Yom Kipper

Lev. 23:24-29 Tishri September 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, and comes on the tenth day of Tishri (Oct.) 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 Israel was 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. The Law codes tell us that Atonement Day should have gladness in it. White vestments for the worshippers, to symbolize confidence in a renewal of purity through the mercy of G-d. But since the fall of Jerusalem any gaiety that was in Yom Kippur had faded. Now Atonement Day is a time of mordant grieving melodies, of bowed heads and wrung hearts and afflicting their souls. 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. Fasting is a Law of the Torah. Today almost every Jew who has any religious impulse abstains from eating and drinking 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 Hashana prayers; for the day of horn-blowing is part of the Judgment and Atonement drama. A shofar blast reverberates through the dark reaches of the universe. The angelic hosts, drawn up in array before the throne of G-d, shudder at the sound. It is Rosh Hashana, the Day of Judgment. 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 Rabbi who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement; he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.’ (Lev. 16:29-34). It indicates that even the priests weren’t perfect; neither were the sacrifices. It was obvious that something was missing. 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. ‘Abraham’s heirs according to promise!’ Galatians 3:29 says, ‘He (Y’Shua) is!’ therefore exactly the kind of High Priest we need: for He is holy and blameless, unstained by sin undefiled by sinners, and to Him has been given the place of honor in heaven. He never needs the daily blood of animal sacrifices, as other priest did, to cover over first their own sins and then the sins of the people; for He finished all sacrifices, once and for all, when He sacrificed Himself on the cross. (Heb. 7:26-28; 8:7-8). Those yearly sacrifices remind them of their disobedience and guilt instead of relieving their minds. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats really to take away their sins. That is why Messiah said: ‘O G-d, the blood of bulls and goats cannot satisfy You, so You have made ready this body of Mine for Me to lay as a sacrifice upon Your altar. You were not satisfied with the animal sacrifices, slain and burnt before You as offerings for sin…’ After the Messiah said; ‘here I am. I have come to give My life.’ He cancels the first system in favor of a far better one. Under this new plan 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 next twenty-four hours have been designated for fasting and prayer. ‘And now about fasting. ‘When you fast, declining your food for a spiritual purpose, don’t do it publicly…but when you fast, put on festive clothing, so that no one will suspect you are hungry, except your Father, who knows every secret, and He will reward you.’ (Matt. 6:16-18). Fasting permits things of the Spirit to be accented in our lives. It leads us to pray and share what we have with others. Begin your fast with this thought: ‘But when the Messiah appeared as a High Priest of the good thing to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is today, not of this generation: and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood. He entered the Hoy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.’ (Heb. 9:11-12). Traditionally, not a bit of food or sip of water is taken during the twenty-four hour period. 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. You now have fife days to build your Sukkah, start by drawing up your plans or choosing a location. 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.