The Levush explains that we read Sefer Yonah during Mincha on Yom Kippur because it vividly demonstrates the transformative potential of teshuva (Orach Chaim 522). But why read it at Mincha? Why not after Shacharit, as we do with other Megillot?
A deeper understanding of Sefer Yonah’s message regarding teshuva can provide insight into our practice.
Sefer Yonah opens with G-d’s directive to Yonah to travel to Nineveh and warn its inhabitants of imminent destruction. Instead, Yonah boards a ship heading in the opposite direction. Later, he explains why: he anticipated that G-d would forgive Nineveh upon their repentance. But if prophets typically welcomed the opportunity to inspire teshuva and facilitate divine forgiveness, why would such knowledge cause Yonah to flee?
Yonah addresses this in his prayer after the whale rescues him. He reaffirms his commitment to offer thanks in the Beit HaMikdash, and contrasts his sincerity with that of most penitents. Yonah observes that many individuals, even while repenting, persist in their attachment to false beliefs and erroneous practices, suggesting that their good intentions are unlikely to endure.
Yonah’s perspective was shaped by his experience with the sailors. During the storm and after casting him into the sea, they repented, made vows, and offered sacrifices to Hashem. Yet Yonah believed their teshuva would last only as long as the immediate danger. Repentance under duress, in his view, was insincere and motivated by a desire to escape punishment rather than by genuine change. Significantly, Yonah himself refrained from praying during the storm, despite knowing he was responsible for the calamity, for precisely this reason.
For this reason, after Nineveh repented and was forgiven, Yonah built a sukkah to the east of the city to observe what “would be in the city” (Yonah 4:5). The Radak explains that Yonah expected Nineveh to revert to its evil ways. In his view, teshuva lacked authenticity, and G-d’s forgiveness was therefore unfounded. Accordingly, he omitted “truth” from his listing of G-d’s thirteen attributes of mercy, a term G-d had included when conveying them to Moshe (Shemot 34:6). Fittingly, Sefer Yonah introduces Yonah as the son of Amitai, a name rooted in emet, truth, a value that defines his perspective throughout the narrative.
Hashem responds to Yonah’s perspective at the end of the sefer. After creating and then destroying a shady tree for Yonah to sit under, G-d responds by comparing Yonah’s care for the tree to His own care for His creations: “You care for the gourd, for which you did not toil nor did you make it grow, which one night came into being and the next night perished. And I should not take pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are many more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well?” (Yonah 4:10–11). Hashem acknowledges that the resolve to improve may not always endure, yet G-d accepts teshuva out of concern for His creations. As Yechezkel explains, G-d does not desire the death of even the wicked (Yechezkel 18:23). As our Creator, He extends mercy and prefers repentance, offering additional opportunities for spiritual growth.
G-d’s mention of animals alongside human beings is significant. Animals are G-d’s creations too, and He cares for them despite their having no merits or good deeds. Man is meant to live on a higher plane, but even when we fall short, we, like animals, receive G-d’s mercy.
Chazal explain that this was the point the people of Nineveh made by including animals in their fast and dressing them in sackcloth (Shemot Rabbah 45:1). Recognizing their lack of merit, they asked G-d to show them the mercy He shows His creatures. This is why we blow the horn of an animal on a fast day, mimicking the cry of animals to awaken G-d’s mercy for all His creations (Yerushalmi, Ta’anit 7b). In the words of the Bavli, we act like people who “though cunning in thoughts, turn to You like animals” (Chullin 5b).
G-d’s care for His creations does not mean He allows sinners to go unpunished. Teshuva is a condition for forgiveness, and it must meet minimum standards of sincerity. This is why verses from Micha are appended to the reading of Yonah. The third verse specifically invokes “truth,” emphasizing its essential role. While the preceding verses highlight G-d’s mercy and willingness to cast sins “to the depths of the seas,” genuine teshuva must contain an element of truth, accountability, and introspection.
This is why we read Yonah at Mincha. As Yom Kippur draws to a close, our desire for forgiveness becomes especially urgent. Sefer Yonah assures us that teshuva remains attainable even now, because G-d actively seeks to forgive. Ne’ilah reinforces this with verses from Yechezkel affirming G-d’s preference for repentance and life over punishment and death. Yet Yonah’s perspective and the verses from Micha provide a necessary balance: G-d’s eagerness to forgive does not exempt us from approaching Him with genuine sincerity. Perfect teshuva is not required, but it must contain an element of truth.
Rabbi Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA. His new book, Essentials of Judaism, is available at rabbireuventaragin.com.