The Ten Days of Awe which begin at Rosh Hashana have their climax in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This is the tenth day of Tishri, or the seventh month, according to the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to late September or early October on the Roman calendar.

The word kippur, atonement, comes from the root kaphar, which literally means to cover, or to cancel. You might think of the words "Paid in Full" stamped across a bill, covering the amount of debt. Sin must be atoned for, that is "covered" or stamped out.

Historical Meaning of Yom Kippur


The Bible does not make any definitive connection between Yom Kippur and any historic event, but one tradition holds that it was on the tenth of Tishri that Moses came down from Mount Sinai to find Aaron and the Israelites dancing and reveling and worshipping the golden calf. (Exodus 32) Moses was so enraged that he threw down the tablets of the Ten Commandments and broke them. He ground the idol to powder, sprinkled it on the water, and made the people drink it. He called for them to repent of their wickedness and went back to God to beg forgiveness for their sins. We find the first inkling of the Book of Life (See Rosh Hashana) when Moses asks to be stricken from "the Book you have written" (Exodus 32:32) if God would not make an atonement for his people. Whether or not this story really has anything to do with the origin of Yom Kippur, it illustrates the spirit of the holy day, which emphasizes confession of sin and restoration of a relationship with God. The willingness of Moses to be "stricken from the book" on the people's behalf is a powerful illustration of the mediating role of Messiah.

Modern Observance


Yom Kippur is considered the holiest of the Jewish holy days. If Jew makes it to synagogue only once a year, this is the most important time. This is considered to be the time when the final verdict is made for each human life for the coming year.

Modern observance includes fasting for 24 hours (from sundown to sundown), abstinence from labor and denial of all physical appetites, in honor of the seriousness of this holy day. The meal taken before this fast should go easy on salt, because salt makes one thirsty. Eating, drinking, bathing, anointing, wearing leather shoes and having sexual relations are all forbidden on this day. There is absolutely no work permitted.

In the synagogue, the Yom Kippur service begins in the evening with special prayers called Kol Nidre, meaning "all my vows." This prayers asks for the annulment of all vows which the people were unable to keep, as a recognition of human frailty. The Kol Nidre is chanted by the cantor in a somber and deeply moving melody.

The congregation recites prayers of confession as a group, rather than individually, because all Israel is responsible together. For this reason congregants "confess" sins they may not personally have committed. Everyone confesses everything. Yom Kippur is all about repentance and confession. It is the final settling of accounts with God for the whole year.

There are two basic parts of this confession: Ashamnu, a shorter, more general list (we have been treasonable, we have been aggressive, we have been slanderous...), and Al Chet, a longer and more specific list (for the sin we sinned before you forcibly or willingly, and for the sin we sinned before you by acting callously...) Frequent petitions for forgiveness are interspersed in these prayers. There's also a catch-all confession: "Forgive us the breach of positive commands and negative commands, whether or not they involve an act, whether or not they are known to us."

It is interesting to note that these confessions do not specifically address the kinds of ritual sins that some people think are the be-all-and-end-all of Judaism. There is no "for the sin we have sinned before you by eating pork, and for the sin we have sinned against you by driving on Shabbat" (though obviously these are implicitly included in the catch-all). The vast majority of the sins enumerated involve mistreatment of other people, most of them by speech (offensive speech, scoffing, slander, talebearing, and swearing falsely, to name a few). These all come into the category of sin known as "lashon ha-ra" (lit: the evil tongue), which is considered a very serious sin in Judaism.

The concluding service of Yom Kippur, known as Ne'ilah, is one unique to the day. It usually runs about 1 hour long. The ark (a cabinet where the scrolls of the Torah are kept) is kept open throughout this service, thus you must stand throughout the service. There is a tone of desperation in the prayers of this service. The service is sometimes referred to as the closing of the gates; think of it as the "last chance" to get in a good word before the holiday ends. The service ends with a very long blast of the shofar. See Rosh Hashanah for more about the shofar and its characteristic blasts.

After Yom Kippur, one should begin preparing for the next holiday, Sukkot, which begins five days later.


In some communities, the rabbi, cantor and others may wear a kitel, or special white garment, reminiscent of the garment the priest would have worn in Temple times. (see below). A white satin parokhet (curtain which adorns the ark in the synagogue, mimicking the curtain which separated the sanctuary from the Holy of Holies in the Temple), is often hung in place of the heavy velvet one used at other times.

The final service of Yom Kippur is the Neilah. One final plea is made to God to forgive the sins of his people, and grant life for the coming year. The service closes with one final blast on the Shofar, so the High Holy Days end just they began.

