This Shabbat/Yom Kippur commemorates: 

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The Birth of Rebecca (1677-1556 BCE), wife of Isaac, mother of Jacob and Esau, and one of the Four Matriarchs of Israel.

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Ezekiel's Vision of the Third Temple (410 BCE). The prophet Ezekiel saw a vision in which he was transported to the Temple Mount, where an angel holding a measuring rod gave him a detailed tour of the Third Temple. (Ezekiel 40:1)

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This Shabbat we study the Parshah "V'Zot HaBerachah," meaning "And this is the blessing," (Deuteronomy 33:1). 

Torah Readings for Yom Kippur – Shabbat are: Leviticus 16:1-34 and Numbers 29:7-11. For Yom Kippur - Shacharit we read Isaiah 57:14 – 58:14

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Chabad.org

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Forty days after they received the Torah at Mount Sinai and committed to be G-d’s chosen people, the Children of Israel worshipped a Golden Calf. Moses pleaded with G-d not to destroy His errant nation, and on the tenth of Tishrei G-d said, “I have forgiven.” Ever since, we observe this date as the “Day of Atonement”—a celebration of our indestructible relationship with G-d. It is the holiest day of the year, when we reconnect with our very essence, which remains faithful to G-d regardless of our behavior. 

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This year, Yom Kippur is observed from several minutes before sunset on 9 Tishrei (Oct 11) to after nightfall on 10 Tishrei (Oct 12).  For nearly twenty-six hours, we “afflict our souls”: we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather footwear, and abstain from marital relations. Instead our time is spent in prayer to G-d. According to Rabbi Menachem Posner, G’mar chatima tova is the traditional Hebrew greeting said before (and on) Yom Kippur. It translates as, “a good final sealing,” in the Book of Life, in which we are inscribed on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur. Note that it is not standard to wish someone a “happy Yom Kippur,” but it is perfectly acceptable to wish them a meaningful one. 

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Do we fast on Yom Kippur if it falls on Shabbat? Yes. With all other fast days that fall on Shabbat, the fast is postponed until Sunday. This is not the case with Yom Kippur. The fast is fully observed even on Shabbat. The Torah dubs Yom Kippur Shabbat Shabbaton—the “Shabbat of Shabbats,” implying that it takes precedence over Shabbat. For full details about celebrating Yom Kippur visit the special section in Chabad.org.

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To change the past, there is no need to travel in a time machine. Everything can be done by remote control.

Here’s how it works: From beyond the continuum of time, its Creator looks at where your spaceship is heading right now. From that point, He creates all its trajectory—through the future and through the past. Switch the direction your past is sending you. Soon enough, it becomes a different past.

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Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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Rabbi David Kimchi explains Michah 7:18, “Who, O G-d, is like You, who pardons iniquity and overlooks transgressions for the remnant of His heritage! He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy”:  Those that remain when the Redeemer comes... though they will be guilty to the point that they should not leave the galut (exile) because of their evil deeds, G-d will not look at their behavior forever “because He delights in mercy…” His mercy shall prevail over their sins when the time of redemption arrives!

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From an article by Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

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Self-Sacrifice

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Once, in the middle of the prayer of Yom Kippur, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi removed his tallit and went to a house at the edge of Liozna. There was a woman who had given birth there who had been left alone when everyone went to the synagogue, and he attended to her vital needs—chopping wood, building a fire and heating water in the midst of the holy day, because the woman's life was in danger.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch commented that here we see the self-sacrifice of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, how he pulled himself away from attachment to G-dliness and descended to do a Jew a physical favor.

(Sichat 19 Kislev 5720) 

Chabad.org

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Shining Like Yom Kippur

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On such a holy, beautiful day, why do we recite a list of sins again and again? Because one day of the year is not enough. We wish our souls to be united with her Beloved every day of the year. So we read out loud through this list, and one by one, through G-d’s great kindness and love for us, the stains on the clothing of our souls fade away.

Then we rise higher, into a yet more intense light in which the stains can still be detected. And so we repeat the list again.

Until, by the end of Yom Kippur, we enter the new year in sparkling, fresh clothing for our souls. The essence-light of Yom Kippur may now shine within us for an entire year.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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