To:	 "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Date:	 Tue, 14 Oct 1997 01:08:43 +0000
Subject: Info about Yom Kippur

>From	 Uri Marcus
To:	 heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: All about Yom Kippur

This is the lesson of Yom HaKippor, and Yom HaDin -- the day of
Attonement and the Day of Judgement.

But before I start, let me remind you that there are Biblical answers
and there are Jewish answers. They don't always coinside. This is
actually no laughing matter as Y'shua himself warned against nullifying
G-d's Torah. In Mark 7, for instance, Y'shua is discussing how the
teachers of the Torah had in some cases perverted the Torah by
incorrectly interpreting it in their "drashot" or commentaries, which
resulted in nullifying the commandments:

"For Moshe said, `Honour your father and your mother,' and, `Anyone who
curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if
a man says to his father or mother: `Whatever help you might otherwise
have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to G-d), then
you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you
nullify the word of G-d by your tradition that you have handed down.
And you do many things like that." Mark 7:10ff.

One example of this happened last year during Rosh HaShana. After the
destruction of the Temple, our Sages decided that if Rosh HaShana were
to fall on a Shabbat, then the blowing of the Shofar should not be done
because it could be considered work owing to the fact that the Shofar
was a Temple instrument. Since the Shabbat was held as more important
than Rosh HaShana, the Shabbat should not be violated. Hence, last
year, in which Rosh HaShana did in fact fall on a Shabbat, no Shofars
were heard through-out the Land, which nullified the direct commandment
of G-d to blast the Shofar on Yom HaTeru'ah. Instead, they were all
blasted on the second day of the feast, which was on a Sunday. This
year Yom HaKippor falls on a weekly Shabbat, but this was permitted by
the sages  because the Shofar HaGadol (the great Shofar) is only blown
tomorrow evening, after 3 stars have been sighted.

So with this in mind, lets look at the first question.

1. Is Yom Kippur considered the most sacred day in the Jewish Calendar?
If so, why?

NO! Yom Kippur is NOT considered the most sacred day in the Jewish
Calendar, but it should be! Contrary to popular belief, the Shabbat is
considered the most sacred day in the Jewish Calendar, owing to the
fact that in Torah, the penalty for violating the Shabbat is death
which is much more severe than the penalty for violating Yom Kippur,
which is only excommunication. But this year, they coinside. I have yet
to discover how we are to fulfill the Shabbat in which there is
supposed to be great Joy, and fulfill Yom HaKippor, in which we afflict
our souls. The Lord is surely teaching us something here!

However, the Hebrew seems clear enough in ViYikrah (Leviticus) 23:32
when it says of Yom Kippor that "It is a Shabbat of Shabbatot for you,
and you must deny yourselves." The Almighty was indicating here that
the 10th of Tishrei is the highest of all Shabbats, and should be
regarded as such. By removing this significance, all kinds of problems
are introduced into the Jewish Calendar. To see what I mean, read the
answer to "trick" question #3.

2. Why do Jews fast on Yom Kippor? What is the theme of the Holiday and
what does it point to?

ViYikrah (Leviticus) 23 and BaMidbar (Numbers) 29 both make it clear
that Jews are to "afflict" or "torture" their souls on Yom HaKipporim.
This has been interpreted to mean, amongst other things, obstaining
from food. bathing, sexual contact, receiving eMail, and other kinds of
pleasurable activity. This is most solomn day.

But how does fasting in particular accomplish afflicting your soul?

Without doing a protracted study on the subject, I can tell you that
fasting in the Torah is done on certain occasions only, and permitted
by the Rabbis for short periods only, usually not for more than 25
hours for various events like the anniversary of the death of someone,
a communal catastrophe, when tefillin or Torah books are dropped, and
on feast days like Yom Kippur and minor fast days like Purim Katan,
Tisha B'av and two or three others.

Denying yourself food, from a Jewish point of view, is a mechanism of
remembrance which reminds us that G-d alone is sovereign over all, and
only He is to be served and worshipped, instead of our own needs. It
also instructs us that all things come from the Holy One of Israel,
blessed be He, and not from our own efforts -- D'varim (Deut) 8, as our
pride would invariably dictate.

