Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur (also known as the Day of Atonement) occurs on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei) on the Jewish calendar. This year, Yom Kippur begins at sunset on Tuesday, September 18 and ends at sunset on Wednesday, September 19. Yom Kippur is a moed (an appointed time); however, it is not a feast day. Only the three feasts (Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Tabernacles) are times in which God commands His people to appear before Him at the Temple/Tabernacle. All feast days are moedim (appointed times), but not all moedim are feast days.


Scripture
Leviticus 23 is the best place to start concerning Scripture and God's holy days.
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God. If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statue throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. iI is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath." (Leviticus 23:26-32)

Some quick points:
We are not to work on Yom Kippur because it is a day of atonement.
Is we do not rest, we are to be destroyed.
It is a permanent regulation.
It is to be obeyed no matter where we live.
It is to be a Shabbat of complete rest.
We are to deny (or afflict) ourselves.
It is to be a complete day, from sunset to sunset.

More information regarding Yom Kippur can be found in the Book of Numbers in which the regulations are set forth for the Yom Kippur sacrifice.
"Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work. You shall present a burnt offering to the LORD as a soothing aroma: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect; and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram, a tenth for each of the seven lambs; one male goat for the sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings." (Numbers 19:7-11)


The holiest day of the year
Yom Kippur is exactly ten days from Yom Teruah. Yom Teruah (which is celebrated on the first day of Tishrei) is a day in which the shofar is blown. and we are called to repent. The ten days between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur are known as the Ten Days of Awe. During this time, we are encouraged to reflect and repent for all the sins we have committed during the previous year. According to Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur is known as the holiest day of the year. The reason for this is that the whole purpose of man is to keep God's commandments and turn back to his Creator. Yom Kippur is an appointed time which highlights God's purpose for man.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year in a book, the Book of Life, on Yom Teruah. God waits and seals the book on Yom Kippur. During the Days of Awe, people try to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other people. The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt. At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God.


The Holy of Holies
On Yom Kippur, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies and offered a blood sacrifice to God before the Ark of the Covenant. This is the ONLY day of the entire year in which the Holy of Holies could be entered, and it could ONLY be entered by the High Priest. The High Priest would call upon the name of the LORD and ask for forgiveness. This is a life for life principle which is the foundation for the sacrificial system. It marked the great day of intercession made by the High Priest. The High Priest sprinkled blood before the Ark of the Covenant to make atonement for sin. The life blood of the animal was required in exchange for the life blood of the sinner. This represents the life given of an innocent animal in exchange for the life blood of the guilty sinner.

On Yom Kippur, there were three animals used--a bull and two goats. The High Priest would place his hands over the head of a bull and confess the sins of the priesthood. The bull would be sacrificed, and its blood sprinkled inside the veil of the Holy of Holies and before the Ark of the Covenant to purge the Temple of the misdeeds of the priesthood. Lots would be drawn to decide which goat would be sacrificed as a sin offering on behalf of the people and which goat would be sent out into the wilderness. The first goat would be slaughtered, and the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the goat before the Ark of the Covenant to make atonement for the sins of the people. The High Priest would place his hands on the head of the second goat and confess all the sins of the people. The goat would then be driven out into the wilderness, carrying with it all the sins of the people into an uninhabitable land.


Yom Kippur meaning
In the Hebrew, Yom Kippur is written in the Torah as Yom Ha'Kippurim, which is the plural form. The reason for this is believed to be that atonement is facilitated on earth through the Levitical priesthood. In Heaven, atonement is facilitated through Our High Priest, Jesus. The temple and priesthood on earth are only a shadow of the temple and priesthood in heaven. Henceforth, we need both the earthly and heavenly priests to make atonement for us. Thus, the plurality of the word Kippurim.

The word kippurim has no equivalent in English. The root word of kippurim is kafar which means cleansing. Kafar derives from the word kofer which means ransom. This is parallel to the English words redeem or reconciliation. In English, kippurim became known as atonement to highlight the need for reconciliation, specifically, being at one with God.


The evening before Yom Kippur
Before sunset on Yom Kippur, worshipers gather in he synagogue. The Ark is opened, and two people take from it two Torah scrolls. Then, they take their places, one of each side of the cantor, and the three recite (in Hebrew):
"In the tribunal of Heaven and the tribunal of earth, we hold it lawful to pray with transgressors."

The cantor then chants the Kol Nidre prayer. This prayer is recited in Aramaic. Its name, Kol Nidre, is taken from the opening words and translates as "all vows":
"All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths."

The leader and the congregation then say together three times "May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault." The Torah scrolls are then placed back in the Ark, and the Yom Kippur evening service then begins.


General Observances
Leviticus 16:29 mandates the establishment of this holy (the tenth day of the seventh month) as a day of atonement for sins. It calls it the Sabbath of Sabbaths, and a day in which one must afflict his soul. Additionally, Leviticus 23:27 decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest. Five additional prohibitions are traditionally observed.

1. No eating or drinking
2. No wearing of leather shoes
3. No washing or bathing
4. No anointing oneself with lotions or perfumes
5. No marital relations

A parallel has been drawn between these activities and the human condition according to the Biblical account of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Refraining from these activities symbolically represents a return to a pristine state, which is the theme of Yom Kippur. By refraining from these activities, the body is uncomfortable but can still survive. The soul is considered to be the life force of one's body. Therefore, by making one's body uncomfortable, one's soul is uncomfortable. By feeling pain one can feel how others feel when they are in pain. This is the purpose of the prohibitions.

Total abstention from food and drink as well as keeping the other traditions begins 30 minutes before sundown on Tishrei 9 and ends 30 minutes after sundown the following day on Tishrei 11. Although the fast is required of all healthy men over the age or 13 and women over the age of 12, it is waived in the case of certain medical conditions. Almost all Jewish holidays involve meals, but since Yom Kippur involves fasting, Jews eat a large festive meal on the afternoon before Yom Kippur. In general, the meal is low in salt to prevent the need for the intake of water during the fast. Additionally, wearing of white clothing is also a tradition. It symbolizes one's purity on this day.

In order to apologize to God for one's sins, three acts are usually done:
1. Pray
2. Repent
3. Give to charity

Charity is a large part of Yom Kippur. Before the afternoon service at the synagogue, special charity trays are set up in which folks are encouraged to give generously.


After Yom Kippur
After night has fallen, the closing synagogue service (called Neilah) ends with the resounding cries of the Shema prayer: "Hear O Israel, the LORD is God, the LORD is one." Then the congregation erupts into joyous songs and dance after which a single blast is blown on the shofar, followed by the proclamation, "Next year in Jerusalem." Then, the worshipers partake in a festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a festival in its own right.

Although Yom Kippur is the most solemn day of the year, it is suffused with an undercurrent of joy. It is the joy of being immersed in the spirituality of the day and expresses confidence that God will accept the worshiper's repentance, forgive sins and seal the verdict for a year of life, health and happiness.

After the end of Yom Kippur, it is custom to begin planning and constructing the sukkah (tabernacle) which will be used for the next festival Sukkot (also known as Tabernacles) which follows five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th day of Tishrei.