Yom Kippur:(The Day of Atonement)
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By
Eddie Chumney
For it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; and you shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:30-31 NAS).
On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement...for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God.... You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It 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 [Vayikra] 23:27-28,31-32 NAS).
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 (Numbers [Bamidbar] 29:7 NAS ).
Yom Kippur: Names, Themes, and Idioms
Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)
Face to Face
The Day (or the Great Day)
The Fast
The Great Shofar (Shofar HaGadol)
Neilah (the closing of the gates)
Understanding the Priestly Service for Yom Kippur
Leviticus (Vayikra) chapter 16, specifies the tenth of Tishrei as the date on which the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) shall conduct a special ceremony to purge defilement from the shrine and from the people. The heart of the ritual is that the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) shall bring a bull and two goats as a special offering. First, the bull is sacrificed to purge the shrine from any defilements (what might now be called uncanny vibrations) caused by misdeeds of the priest himself and of his household (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:6). Secondly, one of the goats is chosen by lot to be sacrificed to purge the shrine of any similar defilement stimulated by misdeeds of the whole Israelite people (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:7-8 ). Finally, the second goat is sent away, not sacrificed, to cleanse the people themselves. The goat is marked for Azazel and is sent away to wander in the wilderness (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:10). Before the goat is sent out, the high priest lays both his hands upon its head and confesses over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their misdeeds, and so putting them on the head of the goat. Thus, the Torah adds, "The goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region..." (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:20-22).
Azazel: The Scapegoat
The Hebrew word for scapegoat is azazel. Azazel was seen as a type of satan (Ha satan) in the intertestamental Book of Enoch (8:1). The sins of the people and thus the punishment of the people were laid upon azazel the scapegoat. He would bear the sins of the people and the punishment of the people would be upon him. Azazel being sent into the wilderness is understood to be a picture of satan (Ha satan) being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20).
Let's take a closer look at this ceremony found in Leviticus (Vayikra) 16:7-10. In Leviticus (Vayikra) 16:8, the first lot said, "La Adonai" (To the L-rd). The second lot said, "La Azazel" (To the scapegoat). The high priest (Cohen HaGadol) took the two golden lots, one marked La Adonai and the other marked La Azazel, and placed one upon the head of each animal, sealing their fate. It was considered a good omen if the lot marked La Adonai was drawn by the priest in the right hand, but for 40 years prior to the destruction of the temple (Beit HaMikdash) in 70 C.E. (Common Era, which is the same as A.D., the Latin for "in the year of our L-rd" ), the lot La Adonai was drawn by the priest on the left hand (Talmud, Yoma 39a). In any event, the sins of the people were laid upon the scapegoat (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:21-22). Except for the 40 years prior to the destruction of the second temple (Beit HaMikdash), the lot La Adonai came out on the right hand of the priest and the lot La Azazel came out on the left hand of the priest.
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Messianic Understanding
G-d gave this ceremony of the casting of lots during Yom Kippur to teach us how He will judge the nations of the world prior to the Messianic age known as the Millennium. The nations of the world will be judged according to how they treated the Jewish people. Those nations who mistreated the Jews will be goat nations and they will go into the left hand. Those nations that stood beside the Jewish people will be sheep nations and will enter into the Messianic kingdom or the Millennium. Yeshua taught us about this in Matthew 25:31-46.
Yeshua during His first coming was a type of the goat marked La Adonai. Yeshua was a sin offering to us as G-d laid upon Him the sins of the whole world (Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 53:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:3-4; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John [Yochanan] 2:2; 4:10).
In the ceremony of the two goats, the two goats were considered as one offering. A crimson sash was tied around the horns of the goat marked azazel. At the appropriate time, the goat was led to a steep cliff in the wilderness and shoved off the cliff. In connection with this ceremony, an interesting tradition arose that is mentioned in the Mishnah. A portion of the crimson sash was attached to the door of the temple (Beit HaMikdash) before the goat was sent into the wilderness. The sash would turn from red to white as the goat met its end, signaling to the people that G-d had accepted their sacrifices and their sins were forgiven. This was based upon Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 1:18. As stated earlier, the Mishnah tells us that 40 years before the destruction of the temple (Beit HaMikdash), the sash stopped turning white. This, of course, was when Yeshua was slain on the tree.
Additional Aspects to the High Priest CeremonyIn order to enter the Holy of Holies, the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) was first to bathe his entire body, going beyond the mere washing of hands and feet as required by other occasions. The washing symbolized his desire for purification (Numbers [Bamidbar] 19). The washing was of his clothes and his flesh (Numbers [Bamidbar] 8:5-7; 19:7-9). This was done in conjunction with taking the blood of an animal with the finger and sprinkling the blood upon the altar (Number [Bamidbar] 19:1-4; Leviticus [Vayikra] 8:13-15). This ritual is once again seen in Numbers (Bamidbar) 31:21-24. The spiritual understanding of this is given in Hebrews 9; and 10:19-22. The sprinkling of blood upon the altar is also mentioned in Exodus (Shemot) 29:1-4,10-12, 16,20-21; and Leviticus (Vayikra) 1:3-5,11; 3:1-2,8; 4:1-6; 5:4-6,9. Once again, the spiritual understanding is found in Hebrews 9:11-14,23-25, and First Peter (Kefa) 1:2.
Messianic Understanding
Yeshua is the High Priest (Cohen HaGadol) of G-d (Hebrews 3:1). In John (Yochanan) 20:17, Yeshua said, "Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father...." These were the same words that the priest spoke before he ascended the altar. Yeshua can be seen as Priest by looking at some other Scriptures. In Numbers (Bamidbar) 19:11, if you touched a dead body, you were unclean for seven days. After being unclean, purification took place on the eighth day. This is the meaning behind what happened in John (Yochanan) 20:24-27.
Rather than wearing his usual robe and colorful garments (described in Exodus [Shemot] 28 and Leviticus [Vayikra] 8:1-8 ), Aaron was commanded to wear special garments of linen (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:4). Yeshua was seen wearing the same thing in Revelation 1:13-15. Daniel also saw this and described it in Daniel 10:5-6.
By slaying the animals at the altar and applying their blood to the altar, the garments of the high priest became very bloody and G-d instructed them to be washed (Leviticus [Vayikra] 6:27). However, on Yom Kippur G-d declared in Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 1:18, as it is written, "...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow...." Spiritually speaking, a white garment represents purity and the absence of sin (Revelation 7:9,13-14; 19:8 ).
