This is a story from the Baal Shem Tov. On this day, many people become sad. We remember stuff we have done, things we want to get rid of. It’s necessary on this day, but it can bring sadness.

There is a school of thought that says one should be serious. But the kabbalists were always happy. On this day, they were the happiest.

The story is that once a person not familiar with Kabbalah came to the Baal Shem Tov on Yom Kippur. Everybody was dancing and happy and it bothered him. He knew it was a day to be solemn. The Baal Shem Tov noticed he was the one person not happy and said, “Come, I want to show you something.” The Baal Shem Tov grabbed his hand, and the man had a vision: he saw that on top of everybody who was happy, there were angels writing them into the Book of Life. Those who were not happy, they still had on top of them the darkness that they had created.

The Baal Shem Tov explained that, on this day, certainty is the key. We have to be certain that our year has been set up to be perfect, that all the negativity will be removed. That is why we are happy. We know the power of this day and our connection. That certainty makes it so the angels above assist us to remove all the negativity.

If there is one day we must be completely full of joy, it is this day. By tapping into the gift of the Light of Binah, we are not letting one ounce of uncertainty come in. We know all our darkness will be cleansed, and we will make the connection to the Light of Binah, to that perfection. That certainty and that joy is the vessel the Light will come into.