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The main element of Yom Kippur according to the Torah and the Talmud was the service in the Temple, which revolved around the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. He represented the nation, was watched by all the Jewish people as they gathered in the Temple, and went into the Holy of Holies on this day to atone for them.
The Mishnah tells us that the night before Yom Kippur it was vital that he not fall asleep in order that he not become impure. The Mishnah (Yoma 1:6) describes the effort to keep him awake all night: “They kept him occupied throughout the night to prevent him from sleeping. If he was a scholar, he would teach Torah. If he was not a scholar, Torah scholars would teach Torah before him. And if he was accustomed to read the Bible, he would read; and if he was not, they would read the Bible before him. And what books would they read before him to pique his interest so that he would not fall asleep? They would read from Job, and from Ezra, and from Chronicles.”
We understand reading Ezra and Chronicles, but Job seems more philosophical and if anything could depress him or put him to sleep. The Book of Job tells the story of Job, who feared God and was a righteous man who had seven children and many animals and possessions. The text tells us that “[i]t was the custom of his sons to hold feasts, each on his set day in his own home. They would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a round of feast days was over, Job would send word to them to sanctify themselves, and, rising early in the morning, he would make burnt offerings, one for each of them; for Job thought, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and blasphemed God in their thoughts.’”
The tragic story continues and God takes everything away from Job. Much of the book is a discussion between Job and his friends on why bad things happen to seemingly good people. Job’s friends suggest that Job must be deserving of all the evil that befell him. At the end of the story God becomes angry at Job's friends for their criticism of Job, and in response, Job prays for God to spare them. The text tells us: ”The Lord restored Job’s fortunes when he prayed on behalf of his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice what he had before.”
Rabbi Norman Lamm suggested that the Book of Job is read to the Kohen Gadol because we learn from Job how to think about Yom Kippur. We might be inclined to pray for ourselves and our children, for prosperity, or nachas, or health. We sometimes come to shul because we imagine that God is the great ATM in the sky and will give us a good year of wealth. But God already knows what we need, and Yom Kippur is not a day of hocking God enough so he gives us what we want. Rather, it is a day of thinking about others, about the Jewish people and the world, and praying for them.
This year, I think it is not hard for us to pray for others. The world seems in great need after a year of pain, war, and tragedy. No doubt this year we will all be focused not primarily on our own personal needs but on the needs of others, the Jewish nation, and the world. Indeed, this is actually the best way to ensure a good year for each of us, as integral parts of the larger whole.
On behalf of Sara and myself, blessings for a good and sweet year of greater peace and security for Israel and the world.
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