Editing Yom Kippur (section)

==Significance==
===High Holy Days===
Yom Kippur is one of the two [[High Holy Days]], or ''Days of Awe'' (Hebrew {{Lang|he-latn|yamim noraim}}), alongside [[Rosh Hashanah]] (which falls nine days previously).<ref name="hhd">{{Cite web |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-high-holidays/ |title=The High Holidays |publisher=My Jewish Learning |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=17 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017151031/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-high-holidays/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Jewish tradition, on Rosh Hashanah [[God]] inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into the [[Book of Life]], and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict.<ref name="theology">{{Cite web |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yom-kippur-theology-and-themes/ |title=Yom Kippur Theology and Themes |publisher=My Jewish Learning |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=27 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927211542/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yom-kippur-theology-and-themes/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This process is described dramatically in the poem [[Unetanneh Tokef]], which is recited on Rosh Hashanah in the Ashkenazic and Italian rites and on Yom Kippur in the Eastern Ashkenazic and Italian rites:
{{blockquote|A great [[shofar]] will be blown, and a small still voice will be heard. The angels will make haste, and be seized with fear and trembling, and will say: "Behold, the day of judgment!"... On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on the Yom Kippur fast it is sealed, how many will pass and how many will be created, who will live and who will die, who in his time and who not in his time... But repentance, prayer, and charity remove the evil of the decree... For You do not desire a person's death, but rather that he repent and live. Until the day of his death You wait for him; if he repents, You accept him immediately.}}

During the Days of Awe, a Jew reflects on the year, goals, and past actions, how his or her behavior has possibly hurt others and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other human beings.

=== Repentance (''{{Lang|he-latn|Teshuva}}'') ===
{{Teshuva}}
[[File:Flickr_-_Government_Press_Office_(GPO)_-_An_Orthodox_Man.jpg|thumb|200px|A Jewish man, wearing a [[kittel]], blessing his family on Yom Kippur eve]]

[[Repentance in Judaism]] (Hebrew: {{Lang|he-latn|Teshuva}}), traditionally, consists of regretting having committed the sin, resolving not to commit that sin in the future, and [[Confession (Judaism)|confessing that sin]] before God.<ref>Maimonides, [[Mishneh Torah]], Laws of Teshuva 2:2</ref>

While repentance for one's sins can and should be done at any time, it is considered especially desirable during the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and particularly on Yom Kippur itself.<ref>Maimonides, [[Mishneh Torah]], Laws of Teshuva 2:7</ref> Thus, the Yom Kippur prayers contain extended confessions which list varieties of errors and sins, and to which one can add their own missteps, along with requests for forgiveness from God.

According to the Talmud, "Yom Kippur atones for sins done against God ({{Lang|hbo-latn|bein adam leMakom}}), but does not atone for sins done against other human beings ({{Lang|hbo-latn|bein adam lechavero}}) until the other person has been appeased."<ref>[[Yoma]] 85b</ref> Therefore, it is considered imperative to repair the harm that one has done to others before or during Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is described in the prayers as "a day of creating love and brotherhood, a day of abandoning jealousy and strife".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Machzor_Yom_Kippur_Ashkenaz%2C_Musaf_for_Yom_Kippur%2C_The_Avodah_Service.54?vhe=The_Metsudah_Machzor._Metsudah_Publications,_New_York_-_Heb_(paragraph_ed.)&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en |title=Machzor Yom Kippur Ashkenaz: Musaf for Yom Kippur: The Avodah Service |access-date=19 June 2023 |archive-date=19 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619094552/https://www.sefaria.org/Machzor_Yom_Kippur_Ashkenaz,_Musaf_for_Yom_Kippur,_The_Avodah_Service.54?vhe=The_Metsudah_Machzor._Metsudah_Publications,_New_York_-_Heb_(paragraph_ed.)&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en |url-status=live }}</ref> It is said that "if one does not remove hatred [from their heart] on Yom Kippur, their prayers are not heard".<ref>[[Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (book)|Kitzur Shulchan Aruch]] 131:4</ref>

