Yom Kippurim is a day that is commanded to occur once a year. It was the only time of year the high priest would go into the holy of holies to include a host of sacrifices and procedures going with it. It is also where we get the term “scape goat”. However, about 30 CE this day and sacrifice changed forever. Something verified even by Judaism itself.
But what does it all mean? What is Yom Kippurim all about and how does this relate to our Messiah? Join us in this teaching as we learn all about Yom Kippurim. Join us as we learn the truth: the God Honest Truth.
Transcript
So this teaching is going to be all about the Moedim and holiday of Yom Kippurim. Like always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at team at godhonesttruth.com and for the full notes as well as the draw slides and the on-demand video. Click on the link down below and that will take you straight to the post or you can also go to www.godhonesttruth.com and click on the post for Yom Kippurim from there.
So first, let’s start out by defining what is Yom Kippurim. Well, according to the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, it reads, Yom Kippurim, originally Yom Ha-Kippurim, keep that in mind, Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish religious year on the 10th of Tishri, middle of September to the beginning of October, it is the earnest and consecrating close of the 10 penitential days which begin with the judgment of God on Rosh Hashanah. The Day of Atonement, like the time for repentance in general, is especially devoted to the renewal of religious and moral life.
Now notice how it starts out there, it says Yom Kippur, but later it says that it was originally called Yom Ha-Kippurim, like I said, we’ll get into that as we get more into the foundation side of it. Now what’s interesting too, what they go on to say, kind of connects with what we went over last time with Yom Teruah, otherwise known as Rosh Hashanah, and they say this, from the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, when the New Year’s Day became the day of God’s judgment, no doubt under Babylonian influence, the atoning character of Yom Kippurim became still stronger.
So here, they’re alluding to the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the name itself, and also the idea that Yom Teruah is New Year’s Day, came from Babylonian influence, not scripture. Just to rehash this real quick, what we went over last time in the Yom Teruah teaching, Yom Teruah, otherwise known as Rosh Hashanah, is not the New Year’s Day, okay? It’s not even called Rosh Hashanah in scripture. Just use your mind, New Year’s Day would be the first day of the first month.
Tishri is in the seventh month, so it cannot be New Year’s Day. Nisan, or Aviv, as it’s called in scripture before the Babylonian influence, that is the first month. So the first day of Aviv is New Year’s Day. It goes on in the Jewish Encyclopedia to state, but under the influence of Babylonian mythology, which spoke of the beginning of the year, Zagmuk, on the first day of Nisan, at the time when the gods decided the destiny of life, the idea developed also in Jewish circles that on the first of Tishri, the sacred New Year’s Day and the anniversary of creation, man’s doings were judged and his destiny was decided.
And that on the 10th of Tishri, the decree of heaven was sealed, a view still unknown to Philo and disputed by some rabbis. A whole lot to unpack here real quick. First of all, there’s a lot here that goes along with what Jews traditionally believe about Yom Kippurim. Number one, that man’s doings were judged and his destiny was decided, okay? And that the books of, I’m sorry, the decree of heaven was sealed. You don’t get that from scripture.
Again, assuming that Yom Teruah, Rosh Hashanah, was the first day of creation. Again, not coming from scripture. That’s just what is traditionally believed within Judaism. And also, again, we get that reference from a secondary source, or I’m sorry, from a second source, that this whole idea, or these ideas we just described, come from Babylonian mythology and not from scripture. So there’s what Yom Kippurim is. But before we get into like the real meat of it, let’s start doing some foundations.
Okay, now Yom Kippurim comes from two different words. We went over the word Yom last time in our Yom Teruah teaching. Yom can mean either a 24-hour period, like when we get in the creation account where evening and morning were one day. It can also refer to the daylight period of a day as well. But for both the Yom Teruah teaching and this Yom Kippurim teaching, it’s going to be used in the context of a 24-hour period.
I’m sorry, evening and morning, sunset to sunset, right? That’s the scriptural definition of a day. The second word, Kippurim, is a Hebrew word that comes to us meaning expiation or atonement. And this word Kippur, which we get the plural form Kippurim, comes from Strong’s H. 3-7-2-5. Strong’s defines it as expiation or atonement. Obviously enough, right? Browndriver Briggs says pretty much the same thing. It says atonement, sin offering of the atonement, day of atonement, et cetera, et cetera.
The Hebrew lexicon says pretty much the same thing as well, redemptions or atonements. For those of you who are watching the video part, here is the ancient Hebrew lexicon entry for Kippur. Then here is your Klein Dictionary entry for Kippur. All pretty much saying the same thing that Kippur means atonement, expiation, things like that. Well, we don’t really use the word expiation that much. So what does that actually mean? Well, expiation means the act of expiating something, okay, that’s not very helpful, the act of extinguishing the guilt incurred by something.
This all comes from Merriam-Webster.com. It then goes on to say that expiation means the act or process of making atonement for something or number two, the means by which expiation or atonement is made. So expiation pretty much is another synonym for atonement. So we’re kind of familiar with atonement, but what does atonement actually mean? Well, atonement is actually an English word that comes down to us pretty much the same way it has from the beginning. A few teachings ago, we went over the word worship and how worship has changed meanings over time.
So that what we think of as worship nowadays wasn’t what worship meant back in the Middle English period when worship started coming about and people started using it. So back to atonement, atonement comes from really three different words, at-one-ment. And the definition for atonement literally means to be at one. But we get it from the 1510s atonement, condition of being at one with others, a sense now obsolete from atonement, the theological meaning of reconciliation. Now that was the noun entry, but the verb for atonement, very, very similar.
It says to be in harmony, agree, be in accordance. And it really comes down to us, we say at one, but originally the word was pronounced on, at on. So we would say at one now, but they would say at on back then. And then from the suffix ment, we have a lot of words that have the suffix ment like fulfillment, merriment, et cetera, et cetera. But ment comes from Latin origin and it was added to verb stems to make nouns indicating the result or product of the action.