In Numbers (Bamidbar) 15:37-41, fringes (tzi-tzit) were put on the hem of the garments to remind the people of the Torah or G-d's Word. Consider the woman with the issue of blood (she was unclean) coming to Yeshua (the High Priest of G-d) to touch the hem of His garment and be healed (Matthew [Mattityahu] 9:20-22). The children of Israel were instructed by G-d to wear the garments Yeshua had on in Matthew 9:20-22. These garments were instructed by G-d in the Torah to be worn as just stated in Numbers (Bamidbar) 15:37-41. When the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem (tzi-tzit) of Yeshua's garment in Matthew 9:20-22, it was a picture given to us by G-d to communicate to us that she believed Yeshua's word by faith (emunah) and was made well because of her faith.
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Face to Face
The high priest (Cohen HaGadol) could only go into the Holy of Holies once a year (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:2; Hebrews 9:6-7). (G-d issued a warning that no man could see His face and live (Exodus [Shemot] 33:20). But because on the Day of Atonement the priest could be in G-d's presence (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:2), another term for the Day of Atonement is "face to face."
By the time of the second temple, this ritual [the high priest's (Cohen HaGadol) ceremony] had been somewhat elaborated, and one crucial element had been added to it. That element was that on three separate occasions, in a grand crescendo, the high priest appeared before the people, and three times he recited a formula of confession in their hearing. The first confession was on the account of his own sins and those of his household; the second, on the account of the priestly tribe of Levi; the third, on the account of the whole people.
On this occasion only, in the entire year, the confession included the priest's saying aloud the name of G-d embodied in the Hebrew letters YHVH (called the Tetragrammaton). This was the name that G-d gave and explained to Moses (Moshe) at the burning bush, the name that was a kind of distillation of "I am Becoming Who I am Becoming," the name that was not a name in the sense of a label by which G-d could be called and controlled, and therefore the name that could not be said aloud. It was, therefore, all year long euphemized by saying, whenever YHVH appeared in the text, or invocation, Adonai, The L-rd. Only on Yom Kippur was the name said, aloud, in all its original awesomeness.
(How the name was pronounced on this occasion was so thoroughly protected from record-keeping, that might profane it, that we no longer know how it was done.)
In each confession, when the high priest reached the recitation of the name, the whole people would prostrate themselves and say aloud, "Baruch shem K'vod malchuto l'olam va'ed," which means, "Blessed be the Name of the radiance of the Kingship, forever and beyond." On the third recitation, the one for their own sins, they knew that the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) had just before-on this one occasion in all the year-entered the Holy of Holies, the inmost room of the temple (Beit HaMikdash) where G-d's Presence was most fully felt. He entered it three times, and only then came out to confess on behalf of all the people and put their sins upon the head of the goat for azazel.
The result of this triple entry into the Holy of Holies, this triple recitation of G-d's most holy name, and this triple prostration by the entire people, was an utterly awesome sense of G-d's Presence making atonement for the people, cleansing them of all their sins, permitting them to begin the year afresh, renewing their lives. So total was this sense of transformation that, after it, the mood of the people shifted from solemn awe to joyful celebration. The young, unmarried men and women went to dance in the fields and to choose spouses for themselves. Yom Kippur and the fifteenth of Av were the only days in the year when this kind of mass public espousal would take place.
Therefore, when the high priest stood before G-d on this day, he was said to be "face to face" with G-d. Because of this, Yom Kippur became known by the phrase "face to face." "Face to face" terminology was used in First Corinthians 13:9-12, as it is written:
For we know in part; and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known (1 Corinthians 13:9-12).
Both verse 11 and the phrase in verse 12, "For now we see through a glass, darkly" come from the Jewish Midrash.
"Face to Face" is the title of a chapter in Arthur Waskow's book, Seasons of Our Joy, on the topic of Yom Kippur. "Face to face" is an idiom for Yom Kippur. Why? It was on Yom Kippur that the high priest had to go behind the veil of the temple. At that moment, the nation had to hold its breath because the nation's fate depended upon G-d's accepting the sacrifice. At that point, the high priest was "face to face with the mercy seat of G-d."
When the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) entered the Holy of Holies, he saw the L-rd's presence as a brilliant cloud hovering above the mercy seat (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:2). The word for mercy seat in Hebrew is kapporet. It comes from the root word kaphar, which is the same word used for "atonement." The mercy seat can also be translated as the seat of atonement. The mercy seat is described in detail in Exodus (Shemot) 25:17-22 and 37:6-9. This is the place where Moses (Moshe) met and spoke with G-d face to face (Exodus [Shemot] 25:22; 30:6; Numbers [Bamidbar] 7:89).
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The Day
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, comes on the tenth day of the Jewish month of Tishrei (September/October). It is the last day of the Ten Days of Repentance, and it is the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar. It is believed that those who have not been good enough to be written in the Book of Life immediately on Rosh HaShanah are given ten days to repent, pray for forgiveness, and do good deeds until Yom Kippur, when their fate will be decided. The entire Day of Forgiveness (Yom Kippur) is spent fasting and praying. Because this day is the most solemn day in the year, it is known as "The Day."
The Fast
Fasting is one of the most important of the mitzvot (commandments) leading to atonement. The Torah says three times, "And this shall be to you a law for all times: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month you shall practice self-denial" (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:29; 23:27; Numbers [Bamidbar] 29:7); tradition (the Jewish understanding) interprets self-denial as fasting. For this reason, Yom Kippur is known as "The Fast Day."
The Great Shofar
As mentioned earlier in this book in Chapter 7, when the shofar (trumpet) was discussed, there are three primary shofarim (trumpets) to the Jewish people and these three trumpets are associated with specific days in the year. These three trumpets are:
(a) "The First Trump," blown and associated with Shavuot (Pentecost);
(b) "The Last Trump," blown and associated with Rosh HaShanah;
(c) "The Great Trump," blown and associated with Yom Kippur.
It is on Yom Kippur when the Great Trumpet, known in Hebrew as the Shofar HaGadol is blown. This is referred to in Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 27:13 and Matthew 24:31.
Neilah: The Closing of the Gates of Heaven
Neilah is the closing or final service of Yom Kippur. It is the Jewish belief that the gates of Heaven are open during the days of repentance to receive our prayers for forgiveness and that they close after the neilah service. (Specifically, they are open on Rosh HaShanah to let the righteous into Heaven and remain open until the neilah service of Yom Kippur.) When the final blast of the shofar (the Shofar HaGadol, the Great Trumpet) is heard at the end of the neilah service, those who have observed the day with sincerity should feel that they have been inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life.
Spiritual Understanding of the Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement was the most solemn of all the feast days. It was the day of cleansing for the nation and for the sanctuary. On this day alone, once a year, the high priest entered into the holiest of all, the Holy of Holies in the temple, within the veil of the temple, with the blood of the L-rd's goat, the sin offering. Here he sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat. The blood of the sin offering on the great Day of Atonement brought about the cleansing of all sin for the priesthood, the sanctuary, and Israel as a nation (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:29-34).
