Articles on Yom Kippur

Whatever Happened to the Substitute Atonement of the Torah?

Written by Louis Goldberg
The young Jewish man asked, " Do you really have an Orthodox Jewish background?"

When I replied in the affirmative, he looked at me incredulously and was quiet for a moment. Then he queried, If you have such a background, then why is it that you believe that the Messiah has already come?"

I reflected, and then began: "Let me make one point as to what is the most basic underlying dynamic in my thinking as well as in my heart. Simon the Just at about 200 B. C. E. declared, according to the Pirke Avot (Sayings of the Father) that upon three things does the world rest: 1) Torah, 2) worship, (which is taken to mean the sacrifices in connection with the temple service) and 3) the showing of kindness."1

"Now," I continued," after the fall of the Temple. in 70 C.E., there was a council which met at Yavneh at which Yohanan ben Zakkai presided. One of the decisions by ben Zakkai and others was to change the statement by Simon the Just to read: 1) Torah (which now is the pillar of studying and teaching Torah); 2) temple worship (they redefined it in term of prayer); and 3) the showing of kindness."2

The Jewish man quickly responded, "What did you expect Jewish people to do after the Temple was lost? Since there was no more possibility to offer sacrifices, prayer then became the obvious substitute!"

"Ah," I responded, "but there was a possibility that the concept of sacrifice was not changed. What did the Jewish writers of the New Covenant proclaim? Did they change Moses and the substitute atonement of the Torah?"

He had no answer....

Yom Kippur & The Necessity of Sacrifice

Written by Sam Nadler
And Yehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 'On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement ...and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to Yehovah. Neither shall you do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement...If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people" Leviticus 23:26-30.

Each year Jewish people observe Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year, by reviewing their lives before God. Although Yom Kippur illustrates the opportunity for the individual to be restored to God, the Day of Atonement was the day for the nation of Israel to be restored to God as a holy people in service to Yehovah.

Today, because of national unbelief, Israel has been sidetracked from its service. Nevertheless, the time will come for Israel to be gathered back to God as a nation. During the coming Tribulation, Israel will be brought back to the forefront of service. At the end of that Tribulation period, a nation shall be born in a day, and "all Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:26).

Tradition or Scripture?

Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur are referred to as the High Holy Days in Judaism. Both are traditionally celebrated as days of solemn personal evaluation of one's soul before God. In the traditional Jewish community, Yom Teruah is seen as The Day of Judgment: when God evaluates an individual's deeds to determine whether He will write that person's name in the Book of Life for the coming year. According to tradition, on Yom Teruah three books are opened before God in Heaven. One book is for the absolutely wicked; another book is for the perfectly righteous, and finally, the third book is opened for those not in either of the first two books, those ordinary people who are neither perfectly evil nor perfectly good. On Yom Teruah, people then have ten days to do good deeds to merit being placed in the Book of Life for the coming year. These are called The Days of Awe, which end on Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, people return to synagogue to repent of their sins with the hope that they have been forgiven by God and their names are written into the Book of Life for the coming year. Therefore on Yom Kippur, to be made right with God is the desire of every religious Jew. It is believed that repentance with fasting, charity, and good deeds produces forgiveness. Though fasting on Yom Kippur is not the specific scriptural command, the day is so commonly identified with the practice that it is even called "the fast" in Acts 27:9....

Yom HaKippurim

Written by Rick Spurlock

Y om HaKippurim is the holiest day of the year. To be technically correct, Scripture does not call it the "Day of Atonement" [Yom Kippur], but the "Day of Atonements" [Yom HaKippurim]. You may wonder about that. You see, bound up in that little misnomer is some significant theological error - and some profound misreading of the Apostolic Scriptures. Because many of us have been taught well regarding the substitutionary atonement of Messiah, we can sometimes miss what is happening with regard to Yom HaKippurim. It is all about Messiah, but maybe not in the ways that we may have previously thought. Yom HaKippurim was never about personal atonement.

If you've studied the korbanot [offerings] in the Torah as every good student of the Bible should, then you already may know that none of offerings were ever about permanent personal atonement. The "personal" offerings were about worship; and about receiving an atonement for the time when you were in the Tabernacle/Temple... just to keep from dying while in the Presence of the Holy One, blessed is He. That is why we hear very few of the korbanot called "sin" offerings or "guilt offerings." No, instead, most of the major korbanot were worship offerings only. The korban olah, and the korbat shalem were about worship. Some of the korbanot were for atonement, but in a corporate sense, not for individuals. Now, if that sounds odd to you, it is because you probably do not read your Bible in Hebrew. You see, in Hebrew the "you" in most of the instructions regarding atonement are plural. These are about the whole House of Israel. And that is what is true about Yom HaKippurim as well.