So atonement is the result or product of being at one. Pretty easy to follow, right? But from theopedia.com, it states, the word atonement is almost the only theological term of English origin. It was likely first used in Tyndale’s English translation as derived from the adverbial phrase atonin, meaning in accord, literally at one. Again, that’s where we get our word atonement, at one, or being in agreement with or being one with whatever atonement is describing. Again, a theological term that goes along with a lot of other passages because Yeshua prayed to the Father that we would be one, we believers, would be one just like he and the Father are one, right? He told in Genesis that a man shall leave his father and mother and become one with his wife.
So this whole idea of being one or being at one runs all throughout scripture. So now we know what yom kippurim is. We know what kippurim or kippur means, it means expiation or atonement. We know what expiation, that it means atonement, it’s pretty much a synonym for atonement. And we know what atonement means, being at one. And in the relation of yom kippurim, atonement means being at one back with Yahweh because our sins separate us from Yahweh, as we’re told in scripture.
But being atoned for brings us back to being at one with Yahweh because our sins are no longer counted against us. But as far as yom kippurim goes, let’s go ahead and get into the actual meat of it, our foundation, which comes from scripture. We find yom kippurim from the, well actually there’s three different passages in the Torah that describe and put forth the declaration to keep yom kippurim. Well we first find it in Leviticus chapter 16 verses 29 to 31.
And this shall be for you a law forever. In the seventh new moon, on the tenth day of the new moon, you afflict your beings and do no work, the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on that day he makes atonement for you, to cleanse you, to be cleaned from all your sins before Yahweh. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you shall afflict your beings a law forever. Now a couple things to point out here real quick, says number one is that you shall do no work, right? So yom kippurim is a date that we rest in addition to the weekly Shabbat, right? Number two, it also says to afflict your beings.
So what does that mean, afflict your beings? We’ll get into that more in just a moment. We’ll get into some more of the details, more of the nerdy stuff, if you will, about afflict your beings. But notice there’s only two things commanded in order to celebrate and observe yom kippurim according to scripture. Afflict your beings, do no work. We also see it again in Leviticus chapter 23 verses 26 to 32. And Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, On the tenth day of this seventh new moon is yom ha-kippurim.
It shall be a set-apart gathering for you, and you shall afflict your beings, and shall bring an offering made by fire to Yahweh. And you do no work on that same day, for it is yom kippurim, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your Elohim. For any being who is not afflicted on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people. And any being who does any work on that same day, that being I shall destroy from the midst of his people.
You do no work, a law forever, throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your beings. On the ninth day of the new moon at evening, from evening to evening, you observe your Sabbath. So, again, we’ll pretty much get the same thing that we got in the previous passage from Leviticus 16. Notice here it’s actually referred to by name as yom ha-kippurim first, day of the atonement, and then we get further on down, it says yom kippurim, right, day of atonement.
Notice here that it also says, or it’s got kippur in the plural form, right? Actual Hebrew text reads yom kippurim. A lot of people refer to it as yom kippur. So what is it actually? Well, personally, I prefer to go with what’s in Scripture, right? So that would be yom kippurim in the plural format, but if we look, it says here in the Jewish encyclopedia, atonement day of, in Bible, Talmud, and liturgy, the term yom kippur is late rabbinic, okay? So this term yom kippur is something that develops after the times of the Brit Hadashah.
But as we see in Scripture, the actual term is yom kippurim in the plural form. So why, we know where yom kippur comes from right now, right? It comes from late rabbinic tradition, okay? But does it really matter? Because in English, we don’t say day of atonement, right? We use the singular generally, day of atonement. So which one’s right and which one’s wrong? Well, from what I’ve been able to discover, the English singular form is the correct form, okay? Day of atonement.
But the Hebrew plural form is the correct form, yom kippurim, as opposed to yom kippur. So why is it better to translate it into English as a singular if it’s in the plural form in the Hebrew? Well, this is because of a concept in Hebrew where singular things and even singular ideas are expressed with plural meanings. This is called sometimes the plural majestitis or plural of excellence, plural of majesty sometimes. But from Justinus’ Hebrew grammar, it states such, the tolerably numerous abstract plurals may be divided into two classes.
They sum up either the conditions or qualities inherent in the idea of the stem or else the various single acts of which an action is composed. The summing up of the several parts of an action is expressed in embalming, atonement, kippurim. The second entry says the plural pluralis excellenti or majestatis as has been remarked above is properly a variety of the abstract plural since it sums up the several characteristics belonging to the idea besides possessing the secondary sense of an intensification of the original idea.
So that sums up really good that last part, it says intensification of the idea. So with kippurim, it’s an intensification of the idea of atonement. It’s not just regular old atonement, not just regular old kippur, it’s an intensification of atonement, an intensification of kippur, kippurim, but still understood like singular. We have other words like this within the Hebrew text as well. Most famously Elohim, Elohim is another one of those invariant nouns where it can be translated as singular and understood as singular or it can be understood and translated as plural.
It all depends on the context, but we have lots and lots of examples within scripture where Elohim is understood in the singular, but because it’s an intensification of the idea, it’s written in the Hebrew text in the plural form. Hopefully that makes sense. If you have any questions or otherwise about that, again, write into us, team at Godhonesttruth.com. Now just to summarize what Yom Kippurim is from scripture, this is a quick overview. If you would like for the full details, by all means go into Leviticus and also Deuteronomy and look at the actual text for yourself, but for the sake of time, we’re just going to go over it in a summarized fashion real quick.
But Yom Kippurim is the only time of the year, the only day of the year that the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies. Now of course, I speak of the time before the crucifixion of Yeshua. The high priest is to bathe and put on his linen garments, and this is the whole procedure for Yom Kippurim. High priest starts out by bathing himself and putting on the linen garments, traditionally thought of as white, so he’s got this white linen garment outfit that he puts on after he bathes himself.
He then takes a bull to atone for himself and his house, and he’s to take two goats as well, and he’s to cast lots regarding the goats that he takes. These goats are for the people. The first lot, which is cast for Yahweh, whichever goat that falls on, he takes that goat and sets it apart, or sets it to the side rather. And then the goat, which the lot fell for Azazel, is prepared to send into the wilderness.