Fasting can be thought of as sending a message to G-d that we recognize
His Kingship and provision which He has already blessed, but was never
meant to be a method through which we coerce G-d into doing what we
want, or invoke His presence, or into Him listening to us, as if He
does not hear us to begin with. Those who practice fasting to achieve
these things are really practicing a form a "shamanism." Fasting in the
Tenach, in fact, is not FOR G-d or even ABOUT G-d. It is about us, and
our relationship TO G-d. Fasting never has as its goal (as in paganism)
to reach the gods and please them by denying the physical needs of the
body. It is not a mechanism of guilt removal to cleanse the conscience
nor is this concept found in Torah. Except for personal grief or
sorrow, fasting is almost always communal, not individual, in the
Tenach.

Thus we afflict our souls, by going against the grain of our natural
thoughts and perceptions. It is in essense a "Reality Check" to help up
get back on track, that the prayer of Psalmist might come to pass...

"Lev Tahor barah Li Elohim, v'Ruach Nachon chadesh baKirbi."

"Create in me a pure heart, O G-d, and renew a correct spirit within
me. -- Tehilim (Psalms) 51:10

Now, with regard to the theme of Yom Kippor, it of course focuses on
repentance, which is the basis of the "attonement" or covering
(Kaparah), in which G-d removes our sins and sends them back to their
source. Sha'ul (Paul) sums it up this way: "Godly sorrow brings
repentance that leads to salvation..." (2 Cor 7:10). Our deep
repentance is the key that releases the gracious power of G-d in our
lives enabling us to practice Torah (G-d's instructions). In this way,
Torah is full of grace, without which, we could never obey it.

Being that repentance is the theme of Yom HaKipporim, and that a
fearful judgement follows upon those who do not adhere, we must begin
to adjust our theology right away. The Church has, for centuries,
taught that G-d's grace, G-d's love, G-d's favor, salvation and
acceptance are all "unconditional" when offered to the world. This idea
is, in good measure, responsible for the "feel-good" experience-based,
hell-bound, "good-time" religion whose spirit pervades our society and
even the Church today, and threatens its destruction.

But this claim of "unconditional" acceptance is simply not true and
cannot be supported in Torah or in the NT. G-d's grace and salvation
ARE most certainly CONDITIONAL. They are freely given to mankind, but
ONLY if he REPENTS before the Almighty G-d of Israel, admitting that he
has offended a Most Holy G-d. ONLY on this path and with this message,
properly emphasized and delivered, will mankind be lead to accept the
only true covering provided by G-d, namely the Mashiach who has paid
the price for our sins, and though whose sacrifice has sent them back
to their source.

3. When does Yom Kippur begin and end this year? Yom Kippur falls on the
10th of Tishrei in the Jewish Calendar. On any given year, could this
fall on a Friday?

Yom Kippur begins at Sundown, today, the 10th of October, and ends when
at least 3 three stars are visable in the evening sky on the 11th of
October (5:48 PM Israel time). The fast of Yom Kippur begins 1 hour
before sundown (4:37 PM Israel time), bringing the total length of the
fast this year to 25 hours and 11 minutes. What I can't figure out is
if it is a called a fast, why is soooo slooow?

Can Yom Kippur fall on a Friday?

Well, halachicaly speaking (in accordance with oral [Rabbinic] law),
the Jewish Calendar has been messed with. It has been designed in such
a way so that the tenth of Tishrei does not normally fall on a Friday,
Sunday, or Tuesday. But somehow, this year, the Rabbis didn't follow
their own rulings. The thinking is normally that if it were to fall on
a Friday, it would be impossible to prepare food for the Shabbat, or to
prepare food in which to break the fast after Shabbat. Nevertheless,
here we are, and I assure you, we won't any trouble preparing food for
to break the fast, because we are doing it now, before Shabbat begins!

If it were to fall on a Sunday, it would be impossible to accomplish on
the Shabbat all that is necessary to prepare for the fast (i.e., to
make a festive meal before the fast). If it were to fall on a Tuesday,
Hoshana Rabba (the last day of Succot) would fall on the Shabbat two
weeks later and the commandment that aravot (willows) be beaten would
not be able to be observed, for it would be a violation of the Shabbat.

