Yom Kipper

Yom Kippur is September 26th this year of 2012.
Lev. 23:24-29 Day of Atonement – Afflicting one’s soul
“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 soul…”. Lev. 23:27
Yom Kippur, means the Day of Atonement (at – one – ment) with G-d. It is the climax of ten days of repentance. What was begun on Rosh Hashanah is about to be sealed. ‘Prepare to meet your G-d, O Israel’. (Amos 4:12).
G-d told Moses that this was how to approach Him once a year; ‘And this shall be a permanent statue for you; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; you shall be clean from all your sins before G-d. It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your soul; it is a permanent statute.
Afflicting one’s soul traditionally means five abstentions: form eating and drinking, from sex, from bathing, from anointing the body with oil (the Oriental hygienic practice), and from the wearing of leather shoes, for the twenty-four hours of Yom Kippur.
The community spends the whole day in the Synagogue. All the prayers turn on the theme of repentance before judgment, of release from sin and error, as do the Rosh Hashanah prayers; for the day of horn-blowing is part of the Judgment and Atonement drama.
The Scrolls of fate roll open before G-d. In these scrolls every man’s hand has written his deeds of the year past. G-d reads the entries and pronounces judgment, fixing the destinies of every human being for the year to come: who shall die, who shall live, who shall be rich, who shall be poor, and who shall rise in the world, who shall fall, who shall live in peace and who shall stumble in misery. This decree on the day of shofar-blowing is not final. People have ten days in which to search their acts, repent of misdeeds, perform good works to alter and balance as it stands, pledge themselves to better conduct, and throw themselves on the Judge’s mercy in prayer. Yom Kippur, the last of these days of grace, is a crisis of confession and repentance. As the sun sinks to the horizon, the scrolls of fate roll shut. The destinies of all people for the coming year are sealed. The annual judgment ends at sundown with a last blast of the shofar. In this one image all the rites and themes of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur merge.
The blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn, is an alarm waking the soul to Judgment. Canceling the past does not turn it into a record of achievement; it leaves it blank, a waste of spilled years. The repeated blasts, the weird alterations from long to short, from wailing to straight, shake one’s nerves. The air-raid siren describes the same sound patterns and does the same thing to the human heart.
With the alarm comes the remembrance of things past and the confession of failure. But in a sweeping paradox, this same confession that seals the individual in his privacy with G-d draws him into an ancient communal bond. The mass confession stamps the idea at the heart of Yom Kippur.
The requirement had to be met year after year after year. It was never completed, never final. All that the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant could provide was a ‘temporary covering.’ This ritual was meant to be a symbol, pointing to something greater that was to be fulfilled.
We have been forgiven and made clean by the Messiah’s dying for us once and for all. Now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies where G-d is, because of the blood of Y’Shua. this is the fresh, new, life-giving presence of G-d … let us go right in, to the Father Himself, with true hearts fully trusting Him to receive us.. (Heb. 10:1-22). He has provided the perfect opportunity for us to be at one with Him. There will be a day of final judgment, and ‘if there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off.’ (Lev. 23:29). ‘And if anyone’s name will not be found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.’ (Rev. 20:15). According to Hebrew tradition, G-d is keeping good records. He offers to forgive us. The book is symbolically sealed on Yom Kippur, reminding us that one day it will be sealed forever.
This is a single day in the year that has been set apart by G-d as special. It celebrates out at-oneness with Him. It was ordained it the Old Covenant. How much greater is our reason to remember it now? ‘Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life shall come in.’ (Rev. 21:27).
The time of fasting ends as the sun goes down the following day. A light meal is eaten to break the fast and the day closes with words from the Psalms: ‘Let them give thanks to the L-rd for His loving kindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.’ (Ps. 107:8-9).
It is customary that before Yom Kippur right relationships be re-established, personal problems be resolved and disputes settled with the people around you. Y’Shua taught this principle in the L-rd’s prayer. (Matt. 6:14-15). It is also the Hebrew custom for parents to bless their children on the day before Yom Kippur.
A Jewish history meat symbolizes the stern judgment of G-d, while the dough symbolizes the mercy that accompanies G-d’s justice. This is a traditional food served at Yom Kipper. It is still true that ‘mercy triumphs over judgment’. (James 2:13).
The Hebrew believes the Messiah will come on Yom Kipper for G-d will have at long last ended His separation from Israel, His original wife becouse of their repenting.