The Day of Atonement
Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and affliction of the soul (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:27,29; Numbers [Bamidbar] 29:7). This day was set aside as a day of national fasting. Fasting is mentioned in Joel (Yoel) 1:14-15; 2:12-18; and Ezra 8:21. The spiritual understanding for us is given in Isaiah 58:1-12.
It is the tenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:27; Numbers [Bamidbar] 29:7). The number 10 is used to represent the government or a nation (Daniel 7:24; Revelation 17:12). To the Jewish people, the number ten represents a legal congregation known as a minyan. The congregation is one body that can represent a group. So, the number ten represented the nation or the congregation of Israel (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:2-3,17,19). Notice also that the blood is sprinkled for the nation (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:19). Look at Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 52:13-15 and Ezekiel (Yechezekel) 36:24-26.
In Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 52:13-15, the suffering servant, Yeshua, Messiah ben Joseph (Yosef) is seen sprinkling many nations. In Ezekiel 36:24-26, it is the Jews returning to Israel from the Diaspora whom G-d will sprinkle clean water upon when they return back to the land of Israel.
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The Day of Atonement Ceremonies
As we look at the ceremony itself, we will be able to see how it points to the Messiah Yeshua Himself. In addition, we will be able to see how it relates to the believers in the Messiah.
The priest used a golden censer (Leviticus 16:1-2,12-14; Hebrews 9:4). The censer is mentioned in Leviticus 16:12; Numbers 16:18,46; First Kings 7:50-51; Second Chronicles 4:19,22; and Hebrews 9:1,4.
Spiritual Application (Halacha). The incense of the golden censer represents the prayers of Bible believers (Psalm 141:2; Luke 1:5-11; Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4).
Messianic Fulfillment. Aaron the high priest typifies the ministry of mediator and intercessor. Yeshua is our High Priest (Hebrews 3:1) and Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 12:24). He lives to make intercession for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:22-27).
He went within the veil once a year (Leviticus 16:2; Hebrews 9:3,7).
Spiritual Application (Halacha). By the death of Yeshua, we are free to enter into the veil every day (Matthew 27:50-51; 2 Corinthians 3:14; Hebrews 4:16; 6:13-19; 10:19-22).
He washed himself in water (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:4,24).
Spiritual Application (Halacha). For Aaron, this meant he must be absolutely clean in order to make atonement in behalf of the people of Israel. For the believer in Yeshua, it means we are to be washed by the water of the Word of G-d as we approach G-d as well for the removal of sin from our lives (John 3:1-5,15; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:26-27; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22). For Yeshua, it meant that He was absolutely clean and without sin when He made the atonement of sacrificing His body on the tree.
He put on holy linen garments (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:4,23).
Spiritual Application (Halacha). The priestly clothing is also mentioned in Exodus (Shemot) 28:1-4. In verse 3 they are for glory and beauty. The linen garments speak of the sinless humanity of Messiah and His righteousness. These linen garments were stained with blood while the priest offered the sacrifices. After the sacrifices were complete, the garments were taken off and new garments were put on again (Leviticus [Vayikra] 16:23-24). Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 1:18 speaks of the blood-stained garments and the new garments that were put on afterwards. The white linen garments are clothes of righteousness (Job [Iyov] 29:14; Psalm [Tehillim] 132:9; Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 61:10; Revelation 3:5; 15:6; 19:7-8, 11,13-15).
At the moment the atonement was made on the Day of Atonement, those being atoned for were sinless and blameless before G-d. The congregation of believers (kehilat) in the Messiah is being presented before G-d without spot or blemish (Ephesians 5:27) because of the blood of Yeshua (1 Peter [Kefa] 1:19).
The bodies of the animals were outside the camp (Leviticus 16:27).
Messianic Fulfillment. The bodies of the sin offering, both the bullock and the goat, were taken outside the camp where they were burned. Yeshua was crucified outside the camp or gates of Jerusalem (John 19:17-20; Hebrews 13:10-13).
Many sacrifices were offered (Leviticus 16:1-6,25-27).
Spiritual Application (Halacha). Our bodies are to be a living sacrifice to G-d (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter [Kefa] 2:5). We are to offer up a sacrifice of praise to G-d (Leviticus [Vayikra] 7:12; Psalm [Tehillim] 34:1; 50:14,23; 69:30-31; 107:22; 116:17; Hebrews 13:15-16).
Messianic Fulfillment. Yeshua is the sacrifice of G-d for us who believe on Him (Hebrews 9:26-28; 10:1-10).
The year of Jubilee was the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:9-11).
Spiritual Application (Halacha). This was a year and day of liberty. Yeshua came to preach this liberty at His first coming (Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 61:1-3; Luke 4:17-21). From Adam, it has been almost 6,000 years and 120 Jubilees. The number 120 points to the end of the age of the flesh and the reign of the life of the spirit (Genesis (Bereishit] 6:3). The ultimate fulfillment of the year of Jubilee will take place at the second coming of Messiah. The earth will be redeemed and come into full and complete rest from the curse brought upon it by Adam's sin. Complete restoration of man's lost inheritance will take place. G-d's people will be totally set free -- set at liberty, from all sin, sickness and disease, death, and the curse. Satan (Ha satan), the source of all these things, will be bound and true rest will be realized. The tabernacle of G-d will be with men and He will dwell with them (Revelation 21:1-4). So, the year of Jubilee and the day of Atonement speak of the fullness of the redemptive plan of G-d for man.
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Life for a Life
The biblical name for the day of Atonement is Yom HaKippurim, meaning "the day of covering, canceling, pardon, reconciling." Occasionally, it was called "the Day of the Fast" or "the Great Fast" (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:27-31; 16:29-34).
G-d told the Israelites to sacrifice an animal as a substitute for their own sentence to die. This life for a life principle is the foundation of the sacrificial system. The Torah allows a monetary ransom be paid for an individual deserving death (Exodus [Shemot] 21:28-32). The guilty person here was the owner of an ox that had killed a person, and the owner of the ox was responsible for the death caused by his ox (Exodus 21:30 says that money paid in place of the death of the owner was a ransom price).
Messianic Fulfillment. Yeshua died on the tree as a substitute for us, who deserved death because we sinned against G-d. Yeshua paid the ransom price for us to G-d (Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). The ransom price was 30 pieces of silver (Exodus [Shemot] 21:32; Matthew [Mattityahu] 26:14-16; 27:3-6).
