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Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement
A day of fasting by law?
3rd of Elul 5781 | August 11th, 2021
This year, according to the Gregorian calendar (which is used all over the world), Day of Atonement will be held on Thursday, September 16th. According Biblical/Hebrew calendar, that day will be the 10th day of the Seventh Month (Jewish: The 10th day of the month Tishrei 5782). But, what about this day? What did our God commanded us about this day and … not to take lightly … does it still apply today?
We can read more about this 7th Month in Leviticus 23.
King James Version [KJV] reads that we shall have on this day a holy convocation and that we shall afflict our souls and that we are not allowed to do any work during that day.
The reason for this, is read in Leviticus 23:28: for it is a day of atonement. On this day, before יהוה, the high priest made atonement for us.
Let’s read Leviticus 23:27-32, before we dig deeper into this matter.
From: Chabad.org
27. But on the tenth of this seventh month, it is a day of atonement, it shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall afflict yourselves, and you shall offer up a fire offering to the Lord [יהוה].
28. You shall not perform any work on that very day, for it is a day of atonement, for you to gain atonement before the Lord [יהוה], your God.
29. For any person who will not be afflicted on that very day, shall be cut off from its people.
30. And any person who performs any work on that very day I will destroy that person from amidst its people.
31. You shall not perform any work. [This is] an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
32. It is a complete day of rest for you, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth of the month in the evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe your rest day.
Questions
- Repeatedly it reads that it is an eternal statute (Leviticus 16:29; 23:31). Does this mean that it is still applicable today? That we still should keep this day?
- Does afflict yourselves mean that we are not allowed to eat and drink – not even rinse our mouths – from sundown till after sundown?
- Was – and still is – this day only for the Israelites (and now the Jews)?
- Why didn’t Yeshua (Jesus) die on this day for our sins?
Let's find some answers to these questions.
Inhoud
Is the Day of Atonement still applicable today?
To find an answer to this question, we first need to clarify some items.
Holy occasion/convocation
This is a translation from the Hebrew Mikra Kodesh.
“Mikra” מקרא means: to name something; to shout something out. But it means also: a rehearsal; a repeat. Mikra comes from the root-word “Kara”, which means: to appoint/name; to call (out); to proclaim; to cry out for (help for example); to read; to read out loud; to sum up; to invite; to give a name.
During those days – and during the days our Messiah was on earth – they did not have a copy of the TaNaKH/Bible at home. In the days of Leviticus, men lived in booths/tents and the Torah [Instruction/Teaching] was given by God through Moses. In those days the priests also needed to be instructed by Moses. Moses instructed them en they carried it out. If someone wanted to know something, they went to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. We do read – however – that God commanded Moses that a king needed to write two copies of the Torah for himself, so that he would not raise his heart above his brothers and would not go astray from God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).
Please read Leviticus 16 completely.
After reading Leviticus 16, we noticed that this regulation was given after two sons (who were priests) of Aaron were killed by fire (Leviticus 10:1-2). They brought in alien fire before יהוה and that caused this counter effect.
Actually, we still do this these days. Whatever we think for ourselves; exert and sacrifice to The Lord, we hold that for much important than to take it to us and then to carry it out the way HE thinks it is important. We need to realize that God did not regulate in order to improve Himself – because that is not possible – but so we can be improved. He wants to be with us; He wants us to be with Him, and to be able to achieve this goal He gave us His instructions. We can never bear Him 100%, His completeness. But His Word we can through which His divine presence is with and in us [Shechinah: Which means much as home; residence of the divine present of יהוה]. And this presence was visible in the Holy of Holies, above the ark cover of the Ark of the Covenant.
Several translations have translated Mikra into “assembly” or “convocations”. Not that odd, when we consider that in those days one came together – assembled – to read from the Torah and named/called (out for) whatever was read. However, different that these days, it wasn’t just one person who had the authority to read from the Torah and to tell something about what was read (named the subject). Everyone who had the Ruach [Spirit; Wind (Breath) of יהוה] read from the Torah and named the subject. I think we may it consider logical that no lad/fledgling, or someone who was just converted and knew not much or nothing at all, was called to read from the Torah and named the subject. Specially not when elders (not by age, but by knowledge of the Torah) were present.
These days, everyone has a Bible/TaNaKH and if not, the internet provides lots of free online Bible versions in several languages, including Hebrew with English translations. And, equally, there are a diversity of studies and explanations about a Biblical subject on the internet that can be used for group studies and/or for discussions, for example on social media. The danger is, or could be (for me for example) that one does not come together anymore but only on social media for support or for just say hi, etc. A home gathering can be perfect for these moments, like they used to do in Yeshua’s days – and later in Paul’s days. And every Shabbat they went to the shuls/synagogues to read from the Torah and on Gods set-apart times [moadim] they gathered (assembled) by the Temple, which was still a Tent in Moses’ days. Today there isn’t a Temple, nor a Tent, in Jerusalem (although we are parts of a spiritual Temple), but the city Jerusalem is present!