We’ll get into Azazel in just a moment. Then the high priest is to slay the bull that he took for himself and his household. He then goes in and brings burning incense into the Holy of Holies, and pretty much covers the entire lid of atonement inside the Holy of Holies with the smoke from the incense. He then sprinkles some of the blood of the bull on top of the lid of atonement. Then he goes back out, he slays the goat that was selected for Yahweh, sprinkles its blood inside the veil, and then goes into the Holy of Holies and sprinkles its blood on the lid of atonement, just like he did with the blood of the bull.
Then he sprinkles both the bull’s blood and the goat’s blood on the slaughter place outside of the Holy of Holies. The high priest takes his hands and he lays it on the head of the goat for Azazel and confesses the sins of the people over it and then sends the goat out into the wilderness. Then he removes the linen garments that he put on originally at the beginning and bathes himself again. He then comes out and prepares the ascending offerings and burns the fat of the sin offerings.
After this, the skin and the flesh that’s left over from the bull and the goats that were sacrificed, those are taken outside of the camp and they’re burned with dung. That is pretty much the overview for observing Kippurim as it’s described in scripture, or rather before the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua. What about Azazel? What is this Azazel? Azazel is a word that we find in scripture, which a lot of people know very, very little about.
In the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t, I would say it really doesn’t matter too much as far as overall doctrine and theology goes, but it’s neat to know to help understand when you’re reading through scripture and studying things like Yom Kippurim. But according to the Jewish encyclopedia, Azazel is a scapegoat upon which the high priest laid the sins of the people and was sent forth into the wilderness to Azazel, a demon according to Ibn Ezra, related to the goat-like demons or satires.
And its arrival at the Rock of Hadudo, where it was cast down the precipice, was signalized as the moment of the granting of pardon to the people by the waving of a wisp of snow white wool in place of one of scarlet. Over the temple gate, crowds of young people waiting on the hills of Jerusalem to celebrate the evening by dancing. So this goat for Azazel is where we get the term scapegoat, because the sins of the people were placed upon this goat for Azazel, this scapegoat, and sent out into the wilderness.
Here in this entry from the Jewish encyclopedia, it mentions a rock where this goat either went on its own or was taken to by someone. This is where the goat for Azazel was cast down onto in order to dispatch it, right? In order to kill it. This isn’t something that comes from scripture, but this is something that comes from tradition. And that’s what some people think Azazel is referring to, that Azazel was the name of the rock.
But there’s other theories that go along with that too. Some people believe that Azazel was the name of a demon. But that doesn’t really fit for reasons we’ll get into in just a moment. From the Catholic encyclopedia, in the entry for Azazel states this, The obscure Hebrew word Azazel, which occurs nowhere else in the Bible, various attempts have been made to interpret its meaning. Some have taken it for the name of a place where the man who took the goat away used to throw it over a precipice.
Others take it for the name of an evil spirit, and in fact a spirit of this name is mentioned in the apocryphal book of Enoch, and later in Jewish literature. On this interpretation, which though by no means new, finds favor with modern critics, the idea of the ceremony would seem to be that these sins were sent back to the evil spirit to whose influence they owed their origin. We see, number one, you can’t find Azazel anywhere else in the actual inspired scriptures.
You find it in other apocryphal stuff like Jewish literature and the book of Enoch. But it makes two mentions here of what we mentioned earlier, that it could either be the place where the goat was taken, or some people think it might be the name of an evil spirit, a demon, that the goat is sacrificed to or sent to, right? But this book of Enoch, it has a reference to this fallen angel, this demon called Azazel.
From the book of Enoch, chapter 10, verses 6 through 7. Again the Lord said to Raphael, bind Azazel hand and foot, cast him into darkness, and opening the desert which is in Dudael, cast him in there. Throw upon him hurled and pointed stones, covering him with darkness. It mentions Azazel again in the book of Enoch, chapter 10, verse 12. All the earth has been corrupted by the effects of the teaching of Azazel. To him, therefore, ascribe the whole crime.
But again, giving and performing a sacrifice to a demon, does that really sound in line with scripture? I mean, let’s look at the dictionary definitions for Azazel real quick. This word comes from Strong’s H2799. Strong’s definition puts it very simply, like always, but for Azazel, Strong says, it’s a goat of departure, the scapegoat, brown driver Briggs, entire removal, most proper name of spirit, haunting desert, a fallen angel, as in Jewish angelology, where probably based on interpretation of Leviticus 16.8, name not elsewhere, entire removal of sin and guilt from sacred places into desert on back of goat, symbol of entire forgiveness.
So brown driver Briggs includes the Jewish tradition or a Jewish hypothesis on Azazel. You see, this is Hebrew lexicon, it says only found in the law of the day of atonement. We just went over that, right? And he goes on to say that, I have no doubt that it should be rendered a verter to remove to separate. By this name, I suppose to be understood originally some idols to be appeased by sacrifices. No such idea as this can be admitted by anyone who indeed believes in the inspiration of scripture.
He never makes up idolatrous rites with his own worship. And afterwards, I suppose from the names of idols being often applied to demons. This name was used for that of an evil demon inhabiting the wilderness who had to be appeased by sacrifices by this very ancient and gentile rite. The name Azazel is also used by the Arabs as that of an evil demon. understood it to mean the place into which the goat should be sent. And he thought the place to which the goat should be sent is rather indicated by the word and it lists the Hebrew word there.
But here, I think he hits on it pretty good on the notion that it’s a demon or fallen angel. He says, no such idea as this can be admitted by anyone who indeed believes in the inspiration of scripture. God can never mix up idolatrous rites with his own worship. I think that really hits it on the head. Why would part of the ceremony for the Day of Atonement for Yom Kippurim include a sacrifice to a demon? I mean that would be or at least I would take it to be a pagan practice to sacrifice to a demon.
Right? So, that makes no sense to think that Azazel is in the name of a fallen angel. Again, my thoughts on this are is that either the place or the rock that the goat was led to miraculously or by someone physically and then cast down upon and killed. However, you don’t get this from scripture. Right? Scripture says send it out and take it out into the wilderness and that’s it. That’s all we’ve got. Now also think about if it means a specific place like that.
