ten Days, the more we allow Hashem to remember and restore what was lost. Yom Kippur, then, is not endless guilt but the pathway to recovering our true selves, our stolen blessings, and our deepest joy.
So these 10 days, the more you can confess and mention things that you’re going through in your life to Hashem in the Ten Days of Repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, the better chance you have of having lost items that were taken from you restored to you, b’ezrat Hashem.
A Day of Renewal
This is the gift of Yom Kippur. It is not only a day of atonement but also a day of restoration — a chance to reclaim the blessings that were hidden away and to step into the new year with renewed strength. By standing before Hashem in honesty, admitting our shortcomings, and pouring out our hearts, we awaken His compassion and trigger the return of what rightfully belongs to us.
The exchange chambers may confuse and conceal, but Yom Kippur opens the gates of clarity. When joined with the joy ignited on Rosh Hashanah, this holy day allows us to start fresh — forgiven, restored, and uplifted.
May we merit to express ourselves fully before Hashem, to be sealed in the Book of Life, and to enter the coming year with joy, blessing, and peace.
This article also appears in the BRI breslov.org website: https://breslov.org/yom-kippur-expressing-yourself-to-the-fullest/
For a video summary of this article: https://youtu.be/RN3hdXCqLJQ
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This class is based on Likutey Moharan lesson 24.
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G'mar Chatima Tova and Shana Tova
Meir Elkabas
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