Yom Hakippurim Torah Readings

Yom Kippur | יום כיפור | "Day of Atonement"

Yom Kippur Torah Readings:

Date Service Torah Haftarah Brit Chadashah
Sun. Sept. 20th
Tishri 9, 5787
(Erev Yom Kippur)		 Kol Nidrei
(opening)		 Kol Nidrei Recitation [before sundown on Tishri 9]
Maariv
(evening)		 After sundown (i.e.,Tishri 10); half-Kaddish; the Shema; the Amidah; Confession (al chet); Selichot and Piyyutim (poems)
Mon. Sept. 21st
Tishri 10, 5787
Yom Kippur		 Shacharit
(morning)		 Lev. 16:1-34
Num. 29:7-11		 Isa. 57:14-58:14 Rom. 3:21-26;
2 Cor. 5:10-21
Yizkor Memorial service for departed family members
Musaf
(additional)		 The [musaf] Amidah; retelling of the Yom Kippur service at the Temple; the priestly blessing (birkat kohanim)
Minchah
(afternoon)		 Lev. 18:1-30 Jonah 1:1-4:11;
Micah 7:18-20		 Hebrews
Neilah
(closing)		 Thought to symbolize the "closing and sealing" of the Book of Life, when the "great shofar" is sounded.

Portion Commentary

Holiest Day of the Year

Thought for the Week:

According to the writer of the book of Hebrews, Messiah has become our High Priest. He entered into the Holy of Holies in heaven, the actual throne room of God, and applied His own blood for atonement. He entered into the presence of God for us so that He might usher us in as well (Hebrews 9:11, 12). Messiah is our High Priest, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the LORD pitched, not man, (Hebrews 8:2). Therein He applied His atoning blood. Therefore, the ceremony of the Day of Atonement uniquely patterns the work of Messiah: His death, His sacrifice and the atonement of His blood. We boldly enter the presence of God because the blood of Messiah covers us. Today He stands interceding on our behalf before the throne of God, just like a high priest.

Commentary:

The LORD said to Moses, Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat., (Leviticus 16:2)

After the deaths of the two sons of Aaron, the LORD warned Aaron not to enter the Holy of Holies but once a year. On that day, Aaron alone (or the high priest after him) was to enter in order to make atonement for Israel, the holy place and the altar. The day on which the high priest entered the Holy of Holies was called the Day of Atonement. Even then, Aaron was to enter only with blood and under the cloud of incense. Leviticus 16, the Torah reading for the Day of Atonement, describes the Tabernacle/Temple ceremony of the Day of Atonement: the two goats, the sin offering and the scapegoat, the incense, the sprinkling with blood and the high priest, entrance into the Holy of Holies. In Leviticus 16 we read about the intersection of three spheres of holiness. On the holiest day of the year (the Day of Atonement), the holiest man in the world (the high priest of Israel) goes into the holiest place in the world (the Holy of Holies). The high priest had to enter in order to make atonement for Israel, atonement for the Holy of Holies, atonement for the Tabernacle and atonement for the altar. Because these things remained continually in the presence of God, they needed to be atoned for. Without atonement they could not remain in the presence of God.

The Day of Atonement is the holiest day of the year. All of Gods appointed times are holy to the LORD, but the Day of Atonement is the holiest of all. It is set apart even from the other holy days.

All other Sabbaths and holidays are times of feasting and celebration. However, on the Day of Atonement, everyone is commanded to afflict himself through fasting and abstinence. The LORD says, If there is any person who will not afflict his soul on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people, (Leviticus 23:29).

Traditional Yom Kippur Services

It is customary to light the holiday candles, recite Shehecheyanu, and eat a late afternoon meal with loved ones (called Seudat Mafseket, a meal of cessation) a couple hours before the Yom Kippur fast begins. It is also customary to wear white clothing as a symbol of purity during Yom Kippur religious services, and some married men wear a kittel, or white robe, as well. Because of the sanctity of the holiday, the tallit is worn for evening services as well. Dressing in this way is intended to make us appear "white as snow," pure, like the angels.

In traditional Judaism, Yom Kippur consists of several interwoven religious services that are held throughout the 25 hour period of fasting. These include:

  1. The "Kol Nidrei" (כָּל נִדְרֵי) service begins before sundown on Tishri 9 and functions as a legal delcaration (recited in Aramaic) that annuls "all vows" made in the previous year (or the following year, depending on tradtion). Because this is intended to be a "legal" declaration, it is repeated three times during the Kol Nidrei service.
  2. The Maariv (evening) service consists of the recitation of Kaddish, the Shema, the Amidah (standing prayer), along with the confession of sins (viduy) and additional prayers (selichot) recited only on the night of Yom Kippur. In addition, liturgical poems (piyyutim) are recited as well. Most of this service is spent reading from a machzor (High Holiday prayerbook). During viduy (וִדּוּי) section called "al chet," the custom is to lightly beat the chest for each transgression as it is recited.
  3. The Shacharit (morning) service is not unlike other services for festivals during the Jewish year. The traditional morning prayers, the recitation of the Shema and Amidah, and the Torah reading are all part of the service. During Torah reading service there are six aliyot (separate readings by different people), one more than on other holidays (though if Yom Kippur occurs on Shabbat, there are seven aliyot).The Torah's name for the Day of Atonement is Yom Kippurim (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים), meaning "the day of covering, canceling, pardon, reconciling." Under the Levitical system of worship, the High Priest would sprinkle sacrificial blood upon the Kapporet (כַּפּרֶת) - the covering of the Ark of the Covenant - to effect "propitiation" or "purification" (i.e., kapparah: כַּפָּרָה) for the previous year's sins. Notice that Yom Kippur was the only time when the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and invoke the sacred Name of YHVH (יהוה) to offer blood sacrifice for the sins of the Jewish people. This "life for a life" principle is the foundation of the sacrificial system and marked the great day of intercession made by the High Priest on behalf of Israel.
  4. The Yizkor (יִזְכּר) service functions as a memorial service for family members who have died. Traditionally it is recited following the Torah reading of the Shacharit service, though some communities do it in the early afternoon.
  5. The Musaf (additional) service immediately follows the morning service and is divided into two parts: the repetition of the Amidah (by the cantor) and the "Avodah" service, which recounts the priestly service for Yom Kippur in ancient times. The Musaf service ends with the "Aaronic benediction" (i.e., birkat kohanim).
  6. The Minchah (afternoon) service includes a Torah reading service (Lev. 18), another repetition of the Amidah, and the recitation of the "Avinu Malkenu" poem. In addition, since it focuses on the importance of teshuvah (repentance) and prayer, the entire Book of Jonah is recited as the Haftarah portion of the Torah service.
  7. The Neilah (closing) service is the final service of Yom Kippur. The word "Neilah" (נְעִילָה) means "locking" and in rabbinical tradition this portion of the Yom Kippur service is intended to symbolize that the Book of Life has now been "closed and sealed" at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. The Shema is again recited and the phrase "the LORD He is God (i.e., Adonai hu ha-Elohim: יְהוָה הוּא הָאֱלהִים) is repeated seven times (1 Kings 18:39). This declaration is followed by a long blast of the shofar (i.e., tekiah gedolah), the "great shofar," to remind us how the shofar was sounded to proclaim the Year of Jubilee Year (יוֹבֵל) of freedom throughout the land (Lev. 25:9-10). After Yom Kippur ends, we are required to recite (or hear) Havdalah over wine before we eat anything.

Yom Kippur Torah Readings

Yom Kippur Torah Readings