The Christian Jewish RootsSýnishorn

It is necessary for you never to forget that on Yom Kippur there were two offerings. Aaron confessed their sins, but he also confessed the curses, or iniquities, that were on them because of those sins. For example if someone had stolen something that was a sin, but the curse on that person’s finances, businesses, crops, and herds as a result of the sin was just as bad.  That was the iniquity. God was not just forgiving his sin. He was also breaking the curse.

Jewish Rabbis teach that God’s love is so great that He hears us every day of the year, but on Yom Kippur, He is closer to earth. He is setting up His kingdom, where there will be no more tears; there will be no more sorrow. There will be no lack or pain. On this day, He is closer to setting up His kingdom than on any other day of the year.  

Animal sacrifices were abandoned by the Jews after the destruction of their temple, around A.D 70  while it existed, however, these sacrifices were the primary way in which the Jews worshipped and honored God. 

The Torah portion read on Yom Kippur morning is taken from Leviticus 16, which details the ancient biblical Yom Kippur rituals in which two goats would be selected as symbolic sacrifices. One would be sacrificed to God in the ancient belief that animal sacrifice could achieve divine ablution from sin, and the other goat literally became the “scapegoat” upon which the High Priest would symbolically place all the sins of the Jewish people.

This scapegoat would then be sent off into the desert to a demon known as Azazel (presumably to die there), thus carrying away the sins of the people. (Some Jews read selections from Deuteronomy 29 and 30, as a reaffirmation of accepting their covenantal responsibility.)

The first communal prayer service of Yom Kippur actually takes place immediately prior to sunset on the evening of Yom Kippur. This service is called Kol Nidrei (“All Vows”). These are the first words of a special legal formula that is recited at the beginning of this service and is chanted three times. This legal ritual is believed to have developed in early medieval times as a result of persecutions against the Jews.

At various times in Jewish history, Jews were forced to convert to either Christianity or Islam upon pain of death. However, after the danger had passed, many of these forced converts wanted to return to the Jewish community. However, this was complicated by the fact that they had been forced to swear vows of fealty to another religion. 

Because of the seriousness with which the Jewish tradition views verbal promises, the Kol Nidrei legal formula was developed precisely in order to enable those forced converts to return and pray with the Jewish community, absolving them of the vows that they made under duress.

The Haftarah, or additional biblical reading, is taken from the book of Isaiah Chapters 57 and 58, in which the prophet criticizes the empty, superficial religious rituals of the ancient Israelites when the rites are not accompanied by acts of righteousness, charity, and morality.