Thirty pieces of silver was the ransom price of blood in dying in the place of the truly guilty and making atonement for the guilty. In the case of a thief or murderer, there is no atonement for them (Exodus 22:1-2; Numbers 35:31). This is why there is no atonement for satan (Ha satan) (John 8:44). Thirty pieces of silver was the ransom price of blood and the shedding of blood made an atonement for sin (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 5:8-11). The Greek word hilasmos, translated as "propitiation," has the same meaning as the Hebrew word kaphar, which is translated as "atonement" (Romans 3:23-25; 1 John 2:2; 4:9-10). The purpose of the Day of Atonement was to teach us about Yeshua, who is our atonement (Hebrews 10:1-10).
The Significance of Blood in the Bible
It is a token of the New Covenant (Brit Hadashah)
(Matthew [Mattityahu] 26:27-28; 1 Corinthians 11:25).
It gives eternal life (John [Yochanan] 6:53-54).
It brings redemption (Ephesians 1:7).
It makes atonement (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:9-10).
It justifies before G-d (Romans 5:9).
It gives us forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:14; 1 John 1:9).
It provides reconciliation (Colossians 1:19-20).
It provides cleansing (1 John 1:7).
It makes us overcomers (Revelation 12:11).
The Day of Atonement is the tenth day of Tishrei (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:27). It is significant that repentance (the season of Teshuvah) must precede redemption (Yom Kippur). G-d purposed that animal sacrifices were only appropriate when presented with a contrite and repentant heart (Psalm [Tehillim] 51:16-19). With this in mind, the Day of Atonement was to be kept as a perpetual statute throughout all generations (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:31).
G-d divinely placed Yom Kippur before the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), which is called "The Season of Our Joy." The children of Israel (and all believers in the Messiah Yeshua) could only rejoice once they were redeemed and their sins forgiven.
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Yeshua's Second Coming and Yom Kippur
If you examine the Scriptures concerning the second coming of Yeshua back to earth, when He will set His foot upon the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4), you will find that it uses Yom Kippur terminology. Here are a few examples.
The first example is in Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 52:13-15. First, let us examine Isaiah 52:13-14 so we can identify that this is referring to Yeshua the Messiah. Then, we will look at Isaiah 52:15.
In Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 52:13-14 it is written:
Behold, My servant shall deal prudently [the servant refers to the Messiah], He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. [The New Covenant (Brit Hadashah) references to this include Acts 2:32-35; 5:30-31; and Philippians 2:9-11.] As many were astonied at thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men (Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 52:13-14).
This description of Yeshua, the suffering Messiah, is drastically different than how Yeshua is portrayed in Hollywood.
This description depicts a lamb going to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 52:14 depicts a man so marred that He did not resemble a man. Furthermore, Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 50:6 says that His beard was ripped out. Psalm (Tehillim) 22:14,17 says His bones were out of joint and that He was naked before the peering eyes of men. They even bit him (Psalm 22:13).
The Romans used a whip with nine strands, and each strand had bone, glass, and sharp metal in it. The purpose of the whip was to strip away the flesh so the organs would hang out of the body. Psalm 22:16 says they also pierced His hands and feet. Psalm 22:18 says they gambled for His garments. Recognizing that Isaiah 52:13-14 is speaking about Yeshua during His first coming to earth, Isaiah 52:15 will speak about His second coming.
In Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 52:15 it is written:
"So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider."
The phrase, "So shall He sprinkle many nations" is a reference to the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat of G-d by the high priest during Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:14). This is also referred to in Leviticus 1:5,11; 3:2,8,13; 4:6,17; 7:2.
The garments of the high priest were covered with blood after he had performed this task (Leviticus 6:27). After this, G-d accepted the sacrifice, and as the high priest hung out his garments, a miracle took place. His garments turned from bloodstained red to white.
G-d was saying in this that He had forgiven their sins and this forgiveness was shown by the garment (symbolic of man's life), being sprinkled upon by blood (the blood of Yeshua), Yeshua forgiving man's sins, and thus his garment turning white. Isaiah the prophet wrote, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18 ).
Yeshua's garment went from being stained from His blood when He died upon the tree to being pure white today. White garments represent righteousness before G-d (Revelation 3:4-5; 7:9,13-14). Yeshua is described this way in Revelation 1:13-14. Yeshua is our High Priest (Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 4:14; 9:11). Yeshua sprinkled His blood for us (1 Peter [Kefa] 1:2).
Moses (Moshe) led the children of Israel out of Egypt by keeping the Passover and sprinkling the blood as found in the Torah and referenced in Hebrews 11:24-28. In fact, G-d promised to sprinkle Israel when they returned to the land of Israel from the Diaspora. This can be seen in Ezekiel 36:24-27.
In Isaiah 52:15, when it says that Yeshua would sprinkle the nations, it refers to what the high priest did on Yom Kippur on the mercy seat of G-d so G-d would forgive the sins of the people. Yeshua came as a prophet in His first coming; now He is the High Priest and is coming back as a King. Isaiah 63:1-3 describes the second coming of Yeshua, and verse 3 talks about His garments being sprinkled with blood. Once again this describes Yeshua, the High Priest coming back to earth on Yom Kippur.
In Joel (Yoel) 2:15-16 it is written:
Blow the trumpet in Zion [the trumpet (shofar) spoken of here refers to the trumpet ushering in the Messianic Kingdom, the last trump that is blown on Rosh HaShanah] sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly [this speaks of the fast associated with Yom Kippur]: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the b r e a s t s: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet (Joel [Yoel] 2:15-16).
Please refer back to the previous chapter on the wedding that takes place on Rosh HaShanah and the honeymoon. In this passage in Joel, we can see that the seven years of the tribulation, known as the birthpangs of the Messiah or Chevlai shel Mashiach, are over and the Messiah is coming back with His followers to go to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
In Joel 2:17 it is written:
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar [once again, this speaks of an event that took place annually, the priest ministering in the Holy of Holies], and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? (Joel [Yoel] 2:17)
What is being communicated here by the phrase "spare Thy people"? For the answer we must turn to Zechariah 12 and 14:1-9. In these passages, we can see Yeshua coming back after the birthpangs of the Messiah (tribulation), and Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) about to be under siege. Yeshua saves Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). His feet are placed on the Mount of Olives. There is a great earthquake, and the Messianic Kingdom comes in full power. There is no nighttime anymore, and the L-rd will rule the whole earth. At this time, the gates of Heaven are closed. The last Yom Kippur ceremony is called neilah, the closing of the gates, and is the concluding ceremony to Yom Kippur. However, this is not the rehearsal (miqra), but the real thing. At this point, it is too late to make a decision to accept Yeshua the Messiah into your life.
