Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is "the tenth day of [the] seventh month"[9] (Tishrei) and is also known as the "Sabbath of Sabbaths".[10] Rosh Hashanah (referred to in the Torah as Yom Teruah) is the first day of that month according to the Hebrew calendar. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe") that commences with Rosh Hashanah.[10] The ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur correspond to the last ten days of the 40-day period Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the second set of tablets.[11]

According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict.[12] During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend their behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God.[13]

On the eve of Yom Kippur by Jakub Weinles

On the day preceding Yom Kippur, known as Erev Yom Kippur (lit. "eve [of] day [of] atonement"), a number of activities are customarily performed in preparation for Yom Kippur. These activities generally relate to the themes of the holiday, but are forbidden or impractical to do on Yom Kippur itself.

According to the Talmud, "Yom Kippur does not atone for sins between a person and his fellow until he has appeased his fellow."[15] Thus, it is common practice on Erev Yom Kippur to request forgiveness from other individuals for misdeeds one has been done them. The Talmud records no less than 14 stories attesting to the importance of the day for repairing relationships with one's spouses, parents, children, coworkers, the poor, and other individuals.[16] The day before a major Jewish holiday is often devoted towards preparing for that holiday (as with burning chametz before Passover or obtaining the Four Species before Sukkot); for Yom Kippur, the appropriate preparation is to seek forgiveness from one's fellow man.[16] Nevertheless, one should not ask forgiveness if this will cause further harm (for example, by bringing up an insult the victim was unaware of).[17]

According to halakha, one must eat on Erev Yom Kippur. A variety of reasons have been suggested for this requirement, among them:[17]

• Most obviously, eating well before the fast will make it easier to complete the fast in good health.
• Eating before the fast will actually make the fast subjectively more difficult, due to "withdrawal" from the previous day's feast, and thus increase a person's level of "affliction" on this day (though it is not agreed that a person should in fact attempt to increase their affliction beyond the basic requirements).
• In general, Jewish holidays are celebrated with festive meals. Since a meal celebrating Yom Kippur cannot be held on the day itself, it is held beforehand.
• One celebrates the forgiveness they are about to receive for their sins, thus demonstrating that they are in fact bothered by their sins, and thus are more deserving of forgiveness.

Many Orthodox men immerse themselves in a mikveh on this day.[18] Opinions differ on whether this is a technical act to remove ritual impurity, or else a symbolic one to symbolize one's cleansing from sin on Yom Kippur.[17]

The kapparot ritual, in which either money or a chicken is symbolically given to charity, is performed by some on Erev Yom Kippur as a means to achieve atonement.

In this day's morning prayer service, additional selichot prayers are recited. In the afternoon prayer, the long confession is recited, just as it is on Yom Kippur itself. This confession is recited before the last Erev Yom Kippur meal, in case one becomes intoxicated at this meal and is unable to confess properly afterwards, or else because a person might choke to death at that meal and die without confessing (seemingly an unlikely possibility, but one which reminds a person of their mortality).[17]

The Bible commands Jews to "afflict themselves" (ve'initem et nafshoteichem) on Yom Kippur.[19] While this does not explicitly mention the form of affliction, public fast days for repentance were a common practice in Biblical times.[20] According to the Jewish oral tradition, the Yom Kippur "affliction" consists of the following five prohibitions:[21]

1. Fasting (no eating and drinking)
2. No wearing of leather shoes
3. No bathing or washing
4. No anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
5. No marital relations

Although the fast is required of all healthy men over 13 or women over 12, it is waived in the case of any life-threatening medical conditions.[22] Some of the other prohibitions are also waived in certain cases of need; for example, washing the body in cold water to remove dirt.

Fasting, along with the other restrictions, begins at sundown, and ends after nightfall the following day. One should add a few minutes to the beginning and end of the day, called tosefet Yom Kippur, lit. "addition to Yom Kippur".

