Bible Homesteading

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

Evening of the 9th Day through the 10th Day of the 7th Month

Overview

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is held on the 10th day of the 7th month of the year.

However, observance of the Day of Atonement commences at evening on the 9th day of the 7th month and lasts until evening the following day.

The Day of Atonement is a mo’edim (appointed time) that is to be celebrated each year (forever) according to Torah.

Crown of Thorns

Torah Requirements

General commandments:

  • It is a Shabbat (day of rest) – no laborious work is to be done
  • We are to humble ourselves (`anah nephesh)
  • 2 silver trumpets are to be blown over the burnt offerings and peace offering

Commandments specific to the Day of Atonement that occurs the year before the Jubilee Year (every 49 years):

  • A ram’s horn is to be blown throughout the land proclaiming the upcoming Year of Jubilee

Required burnt offerings (`olah):

  • 1 young male bull without blemish
  • 1 ram without blemish
  • 7 male lambs, each 1 year old, without blemish

Required food offerings (minchah) for the burnt offerings (`olah):

  • Flour mixed with oil (3/10 of an ephah for the bull, 2/10 of an ephah for the ram, 1/10 of an ephah for each of the 7 lambs)

Required sin offerings (chatta’ah):

  • 1  male goat

Required burnt offerings (`olah) specific to the 1st Day of Atonement (for the High Priest):

  • 1 ram without blemish

Required sin offerings (chatta’ah) specific to the 1st Day of Atonement (for the High Priest):

  • 1 young male calf without blemish

Required burnt offerings (`olah) specific to the 1st Day of Atonement (for the people):

  • 1 young male calf without blemish
  • 1 male lamb, 1 year old, without blemish

Required peace offerings (shelem) specific to the 1st Day of Atonement (for the people):

  • 1 young male bull without blemish
  • 1 ram without blemish

Required food offerings (minchah) for the burnt offerings (`olah) specific to the 1st Day of Atonement (for the people):

  • Flour mixed with oil

Required sin offerings (chatta’ah) specific to the 1st Day of Atonement (for the people):

  • 1  male goat

The Day of Atonement in the Torah

Leviticus 9:1 And it happened, on the eighth day, Moses called for Aaron and for his sons, and for the elders of Israel.
Leviticus 9:2 And he said to Aaron, Take a calf to yourself, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, ones without blemish, and bring them near before YAHWEH.
Leviticus 9:3 And speak to the sons of Israel, saying, Take a kid of the goats for a sin offering, and a calf, and a lamb, sons of a year, ones without blemish, for a burnt offering;
Leviticus 9:4 and a bull and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before YAHWEH; and a food offering mixed with oil; for today YAHWEH will be seen.
Leviticus 9:5 And they took that which Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire congregation drew near and stood before YAHWEH.
Leviticus 9:6 And Moses said, This is the thing that YAHWEH has commanded; do it, and the glory of YAHWEH shall appear to you.
Leviticus 9:7 And Moses said to Aaron, Draw near to the altar and make your sin offering, and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself, and for the people, and make the offering of the people, and atone for them, as YAHWEH has commanded.
Leviticus 9:8 And Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which is for himself;
Leviticus 9:9 and Aaron’s sons brought the blood near to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar. And he poured out the blood at the base of the altar;
Leviticus 9:10 and the fat, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver, of the sin offering, he burned with incense on the altar, as YAHWEH had commanded Moses.
Leviticus 9:11 And he burned the flesh and the skin with fire, at the outside of the camp.
Leviticus 9:12 And he killed the burnt offering. And Aaron’s sons presented the blood to him and he sprinkled it on the altar all around;
Leviticus 9:13 and they presented to him the burnt offering, by its pieces, and the head, and he burned them with incense on the altar.
Leviticus 9:14 And he washed the inward parts and the legs, and burned them as incense for the burnt offering on the altar.
Leviticus 9:15 And he brought the offering of the people, and took the he-goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and killed it, and made it a sin offering like the first.
Leviticus 9:16 And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it, according to the ordinance.
Leviticus 9:17 And he brought the food offering and filled his hand from it, and burned it as incense on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.
Leviticus 9:18 And he killed the bull and the ram, a sacrifice of the peace offerings, which are for the people, and Aaron’s sons presented the blood to him, and he sprinkled it on the altar all around;
Leviticus 9:19 and the fat of the bull, and of the ram, the fat tail, and the covering, and the kidneys, and the lobe above the liver.
Leviticus 9:20 And they set the fat on the breasts, and he burned as incense the fat on the altar.
Leviticus 9:21 And Aaron waved the breasts, and the right leg as a wave offering before YAHWEH, as Moses commanded.
Leviticus 9:22 And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.
Leviticus 9:23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation. And they came out and blessed the people; and the glory of YAHWEH appeared to all the people.
Leviticus 9:24 And fire came out from before YAHWEH and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. And all the people saw, and cried aloud, and fell on their faces.

