Three major holy days occur in the first 19 days of the biblical month of Tishri, (September – October) Rosh HaShanah, Yom-Kippur, and the 8 days of Sukkot (Tabernacles/Booths).
This year Rosh HaShanah falls on Shabbat and many think it is significant.
As we recall the historical background we can read Leviticus 23:23-25 and remember one of the fascinating facts about the holy day of Rosh HaShanah is that it is considered the Hebrew New Year, and yet it is not called that in the Torah.
The truth is, this day comes in the seventh month of the calendar year and was given a different name. The Biblical/spiritual new year starts in the spring with the month of Nisan, Exodus12:2, the beginning of the new agricultural year. However, the sages gave such significance to the first Shabbat of the fall holidays that they eventually considered it as the spiritual new year, hence the name change as well. Biblically known as Yom Teruah, (literally translated as the Day of Sounding/Festival or Feast of Trumpets), this day became Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Head of the Year. Incidentally this year is the Gregorian 2026 but is the Hebrew Year Rosh HaShanah, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה 5787 – and it begins at sundown on Friday, 11 September 2026 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, 13 September 2026.
The purpose of this Holy Day is summed up in one word: regathering. Since the fall holidays (holy days), call Israel to re-gather to a pure faith in Adonai, Rosh-HaShanah came to represent the day of repentance. It is the day when the people of Israel take stock of their spiritual condition and make the necessary changes to ensure that the upcoming new year will be pleasing to the Fathe. So important was this day of Rosh-HaShanah that in fact the entire preceding Hebrew month of Elul takes on a holy significance of its own. The sages stressed that the 40 day period from the first day of Elul through the 10th day of Tishri (Yom Kippur) was to be a time of special spiritual preparation. This was based on the belief that it was on the first of Elul that Moshe/Moses ascended Mount Sinai in order to receive the second set of tablets of the Law and that he descended on Yom Kippur.
Leviticus 23:26-32. Yom Kippur has long been considered the most holy day on the Hebrew Calendar. The name itself describes the history of this day for it was on this very day once a year that the high priest would enter the holy of holies to make atonement for the nation. In a word Yom Kippur illustrates regeneration for those who follow Gods way of atonement. Leviticus 16 goes into great detail about the Yom Kippur ceremony, which centered on the sacrifices of two goats. One goat called Chatat, was to be killed as a blood sacrifice to symbolically cover the sins of Israel. The other called Azazel, or scapegoat, would be brought before the priest. The priest would lay his hands on the head of the goat as he confessed the sins of the people, but instead of slaying this animal in the traditional fashion, the goat would be set free in the wilderness/thrown off the edge of a cliff, symbolically taking the sins of the nation out from their midst.
What was begun on Rosh Hashanah, namely repentance and self evaluation, was completed 9 days later with atonement and regeneration. In temple times, the observance of the day was more clearly defined and centered on the sacrifices. In 70 AD the temple was destroyed causing some perplexing questions. How can Yom Kippur be observed without the proper place of sacrifice or be effectual without the correct sacrifice? The rabbis of the 1st century decided to make substitutes using prayer-Tefilah, repentance-teshuvah, and charity- tzedakah to replace sacrifice in the modern observance of Yom Kippur. There are Orthodox Jewish sects who still believe that Temple and animal sacrifices need to be revived in Israel, primarily those who have not accepted Yeshua as their Messiah. The sect of the temple mount faithful is actively reproducing the holy vessels and priestly garments to prepare for the coming Temple and includes restoring the red heifer and its ashes. They have attempted to place the first cornerstone on the Temple Mount in Yerushalayim – Jerusalem strongly believing that such a structure will be rebuilt soon. From Scripture in Revelation, we know that any rebuilt temple before Messiahs second coming will be occupied by the man of sin (antichrist).
Isaiah 58:5 gives insight to Traditional Jewish Observance, and as mentioned earlier Yom Kippur is considered the logical extension of what began at Rosh HaShanah, In fact the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur take on their own holy significance and are called the Yomim Noraim, the Days of Awe. Many Jews spend these days looking inward, contemplating how their inner life might be more pleasing to the Father. Personal relationships are evaluated, forgiveness and restitution are offered where needed and reconciliation is attempted.