Yeshua spoke of this same event in Matthew (Mattityahu) 24:27-31. In Matthew 24:31, the trumpet that is being blown is called by Yeshua the great trumpet. This is the trumpet that is blown on Yom Kippur known as the Shofar HaGadol. This trumpet will usher the return of Yeshua to rule as Messiah ben David during the Messianic age.
The themes of the fall feasts are numerous and are especially meaningful to the believer in Yeshua. The festivals and the entire Tanach (Old Testament) are fulfilled and speak about the Messiah (Psalm [Tehillim] 40:7; Luke 24:44-47). Understanding the fall festivals will enrich our lives and walk (halacha) as believers in the Messiah. The final fall festival, Sukkot, is no different. The festivals of the L-rd are fulfilled in Yeshua the Messiah while at the same time revealing tremendous insight on how to live for Yeshua on a daily basis. Baruch Ha Shem! Blessed be His Name! -
Who is jewish in here?
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These feasts are beyond being Jewish, they are about celebrating the feasts and times of Yahweh our G-d.Originally posted by Tohfu:Who is jewish in here? -
Shalom! These feasts are indeed biblical and their significance is great. Yom Kippur is the most solemn of all the feasts. It reminds us that there will come a time when there will no longer be grace for repentance and it will actually be too late to repent and turn to God. Very sobering, teaches us not to take life and earth as we know it for granted, all will end one day...Originally posted by breytonhartge:These feasts are beyond being Jewish, they are about celebrating the feasts and times of Yahweh our G-d. -
Yom Kippur Activities...
Yom Kippur, unlike most Jewish holidays, has few home rituals. It is made for communal worship. There are no festive meals, except the breaking of the fast. There are no silly costumes or upbeat songs. It does, however, provide children an opportunity to see their parents engaged in serious prayer and reflection, which sets an important example.
The Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is a time that lends itself to serious family discussion. During that time, we face each other and ask for – and grant –forgiveness. This period of time culminates on Yom Kippur with a heightened sense of truly pleading for life. We experience the power of the questions we have been asking for the past ten days: What is the nature of our family relationships? What would we like to change in the way we relate to one another? How can I grow as a person? How can I better live in relationship to God? How can I do my part to bring healing to a broken world? How can I be a better parent and partner?
These questions are important because Judaism teaches that we cannot attain Divine forgiveness until we have seriously sought forgiveness from the wronged party in the community, at work, at home.
There are two ways Jews seek forgiveness: the traditional way and what might be called the "wimpy" way. We can approach the wronged party and say, "I'm sorry for the time I broke your computer and didn't tell you it was me." Or take the easier route and say: "Please forgive me for anything that I may have done intentionally or accidentally, that you may or may not know about." It is the custom in our extended family to take the wimpy path – which, frankly, is hard enough. We reserve the more terrifying route for our immediate family.
Either way, Jewish wisdom holds that because we know we will eventually have to come face to face with those we have wronged, we should look them in the eye and ask for forgiveness. The hope and intention is that in the future we may alter our behavior.
Once, in a pre-Yom Kippur rush, I tried to ask forgiveness from a colleague by e-mail for a specific action, and did not hear back. Did this count as a serious attempt? It lacked the human touch, which is a cornerstone of Jewish living.
In addition to prayer and fasting (don't let the little ones fast too long), there are three activities you may want to try at home.
1. Writer a letter to yourself. On the day before Yom Kippur, gather the family in the living room, hand out paper and pencils, and have them write a letter to themselves. Choose a topic that is appropriate for the holiday, such as "What I would like to do to be a better, more sensitive person in the coming year." Have each person write a letter, seal it in a self-addressed envelope, and put a stamp on it with a bit of extra postage (rates are likely to go up next year). Someone should mail the letters just prior to the next Yom Kippur. You and your family members will enjoy receiving these annual letters, which can be used as a measuring stick for the past year. Keep them in a scrapbook, which as your kids grow up, can become a precious record. And it will make a touching wedding gift for them years later.
2. Break the fast. While there are few special foods for Yom Kippur, a meal is certainly a necessity at the beginning and end of the holiday. People often gather in the synagogue or at the home of friends for breaking the fast. Invite to your home a stranger from services, for it might be the only time they have walked into a synagogue. It is traditional to eat challah and cake--which are baked prior to the holiday – but you need not limit yourselves to these. Avoid meat dishes, since they are difficult to digest after fasting.
3. Using Yizkor. Normally during this memorial service to parents who have passed away, the younger generation shuffles outside. If you are going to attend the Yizkor service, take some time prior to Yom Kippur to tell stories and show pictures of your folks to your children. This is a good time to think about what were some of the most important values they taught you that you would like to pass along to your children. Teach these lessons through your stories. Perhaps your children will opt to stand with you during Yizkor this year.
And remember, this is a day for the soul and the spirit. This is the day when you deprive your body in order to experience your physical vulnerability, and, you hope, to rise to a higher spiritual and ethical level. Have a meaningful fast. -
Yom Kippur History...
...In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work ... For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the L-RD. -Leviticus 16:29-30
Yom Kippur is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri. The holiday is instituted at Leviticus 23:26 et seq.
The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. In Days of Awe, I mentioned the "books" in which G-d inscribes all of our names. On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.
As I noted in Days of Awe, Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and G-d, not for sins against another person. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible. That must all be done before Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is a complete Sabbath; no work can be performed on that day. It is well-known that you are supposed to refrain from eating and drinking (even water) on Yom Kippur. It is a complete, 25-hour fast beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. The Talmud also specifies additional restrictions that are less well-known: washing and bathing, anointing one's body (with cosmetics, deodorants, etc.), wearing leather shoes (Orthodox Jews routinely wear canvas sneakers under their dress clothes on Yom Kippur), and engaging in sexual relations are all prohibited on Yom Kippur.
As always, any of these restrictions can be lifted where a threat to life or health is involved. In fact, children under the age of nine and women in childbirth (from the time labor begins until three days after birth) are not permitted to fast, even if they want to. Older children and women from the third to the seventh day after childbirth are permitted to fast, but are permitted to break the fast if they feel the need to do so. People with other illnesses should consult a physician and a rabbi for advice.
Most of the holiday is spent in the synagogue, in prayer. In Orthodox synagogues, services begin early in the morning (8 or 9 AM) and continue until about 3 PM. People then usually go home for an afternoon nap and return around 5 or 6 PM for the afternoon and evening services, which continue until nightfall. The services end at nightfall, with the blowing of the tekiah gedolah, a long blast on the shofar. See Rosh Hashanah for more about the shofar and its characteristic blasts.
