Comentário sobre Levítico 16:30

כי ביום הזה יכפר, the reason why the other factors mentioned just now are required in addition to the sacrificial service is that if the entire load of achieving atonement were to be placed on the shoulders of the High Priest this would amount only to “downgrading” of the seriousness of the sins which is what the term of כיפור is all about. The individual must prepare himself mentally for obtaining forgiveness from his Maker by these additional measures.

Before Hashem you will be purified. Yom Kippur atones only for those who repent and Hashem obligates each man to purify himself from the sole of his foot to the top of his head from all impurity of iniquity before He atones for them. Therefore, it says, “Before Hashem you will be purified” — in the sense that “before” connotes “previous to” … It furthermore cautions about inner repentance in the heart, which is “before Hashem,” for a matter of the heart is revealed only to Hashem. We should not be like the hypocrites that fast and afflict themselves and pray exceedingly so that they will appear to be righteous, and they seem to be a pure generation in human eyes but they do not cleanse themselves from their inner filth. Therefore it says, “before Hashem you shall purify yourself”.

Before Hashem you will be purified. The verse cautions a person to hurry and repent and purify himself before Hashem purifies him [automatically] at the end of the day of Yom Kippur. Thus it means: “Before Hashem you shall purify yourselves.” This is comparable to a child that soils himself and his father comes to wash him up and cleanse him. A clever man came and told him, “Aren’t you ashamed to cause this burden to your father? Hurry up and wash yourself as much as possible before your father comes.” So, too, repentance atones for [the negation of] a positive commandment without the essence of the day of Yom Kippur. This is what is meant by the phrase that a man will purify himself. By Hashem’s decree, however, the essence of the day atones for a negative commandment [with repentance] or a positive commandment even without repentance. The verse is saying to cleanse yourselves before Hashem comes and cleanses you.

כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם, “for on this day he will atone for you, et.;” a reference to the rituals performed by the High Priest. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah interprets the words: מכל חטאותיכם לפני ה' לפני ה' תטהרו, as meaning that G-d will forgive sins committed directly against Him, but not including sins committed against our fellow human beings unless we had obtained those people’s forgiveness first. (Compare Leviticus 23,28).

לפני ה' תטהרו, absolute forgiveness, rehabilitation, can occur only in the presence of the Lord, which in turn can be achieved only by personal confession of one’s sin and one’s absolute undertaking not to commit such sins again in similar circumstances. The verse is introduced here to remind us that only the Lord Himself is aware of the sincerity of one’s teshuvah, one’s repentance.

He will make atonement for you to purify you. The verse mentioned the concept of purity after atonement to teach that repentance has the power to overturn deliberate transgressions into merits. This is because the language of purity [לטהר] has two connotations. One is the removal of filth and refuse, such as in “pure gold,” and the second is the shining of radiance and clearness, as in (Shemos 24:10) “and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity [לטהר].” This verse speaks of both these types of purity. It says, “from all yours sins, before Hashem you will be purified” — if you will try to purify yourselves and remove from yourselves all dross of sins, then on this day “He will make atonement for you to purify you.” He will remove your filth. Furthermore, Hashem will do more, from the filth itself one will be overturned to become shining, to a radiant light and clearness, for the deliberate sin itself will become a merit.