Leviticus 16:1 And YAHWEH spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, as they drew near before YAHWEH, and they died.
Leviticus 16:2 And YAHWEH said to Moses, Speak to your brother Aaron, and he shall not come in at all times to the sanctuary within the veil, to the front of the mercy-seat.
Leviticus 16:3 With this Aaron shall come into the sanctuary: with a bull, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
Leviticus 16:4 He shall put on a holy linen coat, and linen underpants shall be on his flesh, and he shall gird himself with a linen girdle, and he shall wrap himself in a linen miter; they are holy garments. And he shall bathe his flesh with water and shall put them on.
Leviticus 16:5 And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
Leviticus 16:6 And Aaron shall bring near the bull of the sin offering which is his own, and shall make atonement for himself, and for his house.
Leviticus 16:7 And he shall take the two he-goats and shall cause them to stand before YAHWEH, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Leviticus 16:8 And Aaron shall give lots over the two he-goats, one lot for YAHWEH, and one lot for the scapegoat (complete removal).
Leviticus 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the lot of YAHWEH fell and shall make it a sin offering.
Leviticus 16:10 And the goat on which the lot fell for a complete removal shall be made to stand living before YAHWEH to atone by it, to send it away for a complete removal into the wilderness.
Leviticus 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering which is his own, and shall atone for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bull of the sin offering which is his own.
Leviticus 16:12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of the fire from off the altar before YAHWEH, and his hands full of fragrant perfumes beaten small, and bring it within the veil.
Leviticus 16:13 And he shall put the incense on the fire before YAHWEH, and the cloud of the incense shall cover the mercy-seat on the testimony; and he shall not die.
Leviticus 16:14 And he shall take some of the blood of the bull, and shall sprinkle with his finger on the front of the mercy-seat eastward. And he shall sprinkle at the front of the mercy-seat seven times from the blood with his finger.
Leviticus 16:15 And he shall kill the goat of the sin offering which is the people’s, and shall bring in its blood to the inside of the veil, and shall do with its blood as he has done with the blood of the bull, and shall sprinkle it on the mercy-seat, and at the front of the mercy-seat.
Leviticus 16:16 And he shall atone for the sanctuary because of the pollutions of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions for all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting dwelling in the midst of their pollutions.
Leviticus 16:17 And not any man shall be in the tent of meeting as he goes in to atone in the sanctuary, until he comes out. And he shall atone for himself, and for his house, and for all the congregation of Israel.
Leviticus 16:18 And he shall go out to the altar before YAHWEH, and shall atone for it. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull, and some of the blood of the goat, and shall put it on the horns of the altar all around.
Leviticus 16:19 And he shall sprinkle on it from the blood with his finger seven times, and shall cleanse it, and shall purify it from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel.
Leviticus 16:20 And when he has finished atoning for the sanctuary, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, and has brought near the living goat;
Leviticus 16:21 then Aaron shall lay his two hands on the head of the living goat, and shall confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions, and all their sins, and shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send it by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness.
Leviticus 16:22 And the goat shall bear on him all their iniquities to a land not inhabited. And he shall send the goat away into the wilderness.
Leviticus 16:23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall strip off the linen garments which he had put on as he went into the sanctuary, and shall leave them there.
Leviticus 16:24 And he shall bathe his flesh with water in the sanctuary and shall put on his garments, and shall come out, and shall offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and shall atone for himself and for the people.
Leviticus 16:25 And he shall burn as incense the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
Leviticus 16:26 And he who let the goat go for a scapegoat shall wash his garments and shall bathe his flesh with water; and later he shall come into the camp.
Leviticus 16:27 And the bull of the sin offering, and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood has been brought in to atone in the sanctuary, one shall carry them out to the outside of the camp; and they shall burn their skins with fire and their flesh, and their dung.
Leviticus 16:28 And he burning them shall wash his garments, and shall bathe his flesh with water, and afterwards he shall come into the camp.
Leviticus 16:29 And it shall be for a never ending statute, in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month, you shall humble yourself and do no work, the native, and the alien who is staying in your midst.
Leviticus 16:30 For on this day He shall atone for you, to cleanse you from all your sins you shall be clean before YAHWEH.
Leviticus 16:31 It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall humble yourself. It is a never ending statute.
Leviticus 16:32 And the priest whom He shall anoint, and whose hand He shall consecrate to act as priest instead of his father, shall make atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments.
Leviticus 16:33 And he shall atone for the holy sanctuary, and for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar he shall atone; yes, for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation he shall atone.
Leviticus 16:34 And this shall be to you a never ending statute to atone for the sons of Israel, because of all their sins, once a year. And he did as YAHWEH had commanded Moses.