It is customary to wear white on the holiday, which symbolizes purity and calls to mind the promise that our sins shall be made as white as snow (Is. 1:18 ). Some people wear a kittel, the white robe in which the dead are buried. -
Kol Nidre
If you vowed to do something this year and now realize that you cannot live up to your word; this is Kol Nidre.
There are probably more Jews in synagogue for Kol Nidre than at any other time during the year. The question is, why? What is it about Kol Nidre that keeps the crowds coming back?
Could it possibly be that consciously or unconsciously every Jew senses that Kol Nidre touches the most sensitive nerve of their humanity? That without Kol Nidre you can't have a Yom Kippur? That without Kol Nidre you can't have a life.
In Kol Nidre we make this statement: I realize that if I have made any verbal commitments, if I gave my word on anything, then without recourse to some higher authority there is no backing out. My word is my word—period. My word locks into place a reality that I can no longer undo. That reality, that word, binds me. Imagine a world where contracts didn't have to be signed. Where a person's word was "as good as gold" and a handshake was a done deal. Imagine if people actually lived with that kind of trust in one another. Imagine the integrity.
Beyond the elimination of mountains of paperwork and half the legal profession, it would be a different world. There is no other way to describe it. An entirely different world.
Kol Nidre is a time when we take a searing look inside. We ask ourselves, who can count on my word? Can my children, or my spouse, my friends, my boss? Can God? Can I! Can I count on my own word; Do I trust myself?
Without credibility we have nothing. With it we have everything. Thus, Kol Nid -
Teshuva - Four Steps to Greatness
Regret (charata)
Regret, as opposed to guilt, is that state of vexation in which one feels a sense of loss. If you misplace your wallet with a thousand dollars in it, you feel regret, not guilt. You have lost something of value.
In our striving for growth we must first see that our mistakes in life have resulted in the loss of something we deem to be dear and important. Abandonment (aziva)
As General Schwarzkopf once put it, "Gentleman, all I can say is we identified the target in question and it no longer exists." Rationalization is the enemy and aziva is an internal mission of search and destroy.
I lost my wallet, or worse yet, I lost a friend; now how do I avoid repeating the same mistake? Once you feel the loss it's then time to set out on a personal mission of search and destroy. You must identify the rationalization, see what it was that enticed you into that cerebral snare and understand the basic untruth that is the nucleus of rationalization.
Now you must issue a cease and desist order. Stop the rationalization and put a halt to the action it sanctioned. Confession (vidduy)
In other words,"Now go and say you're sorry." There is perhaps no greater torture in a child's mind than being told he has to apologize. Stick bamboo shoots under my nails, tie me to the rack—anything—but don't make me say I'm sorry!
Because when you verbalize your regret it makes everything all too real, like being on a darkened stage with the spotlight on you. There is no escape. The truth about your actions and their hurtful consequences are laid bare for all to see when you utter those simple words: "I'm sorry. I feel awful about what I did, it won't happen again. I promise." Resolve (kabalah) Say what you mean, "I'm sorry," and mean what you say, "It won't happen again." With this final act of commitment never to repeat the same mistake, you have come full circle. You have returned.
If a friend comes to you and you see that she sincerely regrets what she did, understands her mistake, wishes it had never happened and with a heavy heart apologizes and pledges never to repeat it, would you not be immediately forgiving?
What if that friend was your daughter, or what if that daughter was you?
Keeping Your Eye on the Ball
Teshuva is challenging. As a matter of fact, it can be a very uncomfortable challenge. It can be hard, and humbling, to admit our mistakes. Then to actually make changes certainly takes a lot of work and effort. What we need to remember is that growth and change are also a pleasure.
There seems to be a part of us that is all too ready to avoid work, effort and discomfort. The key to teshuva, to lasting growth, is to eliminate the confusion of comfort with pleasure. Comfort is nothing more than the absence of pain; while pain and effort and discomfort are usually prerequisites for lasting pleasure.
Think about it: Haven't your most meaningful, lasting accomplishments and deepest experiences of pleasure come at the price of great and often uncomfortable efforts? It's one of those regrettable facts of life. Picture two men at the top of a mountain: one who climbed and one who was dropped there by a helicopter. The guy who climbed will derive far more pleasure from his experience of the summit because he climbed to the top instead of taking the comfortable route.
So what can we do to overcome our tendency to flee from the necessary discomfort that is a part of teshuva and growth? We can stay focused and keep our eye on the ball—the ball of pleasure. The pleasure of growth, of moving ahead and of accessing more and more of our potential.
It actually hurts more when I'm at home than when I'm playing. It's like when I'm focused on the game, the pain goes away.
Brady Anderson, Baltimore Orioles. -
Trees, Yom Kippur and Vidduy
The year was 1882 and Oscar Wilde was coming to the United States. The customs official routinely inquired if he had anything to declare. His reply: "Only my genius." Years later as he sat in prison and reflected on a squandered life, Mr. Wilde mused, "I have been a spendthrift of my geniusÂ…I forgot that every little action of the common day makes or unmakes character."
One of the most striking differences between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur revolves around attention to detail. On Rosh Hashanah we grapple with life's ultimate issues: Who am I? Where do I want my life to go and what is the legacy I hope to leave? Yom Kippur, on the other hand, is a day on which attention to detail reigns supreme. Throughout the sections of the service that deal with vidduy—confession—(i.e., Ashamnu and Al-chet) you will find a list of sixty-seven items for which to ask forgiveness. According to the classic commentators, these sixty-seven items are in fact subject headings for even broader categories that together number many hundreds of actions for which we can ask forgiveness. It's a busy day, to say the least.
The following are two examples from the vidduy:
Ashamnu / We Have Become Culpable: We have acted in ways that deaden our sense of spirituality, we were driven for profit and thus transgressed God's will, we hurt others out of self-centeredness, for our own pleasure we did what we knew was wrong, etc.
Al-Chet She-Chatanu Lefanecha B'emutz HaLev/ Hardheartedness: Refusal to admit that we can be wrong, general stubbornness, denying our shortcomings, lack of compassion for the sick and poor, unwillingness to accept advice, being tough on ourselves or others when compassion was appropriate, etc. To say that Yom Kippur is a day for introspection and reflection is true, but it is also an oversimplification. I would like to suggest that you try a little exercise now: Ask yourself, "How many choices have I been confronted with today?" Mind you, these must be moral choices, choices of import. Not significant life-altering choices, but those small choices that we often pass by, or through, with barely a notice. Here are some examples:
Did you encounter anyone today—a spouse, a child or an acquaintance—whose mood could have been lifted simply by a warm smile or a moment of genuinely expressed concern?
If yes, then ask yourself: (a) what choice did I make at that moment, and (b) how would things have been different, for better or worse, had I chosen otherwise?