Yom Kippur in Temple Times


When the temple was still standing, the Kohen Gadol, or high priest, would leave home seven days before Yom Kippur to live in the temple chamber. There he would practice the Yom Kippur ritual, in order to be sure he had it down perfectly. It was complex: first he had to remove his ordinary priestly robes and take a ritual bath in a place set aside for that purpose. Then he would put on special white clothes. After offering the ordinary morning sacrifice, he would offer a young bullock to atone for his own sins, (since he can't intercede for the people until his own sins are dealt with); then, using coals from the altar, he would carry incense into the Dvir (Holy of Holies.) Then he would return to the altar for blood from the sacrifice, which he would sprinkle on the mercy seat (i.e., the lid of the ark of the covenant) and seven times on the ground in front the ark. After this he would sacrifice a goat for the sins of the people, and sprinkled its blood on the ark and in front of it, as he had done with the blood of the bullock. This made atonement for the Holy of Holies. Next was to atone for the tabernacle, which he did by sprinkling the blood of both animals on the horns of the altar once, and seven times on the ground around it. Finally, he would expiate the altar of burnt offering by putting the blood on the horns and sprinkling it seven times on the ground. In this way the tabernacle -- and, in later times, the temple -- was atoned for.

The Azazel


After this, the high priest would go out into the court of the tabernacle (or temple) and lay his hands over the head of the scapegoat, confessing over it the sins of the people. Then the goat would be taken outside the camp (or in later times, the city) and be let go. This symbolized the removal of the sins from the people. According to the Talmud, a scarlet cord was tied around the neck of the scapegoat. This cord was reported to have turned white as the goat was led away from city. Following this, the priest would go back into the tabernacle to change out of the special white clothes to put on his usual priestly attire. The offerings were then completed by burning the fat on the altar, and the remains were burned outside the camp. The feast offering was next in line, and included a goat, a bullock, a ram, several lambs and corresponding meat and drink offerings, followed by the ordinary evening sacrifice.

A Break in the Pattern


How is atonement to be achieved now that the Temple is destroyed? Before the First Hurban, prophets were sent to warn the people of the coming destruction, to call them to repentance, and to promise that a remnant would survive to inherit the promises of the Brit. What prophet came before the Second Hurban? There was one called Yohanan ha-Matbil (John the Baptist), who testified of one called Yeshua. He called Yeshua "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." (John 1:29) thereby identifying him as the ultimate Atonement. Yeshua himself predicted the Hurban. If the claims of Yohanan and Yeshua are true, then God's commitment to Israel remains unbroken, because he has not left his people perplexed. Otherwise, what can we say? Did God forget about Israel and allow the Temple to be destroyed without warning and with no instruction what to do without it?

The Babylonian Talmud records that for the last forty years before the Second Hurban (destruction of the Temple), the red cord around the neck of the scapegoat failed to change color. The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. Forty years before that would have been just about the time Messiah Yeshua offered the ultimate sacrifice. This could explain why God was no longer interested in scapegoats. Those who appropriate the atonement of Yeshua ha-Mashiach will be forgiven and inscribed in the book of life, not for a year only but for eternity!

Messianic Symbolism in Yom Kippur


We who believe in Yeshua as Messiah can easy see his ministry reflected in the temple service. The priest begins his day with a special bath, or mikveh, immersing himself in water, just as Yeshua began his ministry by being baptized by John the Baptist, or in a larger sense, by being born into human flesh ("born of water" -- John 3:5). The priest laid aside his usual ornate priestly garb for simple white attire. Yeshua "made himself of no reputation," (Philippians 2:7) but laid aside his divine privileges to accomplish his earthly mission of expiating human sin. The white kittel speaks of sinless purity, as he was pure and without sin. It is also reminiscent of the burial shroud. The high priest made a special sacrifice for his own sin (Leviticus 16:11), in order to be seen by God as a sinless mediator, as Yeshua was sinless by his own virtue. Sprinkling the blood upon the Kapporeth (i.e., the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, which served as a sort of earthly throne for the Almighty) seems to represent presentation of the sacrifice to God the Father. Sprinkling the blood in front of the ark may indicate the opening of a way of approach to the Father. (The Ark was ordinarily unapproachable. The people in general were never allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, where the ark was. Even the high priest was allowed to enter only on Yom Kippur) The sacrifice "covered" ("Kippur" literally means "covering") the sins of the people and made God approachable to sinful man. The Holy of Holies was closed off by a veil (parokhet). When Yeshua died on Golgotha, the parokhet was literally torn in two (see Matthew 27:51) indicating the beginning of the New Covenant and a new path of relationship between God and humanity.