Leviticus 23:26 And YAHWEH spoke to Moses saying,
Leviticus 23:27 Also, on the tenth of this seventh month shall be a day of atonement; there shall be a holy gathering, and you shall humble and weaken your bodies and shall bring a fire offering to YAHWEH.
Leviticus 23:28 And you shall do no work in this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to atone for you before YAHWEH your Elohim.
Leviticus 23:29 For any person who is not humbled in this same day shall be cut off from his people.
Leviticus 23:30 And any person who does any work in this same day, I shall even cut off that person from the midst of his people.
Leviticus 23:31 You shall do no work; it is a never ending statute throughout your generations, in all your dwellings.
Leviticus 23:32 It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall humble your souls in the ninth of the month at evening; from evening until evening you shall keep your Sabbath.

Leviticus 25:8 And you shall number to yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven years times seven, and all the days of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty nine years.
Leviticus 25:9 And you shall let a ram’s horn resound, a signal in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month; in the day of atonement, let a ram’s horn pass throughout all your land;
Leviticus 25:10 and you shall make the fiftieth year holy, one year. And you shall proclaim liberty in the land to those living in it; He shall be a jubilee to you. And you shall return every man to his possession; yea, you shall turn back each to his family.

Numbers 10:1 And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying,
Numbers 10:2 Make two trumpets of silver for yourself. You shall make them of hammered work, and they shall be to you for the calling of the congregation, and for causing the camps to pull up stakes.
Numbers 10:3 And when they blow with them, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the door of the tent of meeting.
Numbers 10:4 And if they blow with one, then the rulers, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall assemble to you.
Numbers 10:5 And when you blow an alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall then pull up stakes.
Numbers 10:6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall pull up stakes; they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
Numbers 10:7 But when the assembly is gathered, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm.
Numbers 10:8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets. And they shall be to you for a never ending statute throughout your generations.
Numbers 10:9 And when you go into battle in your land against the foe distressing you, then you shall blow with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before YAHWEH your Elohim. And you shall be saved from your enemies.
Numbers 10:10 And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed times, and in your new moons, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. And they shall be to you for a memorial before your Elohim. I am YAHWEH your Elohim.

Numbers 29:7 And on the tenth of this seventh month you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no work of service, you shall humble your souls.
Numbers 29:8 And you shall offer a burnt offering to YAHWEH, a soothing fragrance: one bull, a son of the herd, one ram, seven lambs, sons of a year, they shall be without blemish for you;
Numbers 29:9 and their food offering, flour mixed with oil, three tenths parts for the bull two tenths parts for the one ram;
Numbers 29:10 one tenth part for the one lamb, for the seven lambs;
Numbers 29:11 one kid of the goats, a sin offering, besides the sin offering of the atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and its food offering, and their drink offerings.