How about your attitude in synagogue today? You can use this Yom Kippur as an opportunity for increased self-awareness and personal growth, or you can sit through another year silently bearing the burden of a rather cumbersome experience. Have you considered that choice yet?
Did you have a chance to help someone today? Someone who could have managed without your help but who would have been grateful nonetheless? Think about how long you had to make that choice. Was it more than a fleeting moment that no one but you will ever know existed? In retrospect, how do you feel about the choice you made? Do you believe it had a lasting effect on you?
As I know you have realized, these examples are but a drop in the ocean. Everyday we are confronted with tens if not hundreds of little choices. Little, but not so little. Choices that can have either a positive or negative impact on ourselves or someone else.
There are times when we read or hear a concept, and though its meaning may be unclear, we have a sense that its profundity demands a closer look. Such a statement is the Torah's assertion that man was created "in the image of God." Its meaning is this: People, like God, have the capacity to choose. But more, that capacity defines our very essence. We are beings who choose.
This being so, it is no wonder that our days and our lives are little more than a continuous string of choices. Most of them small, some not. After all, how often do we choose a career, a spouse or whether or not to have children? These types of choices are few and far between, but there is a vast in-between, a life brimming with choices.
And thus we have Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The forest and the trees. On Rosh Hashanah we confront the major issues, the general ebb and flow of our lives. On Yom Kippur we dwell on the minutiae. Some would say that Yom Kippur is but a microcosm of Jewish life. A guilt-ridden obsession with trivialities. In fact, Yom Kippur is an affirmation of the value of life, of each day and of every aspect of each day. That which we truly cherish is that which we carefully scrutinize. The more significant the whole, the more precious are its details.
Parents are concerned about every aspect of their children's behavior. They know that how a child eats his cereal plus how he cares for his belongings, added to the way he relates to siblings and classmates, eventually adds up to the totality of that child's character. If growth and human development are not to culminate in just learning to "eat nicely," then true maturity will lie in taking the reins of the ongoing choices that shape our character.
The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane. The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds and thousands of half-conscious, self-defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private.
Senator Dan Coats
The sages in the Talmud put it this way: "A person is not given the opportunity for greatness until he is tested in the small things." Moses, the greatest leader in Jewish history, started his career as the shepherd of someone else's sheep. The same is true for King David: first a shepherd, then a king. A future Moses or a King David is entrusted with the destiny of the Jewish people only if first he is able to tend a flock with integrity and compassion and take care that the sheep don't wander off and eat a bit of grass from someone else's field.
Take care. Take care of the small, almost invisible choices. Those precious, precious details of character and life.
In the final analysis there will always exist a symbiotic tension between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah beckons us to take a panoramic view of our lives, all the while paying scant attention to the nuance that lies therein. Yom Kippur is just the opposite—entirely nuance: the tree, the leaves, and the nourishing roots, with barely a thought to the great forest in which we stand.
Only the magnificence of the space shuttle and the unencumbered dreams out of which it grew could make man an ever-frequent visitor to space. Yet all it takes is one overlooked O-ring—a detail—to bring our dreams crashing down to earth. Or, as someone once observed, "great symphonies begin with just one note." -
A Thought about Relationships
Thanks to Hollywood's incessant teasing of our own romantic fantasies, we often develop a mental and emotional image of who will be the right one for me. As a result we find ourselves relating to what we hoped or imagined someone to be, as opposed to who they actually are. In such an instance we are hardly relating at all. Rather we are simply serving our own needs and desires by playing out some predetermined role, thereby ensuring a hollow, lifeless relationship.
Spirituality as a Relationship
The Yom Kippur Torah reading begins by recounting the deaths of two sons of Aharon: Nadav and Avihu. Elsewhere the Torah relates that these men died because in their unbridled desire to draw closer to God they employed an unprescribed procedure in the Temple service.
So what! So they didn't do things exactly as they were told, so they innovated a little bit; is that so terrible? Isn't it true that the only reason they deviated was because they thought this would enhance their spiritual lives and deepen their relationship with God?
Tell me if these words sound familiar:
"Frankly I consider myself to be a spiritual person... I really don't need to observe all these commandments and rituals to be a good Jew or to feel close to God. I relate to God in a way that I feel comfortable with, and I'm sure that's okay with Him."
Remember, if you relate to someone in terms of who you want them to be instead of who they are or by means that feel "right" to you but are inappropriate for them, then in truth you have no relationship at all (regardless of how good it may feel). In the dimension of spirituality, of relating to God, the same holds true.
More to Sacrifices Than Meets the Eye
During the era when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the central focus of Jewish life was an elaborate system of communal and personal sacrifices and offerings. How is this possible? Aren't priestly orders and sacrificial rites the domain of primitive peoples bearing an elementary view of the world and how to relate to it?
Surely the Jewish people, a people endowed with insights a millennia ahead of their time, a people who repeatedly espoused ideas and values that were at odds with the prevailing mood, should have easily seen beyond these crude, barbaric practices. And what's more, how do we deal with rational, sophisticated modern Jews who to this day mourn the loss of the Temple and its sacrificial service?
Are sacrifices a disturbing historical anomaly better glossed over than scrutinized—a sort of intellectual scandal in an otherwise brilliant career—or is there some way that we can begin to make sense of that which indeed occupies perhaps a fifth of all the teachings in the Torah?
To Draw Close
In Hebrew the term for sacrifice—korban—literally means to draw close. The Jewish people always understood that God lacks nothing and therefore has no needs. Sacrifices are not for God, nor are they meant to appease Him or cajole Him to act in one way or another. The primary function of the sacrifice is to affect us in such a way as to enable us to enhance our relationship with God.
We have already pointed out that for genuine closeness to develop in a relationship you must understand and be sensitive to the one you are relating to. The flip side is that you must also possess a sufficient measure of self-awareness so that in fact it is you—and not some socially imposed portrait of yourself—who is involved in the relationship. And true, while we can never fully know ourselves, still, the greater our level of self-knowledge the deeper and richer will be our contribution to the relationship. The sacrifice then, in fact the entire Temple service, was a stage teeming with images that served to edify our knowledge of ourselves and how to draw closer to God.
Here are two examples from the Yom Kippur Torah reading regarding various aspects of the Temple service and how they served as educational tools to elevate our character and refine our spirits so that we could draw ever closer to the transcendental source of all existence.
1) Verses 16:7–10. "Then he shall take the two he-goats…"
Listen carefully to the detail of observance at work in this "sacrifice."
Two identical goats—identical in size, appearance and value. Both are standing in a similar manner at the threshold of the sanctuary. Both have a perfectly balanced opportunity to be used purposefully in the Temple or to be cast away and destroyed.
