How is Yom Kippur like Purim?

A midrash* compares and contrasts Yom Kippur and Purim by noting that the most solemn Fast Day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, is similar to Purim: the day of feasting, laughter and sending packages of goodies to  friends and to the poor. This comparison/contrast takes place via one  letter: the Hebrew letter kaf, which in this case, is used in the name of the Fast Day: "k"  setting up a comparison of  "almost" opposites. Purim was a day that could have gone either way, like Yom Kippur. On Purim, we as a people could have been wiped out by those who had convinced a mortal king that we were his enemies , and on Yom Kippur, our fate likewise hangs in the balance, but as individuals pleading to God regarding their own destiny. Purim begins with a fast the day before, imitating Esther's fast, and ends with a victorious feast, referenced above. Yom Kippur is an evening to evening fast, comprising 25 hours to make sure that  everyone who wants to ask for forgiveness, first from the person wronged, and then from God, will have enough time to do so. In fact, they will have had the Aseret Y'mei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance, or as it is also know, The Ten Days of Returning, in which to do this. Plus, the books are not really closed at the end of the fast, just in case we suddenly remember something or someone about which or from whom we needed to seek forgiveness. We break the fast in community, and then we are supposed to use the extra spiritual (and caloric) rush to do a mitzvah, a commandment. Theory is fine, but putting it into practice is the whole point!

This is where mitzvot, commandments come in. And if you think there are only The Big Ten, think again! There are actually 613 commandments either found or implied in the Torah. This is to teach us that we ALL have room for improvement!

Have an easy and meaningful fast, if you are able to do so, and if you can't fast for medical reasons, may your time away from the secular world help you to see yourself more clearly, "warts and all"!

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* Midrash: a Rabbinic legend used to explain a text

Note:

I'll be out of the country for the High Holy Days in 2025 and unable to make any kippot during that time. Feel free to browse and ask questions:  I'll check in during the week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to answer questions, such as,

"This is sold out? Can I still get one?"

 To which my answer is,

"Yes, if you aren't in a rush and appreciate that each one will be slightly different, even if the pattern is the same. I am only human:)"