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I have heard from a few speakers that during the week before Rosh Hashana (some versions say that it is the week of Aseres Yemei Teshuvah), each day of the week that one does Teshuvah and acts appropriately atones for that specific weekday's sins throughout the year. For example, if on the last Tuesday of the year one acted appropriately and did teshuva, their repentance "fixes" all of the year's Tuesdays.

What is the earliest source for this? (Feel free to provide later sources, as right now I don't have any.)

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  • I thought we had this question on the site already, but cannot find it.
    – msh210
    Aug 28, 2018 at 16:09
  • 1
    The Mishnah Berurah cites this from Yearos Devash
    – robev
    Nov 13, 2018 at 14:48
  • @robev Thanks! It's one of the sources listed in the link provided in the answer below. Nov 13, 2018 at 18:47

1 Answer 1

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This concept seems to first appear in the writings of the students of the Ari.

R. Chayyim Vital, Sha'ar HaKavanot, D'rushei Rosh HaShanah:

אמר לי הרב משה גאלאנטי, ששמע ממורי ז"ל: שאם האדם יתענה בשבעת ימים שבין ראש השנה ליום הכפורים ויעשה בהם תשובה גמורה, כל יום מהם מכפר על כל העונות שחטא כל ימיו, ביום שכיוצא בו. כיצד: הרי שחל יום א' אל ז' ימי תשובה הנזכר, ביום א' של השבוע, והתענה בו, הנה הוא מכפר, על כל עבירות שעשה האיש ההוא, בכל ימיו ביום א', שבכל שבוע מכל ימי חייו. ואם התענה ועשה תשובה בכל שבעת הימים ההם, יתכפרו לו כל עונותיו שעשה כל ימיו.‏

R. Moshe Galante said to me, that he heard from my teacher of blessed memory [the Ari]: If a person fasts on the seven days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur and repents totally, each of those days atones for all the sins that he committed in his life, on the same day of the week. How so? If the first of the above-mentioned seven days of repentance were to fall on Sunday, and he fasts on it, this atones for all sins that this man did, all his life, on the Sunday of every week of his life. And if he fasts and repents on all seven of these days, all of his sins that he committed throughout his life will be atoned for.

Note that this differs from the concept mentioned in your question by focusing on Aseret Yemei Teshuvah rather than the last week of the year, and also that it atones for every Sunday (say) of his life, rather than just the past year.

For a less kabbalistic source, Chatam Sofer writes in his Derashot:

כי ימי תשובה, שבעה ימים שבין ראש-השנה ויום-כפור, שכל יום כלול מכל ימות השנה. הא כיצד? שבת של ימי התשובה, כלול משבתות של כל ימות השנה, ויכול לתקן כל אשר פגם בשבת; ראשון בשבת כלול מכל [ימי] ראשון בשבת של כל השנה כולה; וכן כולם‏

For the days of repentance, the seven days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, each day includes all the days of the year. How so? The Shabbat of the days of repentance includes all the Shabbatot of the year, and he can fix whatever he 'ruined' on Shabbat. Sunday includes all the Sundays of the year, and so for all of them.

More recent, this idea was popularized by R. M.M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. For example, see Likkutei Sichot 2, p425:

אין די ז' ימים שבין ראש השנה ליום כיפורים זיינען פאראן אלע טעג פון דער וואך, זונטיג, מאנטיג, א. א. וו. דער זונטיג פון די ז' ימים איז מתקן אלע זונטיגס פון דעם יאר, דער מאנטיג אלע מאנטיגס וכו'.‏

The seven days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur has all of the days of the week, Sunday, Monday, etc. The Sunday of the seven days 'fixes' all the Sundays of the year, the Monday all the Mondays etc.

For a wealth of information on the subject see Eliezer Brodt's (Hebrew) article available here.

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