What is Yom Kippur? ✡️

Have an easy fast Maccabee nation if you’re observing Yom Kippur this year!

Yom Kippur fast day is the holiest day of the year for Jewish people, when we are closest to G‑d. Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement,” as the verse states, “For on this day He will forgive you, purify you, and cleanse sins before G‑d.”

For nearly 26 hours we “afflict our souls”: we abstain from food and drink, do not wash, and do not wear leather footwear. Instead, we spend the day in synagogue, praying for forgiveness.

Just months after the people of Israel left Egypt in the year 2448 (1313 BCE), they sinned by worshipping a golden calf. Moses ascended Mount Sinai and prayed to G‑d to forgive them. After two 40-day stints on the mountain, full Divine favor was obtained. The day Moses came down the mountain (the 10th of Tishrei) was to be known forevermore as the Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur.

That year, the people built the Tabernacle, a portable home for G‑d. The Tabernacle was a center for prayers and sacrificial offerings. The service in the Tabernacle climaxed on Yom Kippur, when the High Priest would perform a special service.

While the High Priest generally wore ornate golden clothing, on Yom Kippur, he would immerse in a mikvah and don plain white garments to perform this service.

This practice continued for hundreds of years, throughout the time of the first Temple in Jerusalem, which was built by Solomon, and the second Temple, which was built by Ezra. Jews from all over would gather in the Temple to experience the sacred sight of the High Priest performing his service, obtaining forgiveness for all of Israel.

When the second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE (over 500 years before Islam was even established for colonizers keeping score), the Yom Kippur service continued. Instead of a High Priest bringing the sacrifices in Jerusalem, Jews perform the Yom Kippur service in the temple of their own heart.

Sources

Yom Kippur history - https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4687/jewish/Yom-Kippur-2024.htm

Establishment of Islam - https://www.havefunwithhistory.com/islam-timeline/