Is there a more poignant message for Yom Kippur? We have free will, freedom to choose our path, our actions and our destiny. We are stubborn goats, yes, but stubborn goats with a choice. Do we use our iron will to maintain our integrity and commitment to morality and God, or do we use that same will to shield ourselves from infusing our lives with a Godly dimension?
We are besieged by a host of forces, psychological and others, that lay claim to our free-willed ability to make life's most monumental choices. On Yom Kippur the eyes of the Jew are riveted on an image that proclaims our freedom. In life we must know that the power and responsibility to choose lies firmly in our hands.
2) Verse 16:14. "Then he will take from blood of the bullock... and in front of the covering he shall sprinkle seven times from the blood of his finger."
The ceremony of sprinkling the blood seven times in a downward motion also included an eighth sprinkling in an upward fashion. The world was created in seven days and thus the number seven represents the physical world and life as it is lived on a daily basis. The number eight goes one step beyond and represents that which is transcendent. This is why the bris mila, the covenant between man (this world) and God (transcendence), takes place on the eighth day.
I know of someone who went to India to study in an ashram for a number of years. On a return visit to Chicago he was riding a train when he became aware of something that shook him to his very core. He realized that he looked down on the people around him—ants, he thought to himself, mere unenlightened ants. He realized, "after all the lofty experiences, and after all I've learned and imbibed, if this is how I look at human beings then what have I really gained?"
The kohen—the priest—would first execute one sprinkle upward followed by seven downward. Our first inclinations must be directed toward that which transcends the superficial mundanity of this world. But beware. If our spiritual lives and experiences are not translated into how we live on a daily basis—in the here and now—then it is spirituality corrupted. Yes, Yom Kippur is a day imbued with lofty potential, but it is a potential that must express itself in the weeks and months that ensue. -
Yom Kippur: A Lesson for Life
By: Rabbi Yehudah Prero
In Vayikra 16:1-34, the Torah describes the service that the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) was to perform on Yom Kippur in the Holy Temple. As Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year, and the day is one set aside for atonement, the service of the Cohen Gadol differed on this day from every other day during the year. One of the distinguishing parts of the service was the taking of the two goats. The verses tell us (16:7-10) "And he (Aharon, the Cohen Gadol) shall take the two goats...and shall cast upon the two goats lots: one for Hashem, and the other lot for Azazel. And Aharon shall present the goat upon which the lot for Hashem fell, and make it into a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be set alive before Hashem, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness." On this latter goat, the verses tell us later, "Aharon shall lay both of his hands upon the head of the goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, and all their sins, and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send (the goat) away...into the wilderness."
Many commentators have explained how exactly this service was done and the significance of this service. Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch wrote that from this service, we can learn a lesson.
(Before we get to Rav Hirsch's lesson, however, it is important to understand two aspects of the service. One is that these two goats had to be almost identical. They had to be worth the same amount of money, they had to be the same height, and they had to have identical appearances. The goats had to be equal. The second is what was done with the second goat - the goat for Azazel. The verse merely says that the goat was sent into the wilderness. The wilderness that is being referred to is rocky and hilly terrain. When the goat reached a certain point, it was "pushed" off a cliff, and it tumbled down the rocky and sharp surface to its death. Now that we know this about the service, we can return to Rav Hirsch's lesson.)
Lets imagine the scene on Yom Kippur in the Temple. Two identical goats are brought into the Temple grounds. The Cohen Gadol draws lots that will determine the fate of the goats. On one lot, the word "To Hashem" is written; the other lot says "To Azazel." Once these lots are drawn, the similarities between the goats end, as their fates are drastically different. The goat which ends up being the one "for Hashem" is taken, and slaughtered with the utmost holiness and purity. It is the blood of this goat that ends up being sprinkled in the Kodesh HaKodashim - the Holy of Holies - the holiest location in the entire world.
The second goat, however, is not brought as a sacrifice. It remains alive. Let us imagine further what this goat might be thinking when it sees it has not been killed. It is very possible that this goat would be overjoyed by the fact that it remained alive while his identical friend now is but a pile of ashes. The more this goat thinks about how his fate differed from his friend, the more possible it is that he might become haughty. "Look," the goat would say, "See how different I am from my friend! Granted, he was used in service of Hashem, for a holy purpose. However, he had to die! And me, they decided to keep alive! They valued my life!" When the goat would then be led out of the Temple grounds, towards the majestic hills outside of the city of Jerusalem, the goat's happiness and excitement might build: "I was worthy of being allowed to leave the Temple, to roam as a free "man" in a free world!"
The goat would then be taken to the cliffs. All this time, his haughtiness would be growing. He would be thinking how lucky he was compared to his friend who ended up as a sacrifice. The goat would stretch out its neck, raise his head in pride and say "See how great I am, standing here, overlooking the majesties of the world, free as a bird." He would view his friend who was killed for sacrificial purposes with disdain. We, as observers of the whole scene, know exactly what the fate is of this goat who thinks he is the luckiest goat in the world. If this goat had any idea of why he was being taken to this rocky cliff, he would not be thinking anything close to these thoughts. If he knew that he would end up tumbling down a mountainside being ripped apart by the sharp stones, these thoughts would never enter his mind. In a few short moments, after a gentle shove, it will be clear to everyone which goat was the lucky one.
Every person has two possible options as to how they should live their lives. One path that can be taken is the path of Torah - following the Torah and listening to Hashem. This path draws its followers closer to Hashem. The second path is the path of a "free" life, full of earthly indulgences and a love of this world - a life very far from one consisting of Torah learning and observance. The first path, although seemingly devoid of all the pleasure that the second path has to offer, is the one that will take us to where we all really want to end up - to dwell in the holiness of Hashem.
Furthermore, the first path actually is not devoid of pleasure and reward in this world. Although the lifestyle that the first path demands is one that may seem difficult, dry, and unrewarding, Hashem ultimately rewards all who follow it. On the other hand, those who desire the free life - free of the "restrictions" imposed by Hashem and the Torah - end up with not nearly what they expected - and end like the goat for Azazel.
The service involving these two goats on Yom Kippur should remind all of us about the eternal struggle that occurs within each and every one of us. Our evil inclination leads us to believe that the second path is the way to go - the path of the goat for Azazel. Our good inclination works diligently to try and pull us onto the first path - the one taken by the goat for Hashem. On this day of Yom Kippur, we have a clear and vivid demonstration of what will happen to us on each possible path that we could take. Hopefully, this demonstration will cause us to realize how we have been mistaken for following the goat for Azazel, and that from now on the goat for Hashem will be our guide.