The Day of Atonement in the Prophets

Isaiah 58:1 Call out with the throat! Do not spare. Lift up your voice like the ram’s horn! And declare to My people their rebellion, and their sins to the house of Jacob.
Isaiah 58:2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and desire knowledge of My ways. As a nation that has done right, and not forsaking the judgment of their Elohim, they ask Me about judgments of righteousness; they desire to draw near to Elohim.
Isaiah 58:3 They say, Why have we fasted, and You did not see? We have afflicted our soul, and You did not acknowledge. Behold, on the day of your fast you find pleasure; and you drive all your laborers hard.
Isaiah 58:4 Look! You fast for strife, and for debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. Do not fast as today, to sound your voice in the high place.
Isaiah 58:5 Is this like the fast I will choose, a day for a man to afflict his soul? To bow his head down like a bulrush, and he spreads sackcloth and ashes? Will you call to this as a fast and a day of delight to YAHWEH?
Isaiah 58:6 Is this not the fast I have chosen: to open bands of wickedness, to undo thongs of the yoke, and to send out the oppressed ones free; even that you pull off every yoke?
Isaiah 58:7 Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, that you should bring the wandering poor home? When will you see the naked and cover him, and you will not hide yourself from your flesh?
Isaiah 58:8 Then your light shall break as the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of YAHWEH shall gather you.
Isaiah 58:9 Then you shall call, and YAHWEH will answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If you put the yoke away from among you, the pointing of the finger, and the speaking of vanity;
Isaiah 58:10 and if you let out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom shall be as the noonday.
Isaiah 58:11 And YAHWEH shall always guide you, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:12 And those who come of you shall build the old ruins; you shall rear the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to live in.
Isaiah 58:13 If you turn your foot away because of the Sabbath, from doing what you please on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, to the holiness of YAHWEH, glorified; and shall glorify Him, to the holiness of not doing your own ways, from finding your own pleasure or speaking your own words;
Isaiah 58:14 then you shall delight yourself in YAHWEH. And I will cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and make you eat with the inheritance of your father Jacob. For the mouth of YAHWEH has spoken.

Jewish Traditions

NOTE: Some of the Jewish traditions associated with the Day of Atonement are steeped in Kabbalah beliefs.  More information on the Kabbalah aspects of the Day of Atonement can be found here at Chabad.org.

The Jewish people interpret the commandment to humble ourselves (`anah nephesh) as requiring a special Fast to be held on this day.  They believe the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is the holiest day of the year as it is the day they are closest to YHVH.

40 Days Before the Fast

In the 40 days leading up to the Fast on Yom Kippur, starting on the 1st day of the 6th month, they begin blowing the shofar every morning and reciting Psalm 27 after their morning and afternoon prayers. 

In Sephardic communities, it is customary to begin saying Selichot (communal prayers for Divine forgiveness) every morning.  In Ashkenazi communities, the Selichot are recited just during the few days leading up to the Fast.

10 Days Before the Fast (Days of Awe)

Rabbinic belief is that on the Day of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) the righteous are written into the Book of Life and the wicked are written into the Book of Death, while most people won’t be written into either book.  Instead, most people are given the 10 days until Yom Kippur to examine themselves and show repentance. Then, on Yom Kippur, everyone has his or her name inscribed into one of the two books.

The 10-day time period beginning with Rosh Hashanah on the 1st day of the 7th month is referred to as the Days of Awe (Yamim Nora’im).  The Jewish sages believe this period is a time when “the gates of heaven are open, and I (YHVH) will listen to your prayers.”  This comes from their interpretation of the scripture:

  • Isaiah 55:6 Seek YAHWEH while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

In the Rabbinic teachings of Maimonides (the Laws of Teshuva), he writes, “For these reasons, it is customary for all of Israel to give profusely to charity, perform many good deeds, and be occupied with observance of God’s commandments from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur to a greater extent than during the remainder of the year.”

During this time Jewish people decrease their involvement with worldly matters, and increase their Torah study and charitable giving. Some are careful to settle all debts so that they come to Yom Kippur with a “clean slate”.  And all Jewish people are extra careful with following all their mitzvah (commandments from the Torah and teachings from the Talmud) observances.

