6.

The Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur
1.

Redemption

Biblical

Lev 23:27 - 29"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.

In the Bible, Yom Kippur bears three names: the Day of Atonement, the Day of Judgment, and the Sabbath
of Sabbaths. Yom Kippur occurs on the tenth day of Tishri. This is a holy day of the Lord that remains a
statute forever. Day of Atonement is the day in which the people of Israel are to be judged by God and the
sins of the nation of Israel are atoned. The Day of Atonement is also referred to as the Day of
Redemption. This day pictures the transference of sin. It is a time of fasting, cleansing, and reflection
which is to be observed once a year.
The Day of Atonement served as a reminder that the daily, weekly, and monthly sacrifices made at the altar
Lev 16 is read in its entirity
The Temple Service: A week before the holiday, the High Priest would leave his home to live inside the
temple. That week, he would perform all the temple duties himself. In addition, he would study two Torah
portions and learn one by heart to make sure he didn't make any mistakes. The night before, the High Priest
would stay up all night learning Torah and preparing himself spiritually. If he fell asleep, young priests
woke him up by reciting psalms. Sometimes they would make the High Priest stand all night on the cold,
stone floor.
In the morning, he would put on his priestly clothes and go about the daily morning service, including the
morning's sacrifice, the lighting of the menorah and the burning of incense. Then he would wash his hands
and feet in a golden basin. Afterwards, he took a bath, a ritual he repeated throughout the day.
Then, the High Priest would change into a simple robe made of white linen and walk over to a young bull
and recite for himself and for his family the first of three confessional prayers. Three times during the
prayer he pronounced the Shem Hameforash, (the name by which G-d identified himself to Moses at the
burning bush, and to this day, remains unpronounceable), instead of the usual "Adonai," meaning Lord.
The crowd of worshipers, in awe of the moment, fell on the floor, and cried out in loud voices, "Baruch
Shem Kevod Malchuto Le'olam Va'ed," Blessed be the Name, the glory of His kingdom forever and ever, a
phrase, that even today, is only said out loud on Yom Kippur.
The High Priest then walked over to two identical goats. Through a lottery, one goat was chosen as a
sacrifice to G-d, and the other, a scapegoat, with red wool tied around its horns, was sent out into the
wilderness, a symbol of the collective sins of the people. The young bullock was then slaughtered and its
blood collected in a basin for later use.
Then came the most important part of the ceremony. The High Priest walked up a special ramp (so temple
priests could ascend with modesty in tact) to the altar, filled a gold pan with coals and a golden ladle with
incense. Then, with everyone watching, he walked into the Kodesh Kdashim, the Holy of Holies, the inner
sanctuary where G-d's spirit dwelled and where no one but the High Priest entered except on Yom Kippur.
Once inside, he lit the incense, and if all went well, emerged unscathed from the inner chamber.

The ritual continued with the High Priest sprinkling blood on the curtain of the Holy of Holies as an act of
purification. Next, the remaining goat was slaughtered and additional blood sprinkled on the curtain and
around the base of the altar.
The scapegoat was then led through the temple's gate to a waiting priest whose job it was to take it to
predetermined spot about ten to twelve miles away. Along the way, there were ten stations with food or
drink in case the tired priest needed to break his fast. When the priest came to the final station, he pushed
the goat off a cliff. Using a system of signal flags, the priest leading the animal would message back to the
temple that the sins of the people were forgiven as the red wool around the goat's horns turned miraculously
white.
Lev 16:20-22 "When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar,
he shall offer the live goat. "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and
confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins;
and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send {it} away into the wilderness by the hand of a man
who {stands} in readiness.. "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall
release the goat in the wilderness.

2.