"This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before Yehovah. It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the Tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year." And he did as Yehovah commanded Moses. (Leviticus 16:29-34)

Atonement for:

No personal atonement. It is not about "getting your sins forgiven" for the year. Notice atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, the Tabernacle, and the Altar. Did they "sin?" Of course not. Beloved, pay attention because this will help unravel 1,900 years of bias against the Temple and the korbanot. Yom HaKippurim was about keeping the Place of the Almighty's abode holy, thereby making it a place for His Presence to dwell. After all, that is what the Tabernacle and the later Temple were for. Not simply a "dwelling place" but a Place where He could dwell among His people. For that to happen, the Place had to be sanctified each year. It was not about taking away sin - it was about cleansing the Temple. While the statute is eternal, the cleansing effect was temporal. That is what the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches as well:

For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies [present tense] for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Messiah, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:13-14)

Yom Kippur

The moed of Yom HaKippurim is known in English as the Day of Atonement. It occurs nine days after Yom Teruah/The Feast of Trumpets on the tenth day of the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar.


As we examine this moed and discover what Scripture says about it, we should consider that the same very same Elohim Who granted favour and mercy by sending the Messiah to die for our redemption will also send that same Messiah again to defeat His enemies, separate “the wheat from the tares”, “the sheep from the goats”, and provide the ultimate atonement for those who are His.


What does Scripture tell us about this set-apart day and its related commandments? What are we supposed to do and see and hear? As we study Scripture regarding this special appointment, we pray once more in the words of King David: “Oh, Yehovah, please “open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things from your Torah” and discover our returning Messiah in this moed. Scripture was given to mankind to speak of Him and we should seek to hear its voice… His voice… especially during His appointed times.


What Scripture Says About Yom HaKippurim


Yom HaKippurim (יום כּףּר, Strong’s #3117 + Strong’s #3725) means “day [of] atonement”.


Atonement


Atonement should not be equated with the payment for the penalty of sin but it, instead, relates to the cleansing of the spiritual uncleanness that is the consequence of sin and death.

Consider these verses:


“For seven days you shall make atonement for the slaughter-place, and set it apart. And the slaughter-place shall be most set-apart – whatever touches the slaughter-place is to be set-apart.” Shemoth/Exodus 29:37


“And he shall make atonement for the Set-apart place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Yisra’El, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so he does for the Tent of Appointment which is dwelling with them in the midst of their uncleanness.” Wayyiqra/Leviticus 16:16


In these passages the altar and the tabernacle are receiving atonement.


Did the altar sin? No.


Did the tabernacle sin? No.


They are, however, unclean as a result of the spiritual impurity associated with sin and death....

Yom Kipper as Decontamination

Written by Prof.Baruch J. Schwartz

In the ritual vocabulary of the Priestly source in the Torah, to which Leviticus 16 (as almost all of the sacrificial law in the Torah) belongs, the verb kipper means “to cleanse,” “to decontaminate.” This meaning of kipper was noted centuries ago by Rashi, and is now confirmed by our knowledge of ancient Semitic languages. Once recognized, it becomes quite obvious from usage and context. For instance, we read in the laws of Yom Kippur:


Lev 16:20 When he (i.e. the High Priest) has finished kipper -ing the holy of holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar…


The holy of holies, that is, the inner sanctum of the tabernacle or Temple, as well as the altar and the tabernacle as a whole, are direct objects of the verb kipper. Thus kippur must be an action that you do to something. The text goes on to tell us that the reason the priest must kipper the inner sanctum (and, by extension, the tabernacle as a whole) is that the Israelites have contaminated it with their uncleanness (bodily impurities) and transgressions:


Lev 16:16 Thus he shall kipper the holy place of the uncleanness and transgressions of the Israelites… and he shall do the same for the Tent of Meeting of the One who abides with them in the midst of their uncleanness.


If the reason you have to kipper something is that it is contaminated, it stands to reason that kipper must mean “to cleanse, to de -contaminate.” This is indicated conclusively by the verse quoted above, the verse that sums up the entire significance of the day and its rituals: a verse that is so important that it is recited in every service on Yom Kippur. It reads as follows:


Lev 16:30 For on this day he (i.e. the High Priest) shall perform kippur for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you will become clean before Yehovah.


The express purpose of kippur is to be cleansed of sins, and the result of kippur is cleansing, purification.


What Contaminants Are Being Purged?


When kippur is performed, what is purged? What is cleansed on Yom Kippur, the annual Day of Cleansing?

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Yom Kippur

Written by Glenn Kay
Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement has long been considered the most holy day in the Jewish calendar. On this day once a year the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people. Even in it's original understanding atonement wasn't just for the Jewish people but for all peoples - this is clear when we read, Lev. 16:29-30.

The key idea behind the meaning of the word Kippur. The word - Kippur is most often translated as - atonement. The idea however behind the root word - is to cover or conceal. Atonement - or making atonement is to "cover over sin" It also conveys the idea or - a ransom or redeem, or an exchange -in the atonement the life of the animal is exchanged for the sins of the people. ...


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