They were originally wandering through the wilderness and they would do this every year and they were in the wilderness for 40 years wandering around before they went into the promised land and even then it was a long time before the actual temple was built. Before there was actually one concrete place to do these types of sacrifices and ceremonies. It makes no sense to say it’s one specific place where the goat is taken to because again they moved around.
That means you would have to walk a long ways at the final destination to get back to that original place. You’d have to lead that goat for a long ways. Number two, it could just be a metaphorical place that was predetermined to dispose of the goat at. That’s possible as well. But again, no one really knows for certain what Azazel means. It could mean either a place where the goat was eventually dispatched, could mean the name of a fallen angel, but there are problems with both of those hypotheses.
Decide for yourself. But finally, here is your Klein Dictionary entry for Azazel. And here it states that Azazel, the rock from which the scapegoat was hurled on the Day of Atonement, according to some scholars, would be a compound of Az and Azel. The goat went away. In other words, Klein here mentions the rock or the place where the goat was eventually dispatched, but doesn’t mention the hypothesis of a fallen angel or a demon. And what’s vitally important to understand also about Yom Kippurim is the connection with Yeshua.
So how does Yeshua fit in with Yom Kippurim? Let’s start out with the very beginning, sort of speaking, real quick. In Exodus 25, verses 8 through 9 and 40, and it states, And they shall make me a set-apart place, and I shall dwell in their midst, according to all that I show you. The pattern of the dwelling and the pattern of all its furnishings make it exactly so. So see and do according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.
So when Moses goes up on Mount Sinai, he is told to build the tabernacle and to model it after what he sees in heaven. It goes on even to the temple when King Dawid is shown the heavenly temple. First Chronicles chapter 28, verses 10 through 12 and 19. See now, for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the set-apart place. Be strong and do it. And Dawid gave his son Sholomo the plans for the porch and its houses and its treasuries and its upper rooms and its inner rooms, and the place of atonement, and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit.
Yahweh made me understand all this in writing by his hand upon me, all the works of these plans. Dawid saw the temple in heaven and modeled the temple that was to be built on earth after what he saw in heaven. As we know, King Dawid did not build the temple because he was a man who shed blood. Instead, he gave the plans to his son who took up the throne after him. His son, Sholomo. And also, as we all know, King Sholomo was the one or the king who built the temple for Yahweh.
The first temple anyways. But it was all modeled after the temple that was in heaven. So we have the temple in heaven and then we originally had the tabernacle and then we had the temple in heaven and the temple on earth. Then we read in Hebrews chapter 8 verses 4 through 5. For if indeed he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the Torah, who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly, as Moshe was warned when he was about to make the tent.
For he said, See that you make all according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain. So again, they’re reiterating that Moses built the tabernacle after what he saw in the heaven. But also notice here, it’s talking about Yeshua and it says that he, Yeshua, could not be a priest here on earth and he is not a priest here on earth. But he is a priest in heaven after he ascended to heaven, right? And as we all know, there is a temple in heaven too.
And that’s where a priest serves, is in a temple or the tabernacle. But in this case, the temple’s in heaven, so the priest serves in the temple, our priest Yeshua, Hebrews 9, 6 through 7. And these having been prepared like this, the priest always went into the first part of the tent, accomplishing the services. But into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for sins of ignorance of the people.
So here we pretty much get a summarized version that we went over earlier about Yom Kippur and the ceremony of Yom Kippur. So we know that Hebrews chapter 9 is referencing the day of atonement, Yom Kippur. It goes on in Hebrews 9 in verses 11 through 14 to state, But Messiah, having become a high priest of the coming good matters, through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, entered into the most set-apart place once for all, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, having obtained everlasting redemption.
For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sets apart for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of the Messiah, who through the everlasting Spirit, offered himself unblemished to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works, to serve the living Elohim. So here we see that he did this atoning sacrifice, this Kippurim sacrifice, once for all. And he did so not with the blood of animals, not with the blood of the bull and goats as described in Leviticus.
No. He did this with his own blood. He gave his own blood as an atoning sacrifice for all of us. After he made this sacrifice, he went into the most set-apart place, the most holy place, that which is the temple in heaven. It goes on in Hebrews chapter 9, in verses 24-25 to state, For Messiah has not entered into a set-apart place made by hand, figures of the true, but into the heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of Elohim on our behalf, not that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the set-apart place year by year, with blood not his own.
So Yeshua didn’t have to do this year after year, like the priest on earth did. He did this once. It said not that he should offer himself often. No. He did this once for all. Amen. And that’s how Yeshua connects to Yom Kippurim because Yeshua is our Kippurim. He is our atonement to the fullest extent. So nowadays, you can think of it this way, Yom Kippurim was commanded in Leviticus, in the Torah, to be an everlasting covenant.
It’s not going to go on forever. Well, how can we do that nowadays if there is no temple and there’s no priesthood anymore? Well, the only people who can truly do what is commanded by scripture nowadays, as far as Yom Kippurim goes, is those of us who have accepted and come to the knowledge and belief and confession of our Messiah, Yeshua, the promised and prophesied Messiah from the Tanakh. Because otherwise, we cannot observe Kippurim. Because without Yeshua, there is no atoning blood.
There is no temple to do the sacrifice at. As we’re told in scripture, and even Jewish thought states the same thing, that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. So we can’t do the sacrifices at the temple anymore for the atoning of sins because there is no temple and no priesthood. But there doesn’t need to be because we have the atoning blood of Yeshua, our Messiah. It goes on in 1 John 4, verse 10.
And this is love, not that we loved Elohim, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be an atoning offering for our sins. To be a Kippur offering for our sins. To be a Kippurim, rather, offering for our sins. Now this is where it gets really, really interesting. Do you know when it was, what year it was that Yeshua was crucified and became that Kippurim for us? From Wikipedia, here is one theory. It states, and Humphreys and Waddington therefore suggest a scenario where Jesus was crucified and died in the year 33, 33 A.D., 33 C.E., however you want to put it.