Traditions

A.
Fasting
Yom Kippur is a time to atone for sin. While fasting is not explicitly mentioned, the Bible ordains for this
day, You shall afflict your souls (Lev. 16:31; 23:27-32; Num. 29:7), and from early times the rabbis
interpreted this to mean fasting. Part of the affliction of the soul included five statutory rules of
mortification. These were abstention from: food and drink, marital relations, wearing leather shoes, using
cosmetics and lotions, and washing any part of the body other than the fingers and eyes. The pleasure of
such bodily comforts is seen as a prime source of opposing the affliction of ones soul. In Biblical times,
rending ones garments and putting on sackcloth and ashes were further signs of distress, accompanying
abstention from food (Jonah 3:6; Ezek. 9:5). In other cases the fasting is clearly implied (Josh. 7:5-13; Jer.
6:26; Lam. 2:10).
B.
Clothes
It is customary to wear white on this holiday, which symbolizes purity and the promise that our sins shall
be made as white as snow (Isa. 1:18). Some Jews wear a kitel, the white robe in which the dead are buried.
C.

Service
1.
Kol Nidre- The evening service that begins Yom Kippur is commonly known as Kol
Nidre, named for the prayer that begins the service. "Kol nidre" means "all vows," and in this prayer, we
ask G-d to annul all personal vows we may make in the next year. It refers only to vows between the person
making them and G-d, such as "If I pass this test, I'll pray every day for the next 6 months
This prayer has often been held up by anti-Semites as proof that Jews are untrustworthy (we do not keep
our vows), and for this reason the Reform movement removed it from the liturgy for a while. In fact, the
reverse is true: we make this prayer because we take vows so seriously that we consider ourselves bound
even if we make the vows under duress or in times of stress when we are not thinking straight. This prayer
gave comfort to those who were converted to Christianity by torture in various inquisitions, yet felt unable
to break their vow to follow Christianity
2.
Prayers
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, (all letters) 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...)

3.
Closing of the gates
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.
4.
Scripture reading - Jonah
Now it occurs to me that there is tremendous significance to the choice of the Prophet Jonah as the reading
for this important Day of Atonement. The reason given by a Jewish writer is that "Jonah" is read on Yom
Kippur because it is in that book that the message of Jehovah, the message of repentance and forgiveness,
takes on an international scope. Jonah is required by God to take this message to the great Gentile city, in
fact, the city which would represent the capital of the Gentile nation of Assyria. It is by reading "Jonah"
that we learn that God's Word must be shared outside the walls of human associations and prejudice. The
Jewish people have long claimed to be God's "Chosen People", but perhaps they misunderstood. They were
chosen not for special privilege, but for special responsibility, that of sharing with the entire world, the
message of repentance and forgiveness.
D.

The Scarlet Thread

The Priests used to bind a shining crimson strip of cloth on the outside door of the Temple. If the strip of
cloth turned into the white color, they would rejoice; if it did not turn white they were full of sorrow and
shame (Tractate Yoma 67a).
Jewish literature explains the Shekhina glory of God left the Temple forty years prior to its destruction.
Three signs occurred to show evidence of this:
1.) The western candle of the menorah refused to burn continually.
2.) The doors of the Temple would open of themselves.
3.) The red wool no longer turned white supernaturally. This is especially significant because it
indicated that God was no longer forgiving the sins of His people. The people were sorrowful because they
began to realize more and more that the sacrifice of Yom Kippur did not have the power to cleanse their
sinful hearts. That very year Jesus started His ministry, the very year that the blood of bulls and goats was
no longer accepted as a sacrifice for the atonement of sin!

3.
A.

Messianic

Jesus has provided our atonement:

...for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 2:23-24).

B.

Jesus is our scapegoat

John 18:13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year
John 18:14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die
on behalf of the people.
John 18:39 "But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I
release for you the King of the Jews?"
John 18:40 So they cried out again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas." Now Barabbas was a robber.
John 19:6 So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, "Crucify, crucify!"
Pilate *said to them, "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him."
John 19:13Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment
seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
John 19:17 They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the
Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
John 19:18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in
between.
John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His
head and gave up His spirit.
C.
Jesus is our high priest,
As the high priest of the Old Testament entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of his sacrificial victim,
so Jesus entered heaven itself to appear before the Father on behalf of His people (Heb. 9:11-12)

Hbr
9:11
Hbr
9:12
Hbr
9:13
Hbr
9:14
Hbr
9:15
Hbr
9:16

But when Christ appeared {as} a high priest of the good things to come, {He entered}
through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this creation;
and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the
holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have
been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God?
For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken
place for the redemption of the transgressions that were {committed} under the first
covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.