===Thirteen attributes===
According to the Bible, after the [[golden calf]] sin, Moses descended from Mount Sinai and broke the [[Tablets of Stone]], which contained the [[Ten Commandments]] and symbolized the covenant with God.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|32:15-19|HE}}</ref> After God agreed to forgive the people's sin, Moses was told to return to Mount Sinai for a second 40-day period, in order to receive a second set of tablets.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|34:1-4|HE}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Exodus|34:28-29|HE}}</ref> According to rabbinic tradition, the date Moses descended with the second set of tablets was Yom Kippur. On this day Moses announced to the people that they had been forgiven; as a result the Torah fixed this date as a permanent holiday of forgiveness.<ref name=so>[[Seder Olam Rabbah]] 6</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The 120-Day Version Of The Human Story|url=https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2508/jewish/The-120-Day-Version.htm|access-date=2021-06-08|website=chabad.org|language=en-US|archive-date=8 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608171533/https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2508/jewish/The-120-Day-Version.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[Yaakov Medan]], [https://etzion.org.il/en/holidays/yom-kippur/first-yom-kippur The First Yom Kippur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618132933/https://etzion.org.il/en/holidays/yom-kippur/first-yom-kippur |date=18 June 2023 }}</ref>

The new covenant, which God announced by proclaiming the [[Thirteen Attributes of Mercy]] to Moses, is textually similar to the covenant of the Ten Commandments except that God's nature is described as merciful and forgiving, rather than zealous.<ref>Yoshi Fargeon, [https://www.etzion.org.il/he/tanakh/studies-tanakh/biblical-commentaries/%D7%9E%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%99%D7%92-%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA מה בין י"ג מידות לעשרת הדברות?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618100124/https://www.etzion.org.il/he/tanakh/studies-tanakh/biblical-commentaries/%D7%9E%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%99%D7%92-%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA |date=18 June 2023 }}</ref> When the Jewish people sinned in later eras, prophets would repeatedly quote the Thirteen Attributes to God as a reminder of God's commitment to mercy and forgiveness.<ref>E.g. {{Bibleverse|Numbers|14:17-18|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|Micah|7:18-20|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|Psalms|86:15-16|HE}}</ref> This is continued to the present day, as recitation of the Thirteen Attributes remains an important part of the Yom Kippur prayers (in [[Maariv]] and [[Neilah]]).

===Closeness to God===
While many of the observances of Yom Kippur (such as fasting and long prayers) can be difficult, there is also a tradition in which they are interpreted positively, as indications of closeness of God. Various sources compare the observances of Yom Kippur – fasting, barefootness (not wearing leather shoes), standing (in prayer), particular manners of prayer, even the peace that exists between Jews on this day – with the behavior of angels, suggesting that on Yom Kippur Jews become like angels in heaven, purified and close to God and not limited by physicality.<ref name=angel1/><ref name=angel2/>

Yom Kippur was also unique as a time of closeness to God in the [[Yom Kippur Temple service]]. Yom Kippur was the only occasion on which the [[High Priest of Israel]] was allowed to enter the [[Holy of Holies]], the innermost chamber of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], where God's presence was said to dwell. On Yom Kippur the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies several times, first to create a cloud of incense smoke in which (the Bible promises) God would reveal Himself without being seen,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|16:2|HE}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Leviticus|16:12-13|HE}}</ref> and later to offer sacrifices of atonement.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|16:14-16|HE}}</ref>

While the encounter with God and the atonement may appear to be unrelated, in fact they are mutually dependent. On one hand, the priest is only worthy to approach God when in a state of purity, with the sins of the people being forgiven. On the other hand, only by approaching God with an intimate, personal request can God be persuaded to abandon justice for mercy, permitting the purification to take place.<ref>[https://www.hatanakh.com/es/node/33370 Atoning Before God]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.etzion.org.il/he/tanakh/torah/sefer-vayikra/parashat-acharei-mot/blood-prohibitions-book-vayikra |title=אחרי מות-קדושים {{!}} לפני ה' תטהרו |access-date=29 June 2023 |archive-date=29 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629055230/https://www.etzion.org.il/he/tanakh/torah/sefer-vayikra/parashat-acharei-mot/blood-prohibitions-book-vayikra |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the Torah, the Yom Kippur Temple service was commanded in wake of the deaths of [[Nadab and Abihu]] on the eighth day of the [[Tabernacle]] inauguration.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|16:2|HE}}</ref> Not only was this eighth day the occasion of the Yom Kippur command, but the eighth day was also similar in its nature to Yom Kippur, both in biblical texts (e.g. the sacrifices offered on each day) and in rabbinic interpretation.<ref name=shmini>[[Yoel Bin-Nun]], [https://www.hatanakh.com/sites/herzog/files/herzog/imported/mega8_ybn.pdf היום השמיני ויום הכיפורים], Megadim 8:9-34 (1989)</ref> The purpose of the eighth day was the revelation of God's presence to the people;<ref name=shmini/>{{rp|14}} similarly, the Yom Kippur service was a unique opportunity for the people's representative to obtain closeness with God.<ref>[https://www.etzion.org.il/he/tanakh/torah/sefer-shemot/parashat-tetzaveh/%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%AA-%D7%A0%D7%93%D7%91-%D7%95%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%94%D7%95%D7%90-%D7%95%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9D-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D הקטורת, נדב ואביהוא ויום הכיפורים]</ref>