Another theory states that He died in A.D. 31, or 31 C.E. Yet another theory states that He died in 30 C.E., or 30 A.D. So somewhere around A.D. 30, that’s when Yeshua was crucified and became our Kippurim for our sins. Now next step, check this out. Pretty common knowledge that the second temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., or 70 C.E., however you want to put it. An interesting thing to note in connection with the destruction of the temple is this, coming straight from the Talmud and other sources.
I’m sorry, getting ahead of myself. We know that the destruction of the temple was in 70 A.D., right, 70 C.E. We get this from many sources as a historical fact. There’s really no denying it, no speculation about it. You can see here from Britannica.com, from My Jewish Learning, from Wikipedia, et cetera, et cetera. That’s not really up for debate. So we know that the temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., or 70 A.D. And we know, or we can fairly well guess, that Yeshua was crucified and became the atoning sacrifice for our sins around the year 30.
Well, in the Talmud, it has something very, very interesting to say about all this. It states this, from the Talmud, Yoma 39b, our rabbis taught during the last 40 years before the destruction of the temple, the lot for the Lord did not come up in the right hand, nor did the crimson colored strap become white, nor did the westernmost light shine And the doors of the hekkel would open by themselves. Okay, saying here that during the last 40 years before the destruction of the temple, something happened that changed the whole ceremony of kippurim.
So back then, or before Yeshua was crucified, they would take a scarlet thread, right? They would have this red string, right? This red rope, and it would turn white if their sins or their observance of kippurim was accepted and signifying that their sins were atoned for. But 40 years before the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E., so 40 years before that would have been 30 C.E., that around this period, the strip or the strap stopped turning white.
Interesting. Let’s read again in the William Davidson Talmud. It says pretty much the same thing, but we’ll read it just for your benefit. And it says, the sages taught during the tenure of Shimon Hazadik, the lot for God always arose in the high priest’s right hand. After his death, it occurred only occasionally, but during the 40 years prior to the destruction of the second temple, the lot for God did not arise in the high priest’s right hand at all.
So too, the strip of crimson wool that was tied to the head of the goat that was sent to Azazel did not turn white, and the westernmost lamp of the candelabrum did not burn continually. So we saw in that previous entry, it also mentioned the red strap not turning white anymore, and it mentioned that the doors to the hekkel, the holy of holies would, we’ll go back to that real quick so you can see it, that the doors of the hekkel would open by themselves.
You know, normally it would stay shut because no one was to go in except for that one time a year, and then only the high priest, but 40 years before the destruction of the temple, about 30 CE, 30 AD, right, that it’s all changed. The strap stopped turning white, and the doors opened by themselves, and the candelabrum, the menorah would burn continually. Now they think it’s some mystery, but we know that it’s because of the atoning kippurim sacrifice of Yeshua.
He became that sin offering for us, to cover our sins, and this is actual proof outside of the Brit Hadashah that he was our atoning sacrifice for our sins. So no longer do we need the blood of bulls and goats, we have the atoning blood of Yeshua, and remember, when Yeshua was crucified, there was a great earthquake, and the veil in the temple was torn in two, symbolizing that we now have direct access to Yahweh. And here in these Talmudic writings, they’re even stating the, well, pretty much the same thing, even though they don’t know it, that the doors of the Hekal would open randomly, right? Just further proof that our Messiah is the blood atoning sacrifice for our sins, that the sacrifice of Yeshua is our kippurim.
So before we get into the celebration and observance of Yom Kippurim today, let’s take a look, just real quick, tangentially, at a rather interesting practice that is currently associated with the observance of Yom Kippurim within Judaism. It’s a practice called Kapparot. Now what is Kapparot? Well, according to Brandeis University, the practice is called Kapparot, or atonement, in Hebrew, and Shlugan Kapparot in Yiddish. Shlugan means beating or hitting, which is not what the ceremony entails, but probably what it feels like to the chicken.
According to Professor of Classical Rabbinic Literature, Reuven Kimmelman, Kapparot involves swinging a live or a living chicken three times around your head while reciting a prayer. Traditionally, men use roosters and women, hens, though pregnant women use both in case they’re having a boy. After the ceremony, the animal is slaughtered according to Jewish law. Today, money is sometimes substituted for the chicken. Afterward, the cash may be given to charity. So what Kapparot is, is where a Jewish person takes a live chicken, swings it around their head, and recites a prayer while doing such.
According to the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, the custom of Kippurim Shlugan, whirling a chicken around the head as a sort of atonement sacrifice was already known in Gaonic times and was opposed by many savants. Even in the 6th century, this practice was already in place, and this is some 500 years after the destruction of the second temple. So maybe it took a little while to actually get in there, but the question remains, where did this practice come from? Because it does not at all come from scripture.
Something to think about. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, very significant as showing a deep-rooted desire for some form of atoning sacrifice is the custom known already in the time of Gaonim and found in Asia and Africa, as well as in Europe, though disapproved by Nemonides, Solomon ben Adret, and Joseph Cairo of swinging over one’s head on or before the eve of Atonement Day, a fowl, usually a rooster or hen, solemnly pronouncing the same to be a vicarious sacrifice to be killed in place of the Jew or Jewess who might be guilty of death by his or her sin.
So again, Judaism does not accept the sacrifice and blood atonement of Yeshua. They didn’t get it by the scarlet thread not turning white anymore. They didn’t get it by the doors of the Hekal opening up randomly. They didn’t get it when Yeshua was here on earth proclaiming all this stuff to them and illustrating how he was the Messiah. They didn’t get it all after that, so they’re still on this animal sacrifice thing. Now they can’t do scriptural sacrifices anymore because there’s no temple standing.
So there’s no place to go do the sacrifices. And pretty much there’s no Levitical priesthood. So they can’t do sacrifices according to scripture, so they come up with this other form of atoning sacrifice called copper rope, swinging a chicken around their heads. Now they do this for Yom Kippurim, and after they do this service, they dispatch the chicken and supposedly donate the meat to some needy family, a poor family, or those who are poor. Or they might sell the chicken and then give that money that the chicken sold for to the poor and the needy.
