The Day of Atonement: Yom Kippur

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month; it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall deny yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. And you must not do any regular work on this very same day, because it is the Day of Atonement to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God
(Leviticus 23:26–28, LEB)

This evening marks the beginning of the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, which is one of the special days that God has designated. It is a holy day mentioned in the Bible that God commands us to observe. If we are considered part of the family of this same God, why would we not follow His instructions?

The actual command for the day is to have a complete Sabbath and deny ourselves. When one looks at the Hebrew word used, it means to humble, humiliate, deny, and afflict oneself. There are different ways we can do this.

In the religion of Judaism, the tradition is to have a daylong fast. They must have been practicing this tradition all the way back to the prophet Isaiah’s time because it was addressed in his writings.

³‘Why do we fast, and you do not see it? We humiliate our soul, and you do not notice it?’ Look! You find delight on the day of your fast, and you oppress all your workers! ⁴Look! You fast to quarrel and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You shall not fast as you do today, to make your voice heard on the height. ⁵Is the fast I choose like this, a day for humankind to humiliate himself? To bow his head like a reed, and make his bed on sackcloth and ashes; you call this a fast and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?

⁶Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and tear every yoke to pieces? ⁷Is it not to break your bread for the hungry? You must bring home the poor, the homeless. When you see the naked, you must cover him, and you must not hide yourself from your relatives. (Isaiah 58:3–7, LEB)

It sounds like in Isaiah’s time they were using the tradition of fasting on Yom Kippur as a checkbox to say they followed what God said to do. All the while God was looking for much more.

There is also a tradition I have heard of where people deny themselves by finding a homeless camp and offering to buy food and supplies that they may need.

However you spend the day, make it one of self-reflection and thankfulness, and always be mindful of others and helping those with a need.

Photo by Ben Hershey on Unsplash

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