On the holiest day of the year, at the most auspicious time of the day, in the afternoon, we read “The Story of Jonah and the Whale.” Our sages tell us that every minute and every second of the day includes and affects many days of the coming year. What could be the reason we would take up so much precious time to read this story on the day of forgiveness?
The story comprises the entire Book of Jonah, which is one of the 24 Books of the Bible. The story has a fantastic life lesson and contributes to the experience of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement.
Jonah, the son of Amitai is asked to go to Ninveh and tell the people there, “If they do not repent, G-d will destroy their city.” Jonah decides to run away to Tarshish. While in the boat, people realize they are being singled out for a storm and a tempest, so they try to find out who is the reason for this storm. Jonah declares he is to blame and suggests they throw him in the water.
In the water, a big fish swallows Jonah. Jonah finally accepts his mission and is delivered to Ninveh. Ninveh takes the message seriously and the city is spared. Although, Ninveh later on returns back to its old habits, at this moment, the regret is sincere and for the time being, they are spared.
Immediately, we have one of the fantastic lessons from this story. A person should never say,” I have sinned and regretted, and sinned again, there is no more hope for me." G-d who has infinite mercy never wears out of forgiving. If at this moment, with every fiber of our being, we are on the proper path dedicated to the proper ideals, and we have put the past behind us, that’s all that matters.
The power of repentance is one of G-d's greatest gifts and kindness to the human race. In G-d's eyes, in one moment, a person is able to turn 180 degrees and face the opposite direction. As long as his only focus is on the good, at this moment, that’s all that matters.
Jonah received his power of prophecy because of the special joy he exhibited when serving G-d. Jonah in Hebrew is a dove and represents the soul, the portion of G-d within which is always happy and blissful. The boat is the body in which G-d encloths our soul to go on a mission to Ninveh. The boat in which we travel to take us on our life’s journey, many times encounters storms.
This mission is on water which hides its’ world from the naked eye. The world we live in by its very nature, conceals and hides truth. It takes great effort to discover what is real and what is fake in the glittering blinking neon lights of this materialistic world.
On this, sometimes confusing journey, the soul wrongly decides to go to Tarshish which represents the desires of the body, and when encountering a storm throws itself further into the abyss by submerging and throwing itself into the very storm waters which is the original cause of all the problems.
That is when Jonah will get an epiphany that the answer has to be someplace else, there must be more to life, and finally decides to leave the water and go to the land where you can see things clearly as opposed to the water and fulfill the reason G-d has put his soul into this world which is in Ninveh.
Ninveh in Hebrew means (beautiful). To reveal and make known to everyone around the true beauty and opportunity, this life is for everyone notwithstanding the darkness, trial and tribulations. To discover the extra light that comes only through the challenges of existence.