That’s what copper rope is all about. Swinging a chicken over your head while saying a prayer, kill the chicken as an atoning sacrifice, and then give the chicken to the poor and the needy, or sell the slaughtered chicken and give that money to the poor and the needy. That’s copper rope. Now during copper rope, when they’re doing this service, this procedure, they say a certain prayer and the ending of the prayer goes as such. This is my exchange.
This is my substitute. This is my expiation. This rooster hen shall go to its death and I shall proceed to a good long life in peace. Some people may say that it’s not actual sacrifice, but we just saw in references from a Jewish university and Jewish encyclopedias saying that yes, it is considered to be an atoning sacrifice. And there’s all sorts of problems with this. But anyways, moving on. Copper rope ceremony, what is copper rope from Chabad.org? It is important to keep in mind that the chicken is not an offering, neither does performance of the ceremony alone atone for one’s sins.
It certainly doesn’t sound like that from the prayer that’s recited and it certainly doesn’t sound like that from the definitions we got from Jewish sources. But yet another Jewish source says that it’s not an offering. I don’t know if they’re making a distinction between offering and sacrifice, but anyways, here they’re saying that it’s not an offering and that alone it doesn’t atone for one’s sins. Judge for yourselves. Take for it what you will. Like I said, there’s several problems with copper rope ceremony and this custom of copper rope.
For instance, sacrifices and offerings are only to be done at the temple and then before that the tabernacle by the Levitical priest, those who were doing the services at the tabernacle or the temple. You can’t just go down the street in the middle of New York or the middle of Texas or the middle of California and expect this to be an atoning sacrifice or an atoning offering. It has to be done at the tabernacle and then after the temple is built, it has to be done at the temple and it has to be done by the Levitical priest, the Aaronic priesthood.
That’s scripture. Hebrews 7, 26-28. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, kind, innocent, undefiled, having been separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens, who does not need, as those high priests, to offer up slaughter offerings day by day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people. For this he did once for all when he offered up himself. For the Torah appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the Torah appoints the Son, having been perfected forever.
This is the second point we’re going to make that illustrates a problem with Kappa Rote. Yeshua is now our atoning sacrifice for sins. Not a bull, not a goat, not a lamb, not a chicken, Yeshua. So this whole Kappa Rote thing is done in vain. First John 2, 2. And he himself is an atoning offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for all the world. So again, anything you do outside of Yeshua to try and cover your sins, to try to get salvation, is all for naught.
You can’t keep the Torah to obtain salvation. You can’t swing a chicken around your head to obtain salvation. You can’t keep the Torah to atone for your sins, because by the knowledge of the Torah we come to the knowledge of our sins. It’s not by keeping Torah that we cover our sins, and it’s not by swinging a chicken around that we cover our sins. It’s only now by the blood sacrifice of Yeshua. That’s how we atone for our sins.
And now, check out some of these videos of some people performing the Kappa Rote ritual. And he explained that this was called Kappa Rote, a custom observed by some Orthodox Jews before Yom Kippur, in which one’s sins are symbolically transferred to a chicken. Each member of the family gets one, boy for a boy, girl for a girl. This is symbolic, and we sort of hand off our sins to the chicken, and the chicken loses its life instead of us.
And there’s a portion of the prayer that you say at the end that specifically says that this is in my place, this will be in my stead, and for that I will get to live a long life. My shortened life will be handed off to the chicken. A Haredi man reads a prayer while swinging a live chicken by its wings above his head, symbolically transferring his sins to the chicken. We’re trying to transfer all your sins, that really when a person with a sin needs to be killed.
But God, in His mercy, says you can be free. So we try to transfer the sins from you onto the chicken, and the chicken gets killed, as you see over there. You see in this ritual, Jews have a live chicken swung around their heads three times to symbolically transfer away their sins from the year. And then the chickens are slaughtered and donated to charity. So we’ve learned what Yom Kippurim is, we’ve learned the terminology, we’ve gotten into the weeds and nerdy stuff, we’ve saw it from scripture, we’ve looked at how Yeshua and Yom Kippurim connect, we’ve looked at tangential practices.
But you’re asking yourself, okay, we’re still supposed to celebrate this somehow, because it’s forever, right? Now we don’t need the sacrifices because we have Yeshua. How else do we atone, or I’m sorry, how else do we celebrate Yom Kippurim nowadays? Well, if you want to have a Yom Kippurim observation according to the scriptures, you do two things. As outlined in scripture, number one, you afflict your being. Some people afflict their being in various ways. A lot of Jews consider this day to be a required fast, a commanded fast by scripture.
However, that is incorrect and we’ll get into that in just a moment. You could also refrain from taking certain foods that you would normally take that would be an affliction to you, right? So if you don’t eat sweets, don’t drink coffee. If you don’t bathe, if you don’t have marital relations on Yom Kippurim, those could be ways to afflict yourself. You could refrain from wearing nice or comfortable clothing. If you so choose, there are various aesthetic practices that have been observed throughout history, such as sleeping or sitting on hard surfaces like hardwood floors or rocks.
I think that would definitely qualify as affliction, sleeping all night on a rock. You could turn off the heat or the A.C. depending on where you live. Keep your house at a comfortable temperature all throughout the year, but on Yom Kippurim, you could turn off the heat or the A.C., let the temperature go where it will naturally. Within reason, don’t get hypothermia or anything like that, don’t kill yourself. But that’s some more ways to possibly afflict yourself.
I mean, you are you, so you decide and you understand you, so you decide on what practices would be best for you and yours to afflict yourselves. Now the second requirement from scripture is to have a day of rest. So on Yom Kippurim, while you are afflicting yourself, you are also to rest and do no servile work. Easy enough, right? It’s not a burden, as some people say. How hard is it to rest, right? That’s not a yoke to rest.
So again, if you’re wanting to observe Yom Kippurim according to scripture, number one, afflict yourself. Number two, take the day off, rest. Now I would also, this is just my personal opinion, but I also suggest maybe focusing on repentance because that was kind of the theme of Yom Kippurim and the establishment of it is repenting of your sins and before Yeshua doing the sacrifice to atone for your sins. But after Yeshua, we are already atoned for our sins.