A parallel has been drawn between these activities and the human condition according to the Biblical account of the expulsion from the garden of Eden.[23] Refraining from these symbolically represents a return to a pristine state of re-attachment to the purity of Edenic existence, and symbolically therefore one avoids that which arose as a need only after the exile from Eden: The Eden account tells of God saying "thorns and thistles will grow in your way...the snake will raise its head (to bite you) and you will give your heel (to crush it)" and so in the new post-Edenic existence it became necessary to wear strong protective shoes, and so these are avoided on Yom Kippur. The Eden account also states that as opposed to the automatic food and drink in Eden, it will be necessary to work for it "by the sweat of your brow", and so food and drink are refrained from on Yom Kippur, as well as washing, and the use of cosmetics to remove sweat or its odor etc. Similarly for the description of the post-Edenic relationship between man and woman, and so on Yom Kippur marital relations are avoided.[23]

By refraining from these activities, the body is uncomfortable but can still survive. The soul is considered to be the life force in a body. Therefore, by making one’s body uncomfortable, one’s soul is uncomfortable. By feeling pain one can feel how others feel when they are in pain.[24] This is the purpose of the prohibitions.

The Bible calls Yom Kippur a day of rest (shabbat shabbaton) on which work is prohibited.[25] Thus, the activities forbidden on Shabbat are also forbidden on Yom Kippur: the 39 categories of work as well as the rabbinic Shabbat prohibitions.[26]

Wearing white clothing (or a kittel for Ashkenazi Jews), is traditional to symbolize one's purity on this day.

Repentance in Judaism Teshuva "Return"
Repentance, atonement and higher ascent in Judaism
In the Hebrew Bible
Altars · Korban Temple in Jerusalem Prophecy within the Temple
Aspects
Confession · Atonement Love of God · Awe of God Mystical approach Ethical approach Meditation · Services Torah study Tzedakah · Mitzvot
In the Jewish calendar
Month of Elul · Selichot Rosh Hashanah Shofar · Tashlikh Ten Days of Repentance Kapparot · Mikveh Yom Kippur Sukkot · Simchat Torah Ta'anit · Tisha B'Av Passover · The Omer Shavuot
In contemporary Judaism
Baal teshuva movement Jewish Renewal · Musar movement

The Talmud states, "Yom Kippur atones for those who repent and does not atone for those who do not repent".[27] Repentance in Judaism is done through a process called Teshuva, which in its most basic form consists of regretting having committed the sin, resolving not to commit that sin in the future and to confess that sin before God. Confession in Judaism is called Vidui (Hebrew וידוי). There is also a commandment to repent on Yom Kippur.[28] Accordingly, Yom Kippur is unique for the confessional, or Vidui, that is part of the prayer services. In keeping with the requirement to repent on Yom Kippur, Jews recite the full Vidui a total of nine times: once during Mincha on Yom Kippur eve, and on Yom Kippur itself during Ma'ariv (two times), Shacharit (two times), Musaf (two times), and Mincha (two times); at Ne’eilah, only the short confessional is said. The first time in each service takes place during the personal recitation of the Amidah (standing, silent prayer), and the second time during the cantor's repetition of the Amidah (except during the preceding Mincha), in a public recitation.

The Yom Kippur confessional consists of two parts: a short confession beginning with the word Ashamnu (אשמנו, "we have sinned"), which is a series of words describing sin arranged according to the aleph-bet (Hebrew alphabetic order), and a long confession, beginning with the words Al Cheyt (על חטא, "for the sin"), which is a set of 22 double acrostics, also arranged according to the aleph-bet, enumerating a range of sins.

In order to gain atonement from God, one must:[29]

1. Pray
2. Repent of one's sins
3. Give to charity

Before the beginning of Yom Kippur, many Jews recite the optional Tefillah Zakkah ("the pure prayer"), in which (among other topics) one declares that they forgive anyone who has harmed them in the past, "except for damages which can be recovered in court, and except for those who say: I will harm him and he will forgive me", asks God not to punish anyone who has been so forgiven, and asks God to show similar graciousness in forgiving their own sins.[35]

Like all Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur begins in the evening, and the evening prayer (Maariv) is preceded by the special Kol Nidre (described below) prayer.

The next morning, the morning prayer (Shacharit) is recited. The Torah reading is from Leviticus 16, describing the Yom Kippur Temple service and the laws of the day. The Haftarah is from Isaiah 57:14–58–14, according to which God will ignore the prayers of one who fasts while continuing to perform evil deeds. Yizkor is then recited. Next is the added prayer (Mussaf) as on all other holidays. The highlight of this prayer is the Avodah recitation, where the prayer leader recounts the Yom Kippur Temple service by which the High Priest would once obtain atonement from God in the Temple in Jerusalem. Other notable additions to Yom Kippur Mussaf include the Unetanneh Tokef and Ten Martyrs poems.

