It is traditional in many communities that when we recite the Shema on Yom Kippur, the phrase "Baruch Shem...,' which is normally said silently, is said out loud instead. The standard reason suggested for this practice (see Tur Orach Chaim No. 619) is that the words of praise to Hashem in this phrase are generally recited by the malachim, the angels, and as human beings, we must therefore say it silently. On Yom Kippur, however, we ourselves become like angels (see Yalkut Shimoni to Parashas Acharei Mos, No. 578) and we may therefore say it out loud as well.

One may ask, however, in what way we are like angels already on the eve of Yom Kippur? We have just had a sumptuous meal, we are dressed in our Yom Tov finery, we have not yet begun to feel any pangs of thirst or hunger due to the fast, we have not yet experienced the emotions of the holiday - we are really no different than we are on any other evening when we recite the Shema. It would seem to make more sense to recite "Baruch Shem..." out loud on the evening following Yom Kippur, because it is then that we are indeed more like angels, having just spent the entire day fasting, repenting, davening,and pursuing spiritual and religious growth. But what have we accomplished by the time we say Shema on the eve of Yom Kippur, just a short while after the holiday has begun?

Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, among others, suggests that the lesson here is that it's not where one has come from that is important, but where one is going. It is true that on the eve of Yom Kippur, one has not as yet achieved anything of value. But one is then anticipating and projecting forward to a day of sanctity, of prayer and penitence, and of closeness to Hashem. In that sense one is already then akin to an angel, a purely spiritual being. When Yom Kippur ends, however, one is already heading towards his next day of work, returning to his material pursuits, and going back to "the real world." At that point one can no longer be said to be comparable to an angel.

With the arrival of Yom Kippur, of the joyous Yom Tov of Sukkos, of a new Jewish calendar year, and of a new academic year, it is worthwhile for all of us to continue to look forward, to consider where we are heading, where we want to be and how we can best get there.

Best wishes to all for a G'mar Chasimah Tovah!!   

Holiness, greatness, uplifting, fears.

All these emotions come together on Yom Kippur.

Moments when we feel like kings,

And true confession, complete contrition.

Desire to renew the relationship with Him.

Promises, sayings, acceptances and desires,

Enraptures and fills me with prayer,

That feeling of ultimate truth, yes this is serious,

About to change, to be genuine.

But a minute after the fast- it's not so easy,

And even less so the hour after,

Everything simply ends so quickly,

All that uplifting- just disappears -just like that.

The sinners continue to sin,

All the promises- as if they never were,

The routine continues, life doesn't change,

Leaving a sense of helplessness.

How can we create real change,

That this day might really perform in me,

How to carry on those elevating feelings,