But to focus on repentance, now this is something you should do every day, in my opinion, whenever you do wrong, but especially on Yom Kippurim, to focus on repentance. Leviticus 16.29 states this, and this shall be for you a law forever in the seventh new moon on a 10th day of the new moon, you afflict your beings and do no work, the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. Now in Judaism, they traditionally interpret this word for afflict to mean fast.
And this is where they understand the command to fast on Yom Kippurim comes from. But is that so? The word here in Hebrew for afflict is Strong’s H6031. That’s the Hebrew word anah, and it means, according to Strong’s, to depress literally or figuratively, to abase yourself, to afflict yourself, to chasten yourself, to deal hardly with, to defile, submit self, or weaken. Brown Dropper Briggs goes along with the same lines, saying to be occupied, busied with, to be bowed down, afflicted, to be put down or become low, a song of triumph, be depressed, downcast, be afflicted, humble oneself, be afflicted.
So you’re kind of getting the sense here of humility, or at least that’s the way it comes across to me, right? More on that as we go through this, you’ll understand more. Eugenius’s Hebrew lexicon entry for anah, to sing, hence to cry out, uses the shout of soldiers in battle, to lift up the voice, to begin to speak, to answer, to reply, to signify, to imply anything by one’s words, to bestow labor upon anything, to exercise oneself in anything, to be afflicted, depressed, or oppressed.
The entry according to Klein Dictionary, to be bowed down, be afflicted, was low, was humbled, was afflicted, he humbled himself, was afflicted, he humbled, oppressed, afflicted, he violated a woman, he was humbled, was afflicted, he humbled himself, was afflicted, he fasted. So fasting can be a way to afflict yourself. For people like me, fasting is actually enjoyable, so that wouldn’t really be an affliction for people like me in my situation, especially if it’s only one day.
I mean, in my fasting experience, the first day is sort of just odd. It’s not hard, but it’s odd because it’s getting out of the routine. Second day, for me, is when the hunger comes on. Then after the third day, not hungry anymore, and it’s wonderful. So I don’t understand how fasting would be affliction, I mean, in my situation anyways. For some people who have never fasted before, that might be a form of affliction, and I can see how that would be considered as such.
But can we really show from scripture that this Hebrew word, anah, for afflict or humble yourself, really means to fast on Yom Kippur or Yom Kippurim? Does it really mean that, and can we show that from scripture? Let’s look at some verses real quick. In Genesis chapter 15, verse 13, and he said to Abram, know for certain that your seed are to be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years.
Now this is a prophecy about the descendants of Abraham going into captivity in Egypt. And here it says, they shall afflict them four hundred years. The Hebrew word anah is used here. Does that mean the Egyptians made the Hebrews fast for four hundred years? I don’t think so. That’s not in any sense of the term, a way to interpret anah here. Genesis chapter 16, verse 9, and the messenger of Yahweh said to her, return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hand.
The Hebrew word anah here is translated as humble yourself. And this is when the messenger or angel of Yahweh came to Hagar and told her to go back to Sarah and anah yourself or humble yourself under Sarah’s hand. Does that mean to go in front of Sarah and fast? No, obviously not. Exodus chapter 1, verse 12. But the more they afflicted them, the more they increased and grew, and they were in dread of the children of Yisrael.
Again, this is another passage describing the slavery of the Hebrew people in Egypt. And it says here, but the more they, the Egyptians, afflicted them, the Hebrews, the more they increased and grew. So if anah means fast, then how is it that the Egyptians forcing the Hebrews to fast caused the Hebrews to increase and grow in numbers? See, it simply does not work out that anah corresponds to only fasting. Again in Exodus chapter 10, verse 3.
And Moshe and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, thus said Yahweh, Elohim of the Hebrews, till when shall you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go so that they serve me. Here the Hebrew word anah is translated into English as humble. So Moshe and Aaron came in and said to Pharaoh, till when shall you refuse to humble yourself, till when shall you refuse to anah yourself before me? So are they asking Pharaoh when it is that he’s going to fast himself before Yahweh? Again, no.
This is just four examples out of many, many, many examples in scripture that can be shown that anah does not simply mean to fast. There is a word for fasting in scripture, or I’m sorry, in Hebrew. And that is the Hebrew word sum. That means fast, but anah does not mean fast. Anah means to afflict or humble with what I understand the meaning of humility, of humbling. Ezra 8, verse 21. I then proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahawah to humble ourselves before our Elohim to seek from him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
So here we have an example of the Hebrew text using both the word for fast, sum, and the Hebrew word for humility or affliction, anah. So again, when the writers who wrote down the Hebrew text wanted to indicate a fast, they would use the word for fast, sum. Isaiah chapter 58, verse 3. They say, why have we fasted and you have not seen? Why have we afflicted our beings and you took no note? Look in the day of your fasting, you find pleasure and drive on all your laborers.
So here, this entire section is actually speaking of Yom Kippurim. But again, when the Hebrew writers or the writers who wrote the Hebrew manuscripts, when they wanted to say fast, they used the word for fast, sum. And when they wanted to say humble or afflict, they used the Hebrew word anah because anah is not synonymous with fasting. Anah can include fasting as a way to afflict or a way to humble, but it’s not the only way.
So no, anah does not synonymously mean fasting, and therefore, fasting is not commanded on Yom Kippurim by scripture. But again, you can fast as a way to afflict yourself on Yom Kippurim, but you don’t have to. It’s not a command. So some of you may point to a passage in the Brit Hadashah and try to make the case that, well, look, they even understood it in apostolic times that you are to fast on Yom Kippurim. Let’s look at that real quick.
Acts 27 verse 9, and much time having passed and the sailing now being dangerous because the fast was already over, Shaul advised them. Okay, number one, you read the context of the surrounding passages here to determine, well, is this actually Yom Kippurim or not? There is no definitive way from the text to prove that this fast they were talking about was the fast of Yom Kippurim, okay? It’s generally understood to be the time of Yom Kippurim, but it’s not definitive within scripture.