A [[midrash]] compares the Yom Kippur prayers to a verse from the [[Song of Songs]], describing a woman who rises from bed at night to begin a romantic encounter with her lover. With each Yom Kippur prayer, it is implied, Jews approach closer to God:

{{blockquote|"I rose up to open to my beloved. My hands dripped with [[myrrh]], my fingers with flowing myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt" ({{Bibleverse|Song of Songs|5:5|HE}}) – "I rose up to open to my beloved" – this refers to ''Yotzer'' [the [[shacharit|morning prayer]]]; "My hands dripped with myrrh" – this refers to [[Mussaf]]; "my fingers with flowing myrrh" – this refers to [[Mincha]]; "upon the handles of the bolt" – this refers to [[Neilah]].<ref>[[Bahya ben Asher]], ''Kad Hakemach'', p. 122b</ref>}}

Using a similar metaphor, the [[Mishnah]] describes Yom Kippur as a wedding date, as on this date Moses returned having reestablished the covenant between God and Israel.<ref name=taanit48/> Along with [[Tu B'Av]], Yom Kippur was historically considered one of the two happiest days of the Jewish year, for on this day Jews receive forgiveness for their sins, and on this date the covenant with God was reestablished.<ref>[[Babylonian Talmud]] [https://www.sefaria.org/Taanit.30b.8 Taanit 30b-31a] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108103227/https://www.sefaria.org/Taanit.30b.8 |date=8 January 2024 }}</ref>

===Purification===
In {{Bibleverse|Leviticus|16:30|HE}}, the [[Torah]] summarizes the purpose of Yom Kippur as follows:
{{blockquote|For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to purify you; from all your sins before the Lord you shall be purified.<ref name=v1630>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|16:30|HE}}</ref>}}

There are two forms of impurity in Judaism (see [[Tumah and taharah]]): ritual impurity (e.g. when one touches a corpse) and moral impurity (when one commits a serious sin).<ref name="malbim">[[Malbim]], ''HaTorah VeHaMitzvah'', commentary on [https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90_%D7%99%D7%90_%D7%9E%D7%90-%D7%9E%D7%96#%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%9F_%D7%A7%D7%A1%D7%95 Vayikra 11:43] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703083159/https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90_%D7%99%D7%90_%D7%9E%D7%90-%D7%9E%D7%96#%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%9F_%D7%A7%D7%A1%D7%95 |date=3 July 2023 }}, [https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90_%D7%94_%D7%91-%D7%92#%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%9F_%D7%A9%D7%95 Vayikra 5:2-3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703083200/https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90_%D7%94_%D7%91-%D7%92#%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%9F_%D7%A9%D7%95 |date=3 July 2023 }}</ref><ref>[[David Tzvi Hoffman]], introduction to Leviticus 11 ({{Alhatorah|Leviticus|11:1|R. David Zvi Hoffmann}}); his term for "moral impurity" is {{Script/Hebrew|טומאת הקדושות}}.</ref> While the Yom Kippur Temple service did purify the Temple if it had become ritually impure,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|16:16|HE}}; see {{Alhatorah|Leviticus|16:16|Shadal}}</ref> the emphasis of the day is on the Jewish people's purification from moral impurity.<ref name=v1630/>