“Kodesh” means holy; set-apart; separated from.
Let’s answer our question: “Is the Day of Atonement still applicable today?”The answer is: “Yes”.
We still are occupied with our own meanings; occupations; whishes; desires, etc. and apply this to – or – connect this with a Bible text and passages in order to create a certainty to go on with it. I believe that 9 of those 10 times we are not aware we do this.
Peter said once during a gathering [meeting] it was for them and their ancestors difficult too to obey completely to Gods Instructions, and so even more for converters/lads. Just like then, we still need a day to name our deeds; actions, etc. and to pleat before – to cry/call out to – יהוה our God. We do this B’Shem [In the Name/Authority of] Yeshua, of Whom we believe He is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. With His blood Yeshua does atonement for us by The Father.
I do not believe Yeshua does this only one times a year, but for us this is the day to remind ourselves and to give it a thought and a place in our lives for at least a whole day. To use this day to name our shortcomings, instead of those other moments when it might raise up for a few minutes or seconds, and when it does, always at a time it cannot have our attention because we are too busy doing other important things.
Does it mean not to eat or drink anything from evening to evening, not even to rinse our mouths?
It isn’t mentioned in the first 5 books of Moses, named Torah, nor in the other scriptures of the TaNaKH (Bible). What is mentioned, is that a person will be cut off from his people if he does not afflict himself.
“To afflict” means:
- To distress with mental or bodily pain; trouble greatly of grievously:
“To be afflicted with arthritis”. - Obsolete;
- To overthrow; defeat.
- To humble.
To put it in other words: It isn’t a day in which we put ourselves on top of everything and everybody (I need to go to … / I want … / I think it is important that … / I really want you to do for me (for a change) …), but to put יהוה our God on top of us … and to keep Him there!
- Did I kept His commandments / Instructions?
- How often did I hold myself for more important than my Lord and/or my loved ones?
- Are there fights/fierce disagreements that need to be (and can be) worked out?
These are some of the questions we can ask ourselves during that day.
And when you believe it is important for you to remember this wile fasting, to make a statement for yourself, I believe it is between you and our God. We can’t be the ones telling you if you should or should not fasten. It is, however, not a regulation by our God that we will be cut off from our people if we do not fasten during that day.
Was (and is) this day not just for the Israelites, and now the Jews?
In order to answer this question, we need to find out what an Israelite is and what a Jew is.
An Israelite is a son, daughter and/or a descendant of Israel.
Israel is the name God gave to Jacob, son of Isaac, after Jacob wrestled with an angel of God. Jacob fought with this messenger in order to gain a blessing and he received this name, which means: To have wrestled with God and people and have overcome (having survived).
Jacob had 12 sons and 1 daughter:
Sons: Ruben, Simon, Levi, Juda, Dan, Naftali; Gad; Aser; Issachar; Zebulon; Joseph; Benjamin.
Daughter: Dina.
In those days, men lived with/in the house (tent) of the father. The bechor [the son with the first birthright blessings] took the place of the father when he was too old to take care of his household or wasn’t alive anymore. The rites and customs – culture – was given from parent to children. The servants also belonged to the household.
Joseph, the 11th son of Jacob and the 1st son of his wife Rachel, was one day sold to the Egyptians and stayed there the rest of his live in Egypt. By our God יהוה Joseph became viceroy of Egypt. Joseph had two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim.
When Jacob found out that his son was still alive and lived in Egypt – and Jacob moved to Egypt to live near his son – Jacob took his two grandchildren and adopted them.
According to most of our culture and traditions we find it odd that a grandfather adopts his own grandchildren. The tradition and culture of those days are different than ours today. His grandchildren – biological grandchildren of Jacob indeed – did not grew up in his house, but in the house of Egypt (in Hebrew: Mitsrayim). Being his grandchildren, they weren’t Israelites but Egyptians. After their grandfather adopted them, they became Israelites. I do not think it was because of their mother being an Egyptian that Manasseh and Ephraim were automatically Egyptians too.
We may think that an Israelite is someone who lives in the state Israel (and in past times lived in the kingdom Israel), but that is not correct! I used to believe that, but the truth is that a person who lives in the state Israel – and used to live in the kingdom Israel – is an Israeli. Therefore, the following statement can be correct:
“An Israeli [by nationality] can be an Israelite, but an Israelite does not have to be an Israeli.” I, for example, am an Israelite, but I do not live in Israel. If that were so, I would be an Israelite and an Israeli.
In the Bible Israel [plural] is also mentioned as sheep and tree (tree of life and/or Olive tree). In the scriptures of those, sent by Yeshua (Jesus) – incorrectly named New Testament and New Covenant by my opinion – it also mentions several times about sheep (tend my sheep) and about being grafted in the tree.
