Yom Kippur 5785

9 Tishrei 5785
Erev Yom Hakippurim

To all whom I may have offended or hurt over this past year, I beg your forgiveness as it was entirely unintentional.  My prayer is that I may be forgiven as I have freely forgiven all who have wronged, offended or hurt me.

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(Excerpted from The Book of Our Heritage by Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov)

It's a mitzvah to eat and drink heartily on Erev Yom Kippur.  ...all who eat and drink on the 9th, and fast on the 10th, are considered by Scripture as if they had fasted on both the 9th and the 10th.

The reason why eating on the ninth is considered so great a deed that it is equivalent to having fasted, is that by doing so, we show our joy that the time for our atonement has arrived; ...since we cannot partake of a festive meal on Yom Kippur, we do so on Erev Yom Kippur instead; ...[it] provides us with the physical strength needed on Yom Kippur to focus ourselves on prayer, supplication and reflection that will lead us to teshuvah.

Rav Yehudah Richter says that if on Erev Yom Kippur we eat well (what is good for us and in proper amounts) and with proper intention and say all the brachot correctly and with intent, we can thereby make a tikun for all the sins we made with regard to eating for the entire past year. 

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This is my favorite piyyut of the Yom Kippur service.  I love the words...

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R. Nir Ben Artzi on erev Yom Kippur 5781: "On this Day of Atonement, every single Jew must ask the Creator of the world for our righteous Messiah. A Jew who is connected to Judaism and tradition will seek our righteous Messiah now in mercy! HaKadosh-Baruch-Hu believes in His children, the people of Israel, in their prayers on this special Yom Kippur, that they will ask for the Messianic King at the closing time! Let them ask for the Messianic King at the time of Neilah! That's the main thing!"

May our fast be easy and our atonement be complete.  

G'mar chatimah tovah! Chag sameach!