During the Days of Awe, the following prayer traditions are observed:

  • During morning services, after the Yishtabach blessing, it is customary to say Psalm 130.
  • Three times a day, in the Amidah (standing prayer), they substitute the phrases “haEl hakadosh” (the holy God) with “hamelech hakadosh” (the holy king), and “melech ohev tzedakah umishpat” (king who loves righteousness and justice) with “hamelech hamishpat” (the king of judgement). There are a number of other insertions that were instituted by the medieval sages which can be found in the Siddur (Jewish prayer book).
  • Following the Amidah, and the subsequent Tachanun (supplicatory prayers), they add the full Avinu Malkeinu prayer (a special Days of Awe prayer).
  • Psalm 27 is recited everyday (until the 7th day of the Feast of Tabernacles) following morning and afternoon (or evening) prayers.
  • In the Kaddish (mourner’s prayer), some have the custom to say, “l’eila ul’eila” (above and beyond), in reference to God’s greatness, instead of the usual “l’eila” (beyond). For some others, the extra words are reserved only for the Neilah prayer (“closing of the gates” prayer) during the 5th service on Yom Kippur.
  • There is a widespread custom is to recite special selichot (penitential prayers) before dawn. For some, they are said only on the Fast of Gedaliah (a dawn-to-dusk fast observed on the day after Rosh Hashanah, commemorating the tragic death of Gedaliah, governor of Judea).

More details on the Jewish traditions surrounding the Days of Awe can be found here at Chabad.org.

The Shabbat Preceding Yom Kippur

The Shabbat between the Day of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and Yom Kippur is called “Shabbat Shuvah” (Shabbat of Return).  The name derives from the Haftarah (reading from the prophets) for this Shabbat, which opens with the words, “Return O Israel unto the Lord your God.”

In addition to the Shabbat Hagadol (the Shabbat preceding Passover), this is one of the two times a year when it is customary for rabbis to deliver long speeches on timely topics.

As on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish people dip their challah in honey at the start of the Shabbat meals.

The Day Before the Fast

The day before the Fast on Yom Kippur is set aside for eating and preparation.  Some traditions include:

  • Kaparot (a special atonement ceremony – more details can be found here at Chabad.org) is often performed very early in the morning.
  • The custom of requesting and receiving a piece of honey cake.
  • Two festive meals – one in early afternoon and another right before the commencement of the Fast.
  • Many have the custom to immerse in a mikvah (cleansing bath) on this day.
  • Extra charity is given (each person must be charitable to at least 2 poor people) with special charity trays being set up at the synagogue before the afternoon service.
  • During the afternoon service, the Yom Kippur Al Cheit prayer (a confession of sins in alphabetical order) is recited.
  • Just before the Fast begins (after the second meal has been concluded), it is customary to bless the children with the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:22-27).

The Day of The Fast

For nearly 26 hours, from several minutes before sunset on the 9th day of the month all the way through until after nightfall on the 10th day of the month, the Fast of Yom Kippur is observed.

Here are the typical things abstained from during the Fast:

  • Eating and drinking (except for medical reasons).
  • Washing or bathing.
  • Applying lotions or creams.
  • Wearing leather (comfortable) footwear.
  • Marital relations.

The Fast itself is spent in the synagogue, where five prayer services are held:

  • Maariv (evening prayer service), which includes the Kol Nidrei service (absolution or annulment of all vows made by the worshipper), on the eve of Yom Kippur.
  • Shacharit (morning prayer), which includes a reading from Leviticus followed by the Yizkor memorial service (special memorial prayer for the deceased).
  • Musaf (prayer commemorating the additional offerings brought into the Temple), which includes a detailed account of the Yom Kippur Temple service.
  • Minchah (afternoon prayer service), which includes the reading of the Book of Jonah.
  • Neilah (prayer read at the “closing of the gates of heaven”) service at sunset, followed by the shofar blast marking the end of the Fast.

More details on the Jewish traditions surrounding the Day of Atonement can be found here at Chabad.org.