But Biblically speaking, I believe this is messing with G-d's appointed
times and seasons (mo'edim baSimcha), and is in itself another example
of nullifying the commandments of G-d for the sake of our traditions.
Even if all other fast days that fall on a Shabbat in a particular year
were postponed to Sunday, Yom Kippor must be observed on its appointed
day, the tenth of Tishrei, as perscribed in Torah, and changing the
"day" that the 10th falls on, by making the calendar lie to itself, is
not going to win points with the Holy One, blessed be He, nor will it
fool Him. In fact "changing appointed times and seasons" is a telltale
mark of the Anti-Mashiach according to Daniel. And Yet the church has
never been ashamed to replace Shabbat with Sunday. Unfortunetely, these
problems that has been introduced to our calendar for centuries, are
not so easy to undo. Can we even trust our calendar today? That is
subject of another discussion, I'm afraid.

4. Which book of the Prophets is read in the Synagogues on Yom Kippur?
Why?

Yonah (Jonah), of course. The book on Yonah was selected for the
Haftarah reading (reading from the Prophets) for the Mincha (afternoon)
service on Yom Kippur because G-d is represented there as the G-d of
all nations. The concept of the universality of G-d is emphasized
throughout the High Holiday liturgy in the synagogue, and the book of
Yonah is particually suited to this agenda as it addresses itself to
the theme of repentance in that man everywhere can abandon his evil
ways and accept responsibility for his actions, and return to his G-d.

5. Part of the Synagogue service on Yom Kippur includes the "Yizkor" or
"Remembrance". What is remembered?

The Yom Kippur "Yizkor" service remembers and memorializes close
relatives and friends who have passed away. The custom dates back to
the fifth century and is thought of as a way to stir the hearts of the
people into repentance by recalling the lives of the dear departed. The
Yizkor became manditory during the period of the Crusades (eleventh to
thirteenth century), when thousands of Jews were violently slain by
fanatical Christian armies en route from Europe to the Holy Land to rid
it of the infidel, in the name of Jesus. The service provided an
opportunity for the individual and the community as a whole to express
its common loss.

For Gentile Christians with a love for Israel and who wish to
participate in a fast on behalf of our people, one of things that could
be corporately repented from is the hate and anti-semitism that
Christians in the past have expressed towards the Jews throughout
history. This repentance, even for deeds you yourself did not commit,
would not be without Scriptural precident, as Daniel, Nehemiah and
David all present prayers that no only repented for their sins, but for
those of their fathers.

BONUS QUESTION:

What do Jews do when reciting the "Confession of Sins" prayer?

The "Confession of Sins" prayer is a list of over 150 sins, more
generally referred to as "Al Chet" (For the Sin). This prayer along
with the "Ashamnu" (We have Sinned) is recited several times throughout
the Yom Kippur Service, and the common practice is to beat the left
breast over the heart with the right hand when uttering the words
"sinned" or "transgressed." The action is designed to create a feeling
of penitance in the individual. All synagoges and some libraries will
have a copy of the Yom Kippur High Holiday Machzor (Prayer Book) for
those who would like to read these prayers for themselves. I would
highly recommend getting a copy and reading them, if you can.

The Jewish people, as caretakers of the oracles of G-d, and our ancient
writings have much to share with regard to HaShem and the fundamentals
of worship and service of the Most High. No other nation on earth, in
example, dedicates ten days of its calendar every year to confess,
become responsible for and repent from their sins, both individually
and nationally before the Almighty and Only Creator of our World.

For those who do fast with us, we say in Israel, "Tsom Kal" (have an
easy fast). But I would say to you instead, "Tsom Tov" (Have a GOOD
fast), for in following this example, may you be renewed, strengthened
and resolved to follow G-d and all of His precepts and judgments this
coming year and to do His will, by the power of the Spirit of the Holy
One, blessed be He.

May the G-d of Israel bless each of you richly, through Yeshua,
HaMashiach,

Uri Marcus

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