On Yom Kippur, we abstain from physical pleasures to try and resemble angels. While angels don’t eat kreplach in their soup and floss while rushing to Kol Nidrei, we still try to emulate them. Even when we may struggle to connect to that angelic status most of the day, there is usually some sort of heightened holiness during Neilah, mixed with some self-satisfaction that we fasted for a day.
But that holiness fades quickly. Once that shofar is blown, we dance the minimum amount (one revolution around the bimah), do a quick Maariv, and rush home to resume our human activities of eating and checking our phones. We promised to improve this year a few minutes earlier, but as Maariv concludes and they announce “Kiddush Levana!” we go, “Well, we lasted as long as we could.”
Yes, we’re flawed, but that imperfectness makes us strive to do better. An attempt to be better or even just having the desire to be better counts for something. We should never accept the status quo. Raise the bar, don’t lower it. Sure, Pirkei Avot says that someone who is happy with what he has is considered rich, but I’d say that someone who is totally satisfied with who he is is not truly betting on himself.