The high priest had to enter every year with a new sacrifice. The sacrifice of Yeshua ("a high priest forever" (Hebrews 5:6) is good forever. The old high priest entered a symbolic Holy of Holies, made with human hands. Yeshua entered the real Holy of Holies -- the very throne of God in Heaven. (Hebrews 9:11) The scapegoat carried away the sins of the people. In Yeshua ha-Mashiach, all our sins are carried away "as far as east is from west" (Psalm 103:12). Once all the expiatory (sin-forgiving) sacrifices are done, the priest puts on his priestly robes again. When Yeshua had accomplished his sacrificial mission, he put back on the glory of his divinity. When the priest returned from the tabernacle (as Yeshua will return from Heaven), he offered the festival sacrifice. When Yeshua returns, it will be for the full and final redemption of his people Israel. (Ezekiel 16:63)

The Sign of Jonah


The book of Jonah is read in the synagogue as part of the Yom Kippur service, since it is a book about judgment and repentance. It is interesting to note what Yeshua said about Jonah and Judgment:

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a large fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here." -- Matthew 12:40-42

Yom Kippur and Prophecy


The yearly observance of Yom Kippur foreshadows the Great Day of Judgment to come, when Messiah will come to preside of the Judgment of the world, and reestablish Israel in its rightful place. (Jeremiah 33:11) When Moses was on the mountain receiving the Torah, the people below got tired of waiting. They decided Moses had forgotten them, and presumably HA-SHEM had forgotten them, and so they persuaded Aaron, who was supposed to be their spiritual leader in Moses' absence, to cater to their needs in their own way. So they forgot God and fell into idolatry. When Moses returned, their unfaithfulness was exposed. God forgave them, but only when they returned to him in true repentance. When Messiah Yeshua returns, Israel will be embarrassed. (Ezekiel 16:63) They shall "look on him whom they pierced, and mourn for him as an only son." (Zechariah 12:10, literal translation) They will recognize him as the one they rejected, but when he comes in glory, there will be no denying who he is. At that time, "all Israel will be saved," (Romans 11:26) and "The LORD himself shall dwell among them." At this time Messiah will fulfill all the kingly prophecies, just as surely as at his first coming he fulfilled the prophecies of the suffering servant at his first coming. This is the beginning of the Kingdom, which is sometimes called "The Millennial Reign" or simply "The Millennium," because the apostle John refers to it as lasting "a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4), in accordance with a long-held Jewish tradition. This will be that Golden Age of prophetic vision. This is that famous time when: The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the kid; The calf the beast of pray and the fatling together, with a little boy to lead them. -- Isaiah 11:6,7 (JPS)

It is customary to wear white on the holiday, which symbolizes purity and calls to mind the promise that our sins shall be made as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Some people wear a kittel, the white robe in which the dead are buried.


FASTING:


We know that the Old Testament commands the Day of Atonement but there is evidence that Paul observed it too. It has not been "nailed to the cross" as many Protestants would have us believe.

Acts 27:9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast.....

A major benefit of fasting is to be able to humble oneself before God.

David teaches us that humility can be accomplished by fasting:

Psalm 35:13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.............

Psalm 69:10-11 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; {11} when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me.

Fasting enables us to get closer to God. It is a spiritual, not just a physical, experience.

Exodus 34:28 Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments.

Ezra 8:21-23 (NKJV) Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. {22} For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him." {23} So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.

Esther wanted to be close to God so He would inspire the King not to kill her:

Esther 4:16 "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

Paul had an experience which drove him to fast so that God would explain to him what he was to do with his life. We must realize the total change in lifestyle and values Paul was to undergo after that time and how these thoughts must have tormented him during his three days of darkness, fasting and solitude. Paul needed to get some answers from God after his shocking experience on the road to Damascus.

Acts 9:9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

What are some rules about fasting?


Christ tells us in Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:16-18 "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. {17} But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, {18} so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

These New Testament scriptures make it clear that we should fast. But only God needs to know when we fast.

Matthew 9:14-15 Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" {15} Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Christ explained that there was no reason for them to mourn over their separation from God due to their sins while He (Christ) was physically with them. This is an example of how fasting brings us close to God. Fasting is an act of humility in God's presence.

Notice the humility expressed by Peter in 1 Peter 5:

1 Peter 5:5-11 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." {6} Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. {7} Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. {8} Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. {9} Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. {10} And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. {11} To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

As we fast, consider that our lives need more than just the physical sustenance of food. For life, we also need the forgiveness and spiritual sustenance of God. Fasting will get us closer to God so that we can be better fed by God through His Holy Spirit and His Word.

List of Dates


Yom Kippur will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:

Jewish Year 5766 : sunset October 12, 2005 - nightfall October 13, 2005
Jewish Year 5767 : sunset October 1, 2006 - nightfall October 2, 2006
Jewish Year 5768 : sunset September 21, 2007 - nightfall September 22, 2007
Jewish Year 5769 : sunset October 8, 2008 - nightfall October 9, 2008
Jewish Year 5770 : sunset September 27, 2009 - nightfall September 28, 2009
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