Portions Library

A collection of essays on the weekly Torah Portions, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, adapted from Torah Club.

Yom KippurRead / Listen to Portion

Yom Kippur

PORTIONS LIBRARY

Sign in to read

Join the FFOZ Community to access the Portions Library.

Face to Face

Remembering that we do not see God clearly should help keep us humble. It should make us reluctant to criticize other people. They may have perceived an aspect of the Almighty that we have not, or visa versa. Neither of us is to be blamed for not seeing the whole picture. In this world, the whole picture is not available.

Topics:

Acharei Mot, ark of the covenant, atonement, Day of Atonement, face to face, high holidays, high holy days, holy of holies, incense, religious arrogance, sanctuary, veil, Yom Kippur

I Need Atonement

The suffering and the death of the righteous Messiah also accomplished atonement—not in the Sanctuary on earth but in the heavenly Sanctuary. Yeshua serves as “a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the LORD pitched, not man” (Hebrews 8:2).

Topics:

Acharei Mot, Day of Atonement, Fall Festivals, forgiveness, high holidays, High Holy Days, presence of God, provision, Yom Kippur

Fall Cleaning

Although Judaism considers it the holiest day of the year, most people outside Judaism have never heard of Yom Kippur. It was a day of solemn sacrificial rituals for purification and atonement. It was the only day of the year when the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

Topics:

atonement, clean-up, confession, Day of Atonement, fast, forgiveness, high holidays, holiest day, purification, repentance, Yom Kippur

Judgement Day

The high holidays of the Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur foreshadow the last days and the final judgment. Yom Kippur comes just ten days after Rosh HaShanah, the day on which the Torah commands the blowing of the shofar. The blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah warns the congregation to repent because the days of judgment have begun. The fanfare of Rosh HaShanah sets the scene for the Day of Judgment in the heavenly courtroom.

Topics:

Acharei Mot, atonement, book of life, Day of Atonement, judgment, justice, Rosh Hashanah, shofar, Yom Kippur

A Personal Day of Atonement

Our sin is as filth before the Almighty. Shame and disgrace ought to cover us every time we open our Bibles. We have sullied the very parchment of Torah with our sins and trodden on the shed blood of Messiah. Our worthy deeds are utterly eclipsed by our transgressions and sins. Yom Kippur reminds us that this is a real problem. The writer of the book of Hebrews says that “in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year” (Hebrews 10:3).

Topics:

Day of Atonement, forgiveness, high holidays, high holy days, presence of God, relationship, salvation, Yom Kippur

Holiest Day of the Year

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year. Holy means “set apart for the divine.” All of God’s appointed times are set apart to the LORD, but the Day of Atonement is the holiest of all. It is set apart even from the other holy days. The sanctity of the other festival days prohibit work but permit food preparation.

Topics:

Acharei Mot, atonement, Day of Atonement, fall festivals, high holidays, high holy days, holy of holies, presence of God, Yom Kippur

Explore Commentaries

For a chronological list of all the Torah Portions in each of the five books of Torah, click here.