As the evening of the 10th Tishri approaches special preparations are made. Leviticus 23 states that on Yom Kippur, Israel is, ‘to deny yourselves’. This is taken to mean ‘fast’. In the context of Isaiah 58: 5, this word is used specifically for going without food. Yom Kippur stands alone as a biblically commanded fast day, although there are many non biblical fasts. Before sundown, when the fast is to begin, it is customary to have a holiday meal and even a requirement in order to set apart the fast day. As with the other holy days the table is set with the best linens and dishes.
White is an appropriate color for linens and clothing as it symbolizes the hope of the high holy days, the cleansing from sins, see Isaiah 1:18. The 2 candles are lit and the blessings are said over the wine and the challah (braided Shabbat bread).
After the festival meal, just before dark, Yom Kippur commences with the fast. The fast continues from sundown on the 9th Tishri until sundown on the 10th. The evening of the holy day, (erev Yom Kippur), is perhaps the most holy occasion of the year. Jews attend the local synagogues to hear Kol Nidre, a special cantorial prayer asking God to release them from any vows that have been taken inappropriately. The origin of this petition goes back to the Middle Ages, when many Jews were forcibly converted to Catholicism upon the threat of death, yet still wanted to maintain their Judaism. Kol Nidre released their anguish of having to convert.
The prayers during the services fervently plead that as Israelites the people can be written in the Book of Life for one more year. The holy day closes with the Neilah service, (the closing of the gates), and the final blast of the shofar is sounded: tekiah g’dolah, a long extended blast on the rams horn. It is thought that the fate of each individual is sealed at that time for the upcoming year. Naturally, the hope is for a sweet and blessed spiritual year, which is illustrated in the break–the fast meal that follows sundown.
Romans 3:23-26. In this well known passage Paul explains the significance of atonement in the context of Yom Kippur. Our Heavenly Father put Yeshua forward as the kapparah for sin through His faithfulness in respect to His bloody sacrificial death. Verse 25.
The word kapparah translated as propitiation, is often misunderstood today since it is not a word commonly used. The Greek word contains the idea of appeasing an angry Greek god. While there may be some similarity, the Hebrew equivalent of the word is clear. Kapparah means more than appeasement, it also means atonement, a term any Israelite of the 1st century would have understood. On the execution–stake, Messiah Yeshua was displayed as our kapparah, our sacrifice, the fulfillment of Yom Kippur.
Since the theme of atonement is so central to the message of the new testament, it should not be surprising to discover other references to Yom Kippur; for example, Luke 4:16-22 records that Yeshua is called to read the Torah in His local synagogue of Nazareth. After He read the powerful message from Isaiah 61, He delivered a simple yet strong message, claiming to be the Messiah, the anointed One, Who would set the captives free.
Some of the classical rabbis believed this passage would be the words Messiah would speak to Israel when He came. The fact that this passage speaks of the Messiah as the liberator of the Israelites has led other rabbis to speculate that referring to Lev. 25:10, Messiah would appear on a very special Yom Kippur in the year of Jubilee.
As the rabbis point to a need for teshuvah- repentance, tifilah-prayer, and tzedakah-charital giving now there is no Temple, these alone didn’t satisfy the requirements of Kapparah as prescribed in the Torah, (Lev 17:11), and Heb. 9:22). Only Yeshua is the final kapparah and full redemption for humanity. As noted, only on Yom Kippur once a year, the high priest, cohen hagadol, would enter the holiest place and drench the top of the kapparah-mercy seat with the blood of the animal sacrifice to make atonement for the people. This was the physical place where Adonai met the Cohen HaGadol on Yom Kippur, (Lev. 16:2), and where He forgave the sins of the people of Israel. The mercy seat prefigured the eternal mercy, grace and hope that alone came through Yeshua the Messiah, through His shed blood, making atonement once and for all, placing the weight of all of humanity’s sin on Him. 1Peter 3:18.
As the Days of Awe are before us, although we do not need to literally follow the biblical directives, it is a time to self reflect, to give thanks for our salvation, redemption and the forgiveness of our sins. As the cycle of life has brought us to another full year let’s begin this one with renewed zeal, to be all that Messiah Jesus bought and paid for with His blood, to run our race and fulfill the plan and purpose designed for each one of us.
For new readers there are many previous posts on the Fall Moedim and can be accessed through links in the side panels or on Homepage under 7 Festivals/Appointed Times/Feasts.
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and cheverim/friends!
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You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
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SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
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