Also, there’s no way to prove that it’s not Yom Kippurim. So for the sake of conversation, let’s go ahead and assume that it is speaking about Yom Kippurim and that they were fasting because of Yom Kippurim. Now, were they doing so out of a commandment from scripture or were they doing so out of tradition? Now I’ll remind you that, number one, that tradition in and of itself is not bad. Tradition can be a good thing. It can help us and further us sometimes as long as tradition does not go against scripture or come from paganism.
Cannot go against scripture and it cannot come from paganism because that would be idolatry. Number two, this is this verse right here in the surrounding passage is talking about the Apostle Shaul or the Apostle Paul. Keep in mind with Shaul that in his former life, he was a Pharisaical Jew. He was very well versed in scripture. So he knew the scriptures, but he was also very well experienced in the customs and traditions that he had learned and been brought up in.
We’ve already established that Anat is not synonymous with fasting and that scripture does not command fasting on Yom Kippurim. You can do it, but it’s not commanded. You don’t have to do it. So the question is, if we’re assuming that this passage in Acts 27 is speaking of Yom Kippurim, well, why were they doing it? Well, again, Shaul would have known that or most likely would have known that fasting was not commanded on Yom Kippurim, but he was still fasting.
And most likely it’s because of the traditions that had been handed down to him that he did not see as going against scripture. Fasting on Yom Kippurim does not go against scripture. But at the risk of beating a dead horse, fasting is not commanded by scripture on Yom Kippurim. Most likely it is probably referring to Yom Kippurim, but again, it’s still not establishing something that we have to do or even something that we should do. And it’s certainly not establishing that scripture is commanding us to do it.
Just by this one reference of fasting by Paul. Going back to Isaiah chapter 58, verses 4 through 7, look, you fast for strife and contention and to strike with the fist of wrongness. You do not fast as you do this day to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his being? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Do not call this a fast and an acceptable day to Yahweh.
Is this not the fast that I have chosen, to loosen the tight cords of wrongness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to exempt the oppressed and to break off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the naked and cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Now, if you’re just listening on the audio podcast, this may not be as obvious as those of you who are watching the video.
But once again, this passage, this section right here, is a section that’s read traditionally on Yom Kippurim by those within Judaism and, you know, those within the Messianic way of thinking too. So this is read on Yom Kippurim every year. And here, this whole section again is about Yom Kippurim and it’s stating in this passage for Yom Kippurim, he’s asking, is it not to share your bread with the hungry? He’s telling them, shouldn’t you feed the hungry on Yom Kippurim? So if Yom Kippurim commanded fasting, why would they be in contradiction here saying to feed people, help them to eat on Yom Kippurim? This just goes back to reinforce the point that fasting is not commanded on Yom Kippurim.
We get plenty of evidence from scripture that this is the case, that fasting is not commanded on Yom Kippurim. You can fast, but you’re not commanded to fast. You don’t have to fast. Again that’s up to you. If fasting is a way to afflict yourself, hey, use it, go for it, along with some other things too, right? But the point is to afflict yourself, do no work. So we’ve covered the way to celebrate and observe Yom Kippurim nowadays according to scripture.
How do the Jews celebrate or observe Yom Kippurim nowadays outside of not having a temple and outside of not having a Levitical priesthood? Now on the day before Yom Kippurim, they have a large feast because again, they consider a commandment to fast on Yom Kippurim. So they fast for like 25 hours from sunset to sunset with some overlapping time there just to make sure. So they have a large feast right before they go into their fast.
They devote their observance of Yom Kippurim to prayer too, okay? So that’s a good thing. They go to worship services at the synagogue. Again, that’s a good thing as well, fellowship and worship services. They blow the shofar. You should have saw this coming, right? Every Muad’Dib, every new moon, things like that, the shofar is blown. They ask for forgiveness both from people around them, people they know, people they come in contact with that they may have done wrong against, and they also ask for forgiveness from Yahweh.
They volunteer and do charity work. Again, so far, except for the number one, this is, you know, good things to do. They wear white, but they don’t wear any fragrances whatsoever. No perfume, no cologne, no deodorant, lotion, anything like that. So wear white, and they don’t use any kind of fragrances of any kind. They also don’t wear any animal hides such as leather. They don’t bathe as a way to afflict themselves, and they perform that observance that we spoke of earlier called kappa rote.
There’s some things that you can take away from Judaism and how to observe Yom Kippurim if you so wish, but just know that the only two required things from scripture are to afflict yourself and don’t work, no servile work. Prayer is good, always good. Worship services, blowing of the shofar, asking for forgiveness, volunteering, charity work. Those are all good things, too. So if you feel like taking those things into your observance, go for it. Kappa rote, highly advised against, okay? We’ll put it this way.
It’s of no effect, okay, because we already have Yeshua as our Kippurim or atoning sacrifice for our sins. There’s even some speculation that this kappa rote ritual came from paganism. I can’t say one way or the other at the moment. All I’m going to say is that it’s something that is observed within Judaism. Maybe I’ll have time to track it down later. Maybe more on that next year when we do next year’s teaching on Yom Kippurim.
So in summary of what we’ve learned during this teaching, Yom Kippurim is a commanded Moedim from scripture and it occurs on the 10th of the 7th month, now known after the Babylonian captivity as Tishrei. It’s a day of rest and afflicting or humbling yourself. It’s called Yom Kippurim by scripture, not Yom Kippur, but again, that’s really a tertiary distinction. However, like I said, I prefer to go by the scriptural designation of Yom Kippurim. Yom Kippurim is a remembrance of Yeshua’s sacrifice and Yahweh making a way for us to be atoned back to him.
Yeshua is our one atoning sacrifice and entered once into the heavenly temple. Again, no need for bulls, goats, lambs, turtle doves, or chickens. Yeshua is our atoning sacrifice once and for all. And the only ones, because of what we just said, the only ones who can truly and correctly celebrate Yom Kippurim now are those who have Yeshua as their high priest and as their atoning sacrifice. And that is just the God Honest Truth. Thank you for joining us for another production from God Honest Truth Ministries.
