Question
I am planning to fast on this Yom Kippur for the first time and would like to have a better understanding of the essence of the day. Rabbi, how would you explain the idea of Yom Kippur so that I can hopefully have a more meaningful experience? Thanks.

Question
Does yom kippur cleanse completely of our sins, or does it simply switch our sins to a lower level of transgression?

Question
Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. In the sefer "Guidelines" to the Yomim Nora'im, they write that a yachid can say Kol Nidrei as long as he says the future tense version. Would he be able to say the Kol Nidrei prayer exactly as the Siddur has it, even though the Siddur says “that we will vow...etc” - all in the first person plural, even though he is a yachid? Or should he change the "we" to "I" when he says Kol Nidrei. Thanks a lot.

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My work schedule does not always give me time to go to the mikvah on erev Yom Kippur. So I haven’t gone every year. How important is it to go? How bad is it to skip sometimes?

Question
Hello. What do rishonim and even Chazal say about the halachic matter of kapara without the activity of the Kohen Gadol in the Beis Hamikdash on Yom Kippur? I am aware of the general concept of prayers replacing sacrifices, but specifically, what is the effect of not having the kapara through the avoda of the Kohen Gadol? Do we have anything in the Oral Law that indicates the alternative (as we do in the matter of the calendar through cheshbon instead of testimony)? Thank you.

Question
These days I see and hear the word “teshuva” quite often. What does it mean and why is it so important?