The phrase, “once a year,” underscores the significance of Yom Kippur. We find a similar idiom regarding the festival of Succos. The Torah declares, “You shall celebrate it as a festival for Hashem, a seven-day period in the year” (Vayikra 23:41). It seems that these two Yamim Tovim, festivals, distinguish themselves in that their hashpaah, spiritual influence, is to endure for “the year.” Horav Mordechai Ilan, zl, notes that this idea applies only to Succos and Yom Kippur. The parallel that exists between them is that the avodas Hashem, service to the Almighty, which is intrinsic to these festivals is…