Leviticus 16:30 mentions purification twice. According to [[Netziv]], the first mention is a promise that God will purify Israel on this day, while the second is a command, calling on Israel to purify themselves through repentance.<ref>{{Alhatorah|Leviticus|16:30|Netziv}}</ref> Thus, on this day Jews do their utmost to repent. But if, by the end of the day, they have reached the limits of their ability and are still morally flawed, God extends them forgiveness and purification anyway.<ref>Meir Lichtenstein, [https://ravmayer.org/lessons/%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%9D-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%9C%D7%A4%D7%A0%D7%99-%D7%9E%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%9D-%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%98%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9F/ אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מיטהרין]</ref>

{{Bibleverse|Jeremiah|17:13|HE}} states that "Israel's hope ({{Lang|hbo-latn|mikveh}}) is in God". According to [[Rabbi Akiva]], this verse alludes to a ritual purification bath (also pronounced ''[[mikveh]]''), and thus on Yom Kippur God metaphorically becomes a mikveh in which Israel immerses and purifies itself.<ref>Mishnah, Yoma 8:9</ref> This idea is symbolized by immersion in an actual mikveh. In the [[Yom Kippur Temple service]], the High Priest would immerse upon putting on and taking off his white Yom Kippur garments;<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|16:4|HE}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Leviticus|16:24|HE}}</ref> the rabbis counted no fewer than five immersions over the course of the day's service.<ref>Mishnah, Yoma 3:3</ref> Among modern-day Jews, too, there is a custom of immersion before Yom Kippur (though not on Yom Kippur itself, as bathing is forbidden in normal circumstances).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/15-05-10/ |title=Peninei Halakha: 10. Erev Yom Kippur Customs |access-date=3 July 2023 |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703083159/https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/15-05-10/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

When the [[scapegoat]] was selected on Yom Kippur to symbolically carry the people's sins to the desert, a [[Kermes (dye)|crimson]] cord was tied around its horns.<ref>Mishnah Yoma 4:2</ref> While the practical purpose of this cord was to distinguish the scapegoat from the goat which was to be slaughtered, it also symbolized the sin which the scapegoat was carrying away.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.daat.ac.il/he-il/hagim/hodashim/yom_hakipurim/stav-lashon.htm |title=תפקיד הלשון של זהורית |access-date=3 July 2023 |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531035409/https://www.daat.ac.il/he-il/hagim/hodashim/yom_hakipurim/stav-lashon.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|1:18|HE}} promises that if the Jewish people repents, "if [their] sins are like crimson, they shall become white as snow." According to tradition, in some years the scapegoat's cord would miraculously turn white to indicate that the people's sins were forgiven and purification achieved in that year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.67a.7 |title=Yoma 67a |access-date=3 July 2023 |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703083159/https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.67a.7 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Jewish unity===
Yom Kippur is considered a day of Jewish unity. In [[Kol Nidre]], in which vows are released, [[Herem (censure)|vows of excommunication]] against sinning Jews were similarly lifted and these "transgressors" were allowed to pray alongside other Jews.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://orot.ac.il/%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%95-%D7%9E%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%9C-%D7%A2%D7%9D-%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D |title=אנו מתרין להתפלל עם העבריינים |access-date=18 June 2023 |archive-date=18 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618113825/https://orot.ac.il/%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%95-%D7%9E%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%9C-%D7%A2%D7%9D-%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Talmud, "Any fast in which Jewish sinners do not also participate is not a valid fast".<ref>Keritot 6b</ref>

Similarly, the [[Mishnah]] describes Yom Kippur as a day on which men and women would once meet each other in the vineyards in order to arrange marriages.<ref name=taanit48>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Ta%27anit.4.8 |title=Taanit 4:8 |access-date=18 June 2023 |archive-date=18 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618102600/https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Ta%27anit.4.8 |url-status=live }}</ref> While this story is surprising given the generally somber nature of the day, it is based on [[Levite's concubine#Finding new wives|the Biblical episode]] where the oath against marrying Benjaminites was circumvented by allowing them to take women from the vineyards as wives, and thus indicates the day's theme of abandoning grudges in order for the Jewish people to be reunited.<ref name=beer>[[Yaakov Medan]], ''Be'er Miriam: Yom Hakippurim''</ref>{{rp|29–30}}