Shabbos Teshuva occupies a central role in our experience of the Ten Days of Repentance. In the following section, we shall elaborate on the role of Shabbos, and in particular of this special Shabbos, in the teshuva process.

“The granting of a neshama yatira, an extra soul, to the Jew on Shabbos takes on new significance. The term yatira, extra, implies that the added spiritual dimension a Jew receives on Shabbos is more than he strictly deserves.

While spiritual rewards are normally granted in direct proportion to one’s performance of Torah and mitzvos, there also exists an additional component of spirituality which is not contingent upon individual merit.

This is the extra soul of Shabbos, which is so deeply entrenched that even the totally underserving individual cannot eliminate it, and which we tap every Shabbos.

And it is this hidden nugget which facilitates our return on the one Shabbos of the year which is especially dedicated to teshuvah.”