While the Yom Kippur prayer service is long and takes up most of the day, there is generally a break of several hours after Mussaf before the next prayers, which last until the conclusion of the fast.

Next is the afternoon prayer (Mincha), where the Haftarah is the entire Book of Jonah, which has as its theme the story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent.[36] The service concludes with the Ne'ila ("closing") prayer, which begins shortly before sunset, when the "gates of prayer" will be closed. After Ne'ila, Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of Shema Yisrael and the blowing of the shofar,[31] which marks the conclusion of the fast.[34] Finally, the brief weekday Maariv prayer is recited, before the recitation of Havdalah.

Before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, worshipers gather in the synagogue. The cantor stands with two community members at his sides, and chants the Kol Nidre prayer (Aramaic: כל נדרי, English translation: "All vows"). It is recited in a dramatic manner, before the open ark, with an Ashkenazic melody that dates back to the 16th century.[37] Kol Nidre is recited in Aramaic, except in the Italian and Romaniote rites where it is recited in Hebrew.

All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur (in some versions: which we took between last Yom Kippur and this Yom Kippur), we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.[38]

Then the service continues with the evening prayers (Ma'ariv) and an extended Selichot service.[39]

The Avodah ("service") passage in the Musaf prayer recounts in detail the Yom Kippur Temple service which was once performed in the Temple in Jerusalem. This passage traditionally features prominently in both the liturgy and the religious thought of the holiday.[31] During its recitation, Jews "imagine themselves in place of the priests when the Temple stood".[40]

This traditional prominence is rooted in the Babylonian Talmud’s description of how to attain atonement following the destruction of the Temple. The recitation poetically describes the High Priest's confessions of his and the people's sins, his entry into the Holy of Holies, his sending away of the scapegoat, and all other parts of this day's complex Temple service.[39] A variety of liturgical poems are added, including a poem recounting the radiance of the High Priest after exiting the Holy of Holies, as well as prayers for the speedy rebuilding of the Temple and the restoration of sacrificial worship.

In most Orthodox and some Conservative synagogues, the entire congregation prostrates themselves at each point in the recitation where the High Priest would pronounce God’s holiest name (during recitation of Leviticus 16:30).[41] These three times, plus in some congregations the Aleinu prayer during the Musaf Amidah on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, are the only times in Jewish services when Jews engage in prostration (except for some Yemenite Jews and talmidei haRambam ("disciples of Maimonides") who may prostrate themselves on other occasions during the year).

Orthodox liturgies include prayers lamenting the inability to perform the Temple service and petitioning for its restoration, which Conservative synagogues generally omit. In some Conservative synagogues, only the Hazzan (cantor) engages in full prostration. Some Conservative synagogues abridge the recitation of the Avodah service to varying degrees, and some omit it entirely. Reconstructionist services omit the entire service as inconsistent with modern sensibilities.

Reform synagogues generally experience their largest attendance of the year on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah for worship services. The prayer philosophy of Reform, as described in the introduction of the movement's High Holy Day prayerbook, "Mishkan Hanefesh", is to reflect "varied theological approaches that enable a diverse congregation to share religious experience... with a commitment to Reform tradition, as well as [to] the larger Jewish tradition." A central feature of these Reform services is the rabbinic sermon. "For more than a century and a half in the Reform Movement," writes Rabbi Lance Sussman, "High Holiday sermons were among the most anticipated events in synagogue life, especially on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre night."[42]

Traditionally, Yom Kippur is considered the date on which Moses received the second set of Ten Commandments. It occurred following the completion of the second 40 days of instructions from God. At this same time, the Israelites were granted atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf; hence, its designation as the Day of Atonement.[48]

When the Temple in Jerusalem stood, Yom Kippur was the occasion of an elaborate sacrificial service, as commanded by Leviticus 16. The rabbis summarized the laws of this service in Mishnah tractate Yoma, and they appear in contemporary traditional Jewish prayer books for Yom Kippur, and are studied as part of a traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.[49] The Mussaf prayer on Yom Kippur includes a section known as the Avodah, where a poem is recited describing this Temple service.