Until the 4th century CE new converts were counted to the house of Juda (where the name Jew comes from). Including those who took Yeshua as their Messiah. That is, they became Israelites. They weren’t considered strangers who happened to live in their land or lived in other countries. They became new converts; adopted. It was by Constantine – he who was (and still is) named ‘the great’ – who put an end to it. This is why in that century and in centuries to come people ‘complained’ about ‘the Jewishness’ of those who took Jesus as their Messiah. Jesus [Yeshua], who was named Isous by Constantine and his fellow countrymen, was a Jew Himself, who kept the Torah [Instruction] of His Father יהוה, given through Moses. He obeyed it to the letter and thought others to do the same.
And this answers our question. Taking Yeshua as the (and your) Messiah; saying your old life goodbye (baptism) and in/by Him raising up to new life = being grafted into the Stem (Tree trunk), which means you are an Israelite too … you’re being adopted!
Why didn’t Yeshua (Jesus) die on this day for our sins?
Yeshua said that he came only for the lost sheep of Israel [Matthew 15:24; 10:6]. Who are they?
In the TaNaKH, in Deuteronomy [Hebrew: Devarim, meaning “words”], we can read that Moses said to the Israelites that they will put aside God’s Torah. And not just that, they will also go after false gods. To put it in other words: They left the house of God and moved in the houses of other gods. By the prophets [Nefi’im] and the Scriptures [Ketufim] it is clear how the Israelites came in touch with these false gods.
Because of this, the kingdom eventually was split into two kingdoms, of which the greater one was named “Kingdom (of) Israel”. The Bible indicates this kingdom also as Ephraim. The smallest kingdom was named “Kingdom (of) Yehudah [Juda/Judea]”.
The greater kingdom was sent away (diaspora) first, which was foretold by the prophet Isaiah. He also mentioned the 70 years of diaspora of the kingdom Judea (the Jews).
We can read in the TaNaKH that one would be sent away and that sword and battle bow would not spare them. And the other would not only be sent away but received a letter of divorce from our God and would be named “Lo-Ammi [not My People]”. And those people, who were the greater kingdom, are “the lost tribe of Israel”! Some of the Jews (descendants of the smaller kingdom Judea) might be considered to this group as well. I am a Jewess (by tribe, not by religion), but this knowledge I have since the last few years and not from childhood memories. By Yeshua Adoneinu [our Lord] I have this knowledge.
Elites of the greater kingdom – also named Ephraim – were taken away by the Assyrians. And according to the prophets our God let it happen, with a certificate of divorce. [2 Kings 18:9-12; Hosea 1:6-9; Jeremiah 3:8]
In Deuteronomy 24 it reads that a man cannot take his wife – whom he has sent away with a certificate of divorce – back to be his wife again. Not even when she became the wife of someone else who had died, or who had sent her away with a certificate of divorce too. So, the biggest mystery is how our God is able to keep up His promise to take all Israel back from the 4 winds of the earth, without breaking His own commandment. A righteous man keeps his own word and even more a Righteous God. But how? Answer: By death.
A man had (and still has) the right to send away his wife with a certificate of divorce when she had done detestable things. That is, when she was seen intimate with another man.
Both Ephraim and Yehudim [inhabitants and descendants of Yehudah = Judea/Juda] were guilty of going after false gods and the sickening habits and practices that came with it. The reason why Yehudah weren’t sent away with a certificate of divorce too was because of the promise our God made with David, who was king over the biggest kingdom Israel, before it was split into two. From the house of David (also a Judean = Jew) the Savior would come and sit on his throne. This Savior is יהוה Himself by His Word, who became flesh according to John 1:1.
By the suffering and death of Yeshua a beginning was made with the (re)gathering of Gods people all over the earth. This marking, gathering and exodus, back to the Promised Land is in direct line with the marking, gathering and exodus to the Promised Land as in the days, written in the Book Exodus chapter 12 … during Pesach [Pascha/Passover].
Take a look at the seven-armed Menorah. (A menorah is a candlestick/candle holder.)
Do you see how the first and the seventh arm are connected? As if it was one and the same.
Compare the first arm with the Hebrew First Month, in which Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread [Chag HaMatsot] is held, and the seventh and last arm with the Seventh Month, in which the Day of Atonement [Yom Kippur] is held.
What cannot be done (anymore) on this day?
- A fire offering to יהוה our God.
What can be done, is offer your heart (please, do NOT take this literally). - To choose (randomly) a high priest who perform the ritual, according to the instructions written in Leviticus.
What can be done, is praying to Adoneinu [our Lord] Yeshua, who is the High Priest in the heavenly House of the Father.
Gmar Chatimah Tovah!
גמר חתימה טובה
That you may be written in the Book of Life!