יום כפור “Day of Atonement.”
The tenth day of the seventh month, Tishri, is the most important of all the Holy-days. It is the Day of Atonement, on which “God will forgive you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord” (Lev. xvi. 30). [[406]]
“Ye shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict yourselves: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath” (Lev. xxiii. 31, 32).
The Day of Atonement is therefore a day of resting, fasting, prayer, and spiritual improvement.
It is a day of rest, and the prohibition of work is the same as on the ordinary Sabbath.
The fasting begins the 9th of Tishri—ערב יום כפור—about sunset, and lasts till the beginning of night on the following day. The phrase, ועניתם את נפשתיכם “Ye shall afflict yourselves,” is explained by Tradition to signify the total abstinence from all kinds of food and the gratification of other bodily desires (Mishnah, Yoma viii. 1). The reason of this commandment may be the following: The principal source of sin is the gratification of our bodily appetites; תשובה “return” to the right way must therefore include the earnest attempt to control, and when necessary to suppress, such appetites. Fasting is such an attempt. But it must be borne in mind that fasting is only one of the duties we have to fulfil on the Day of Atonement, and that the other duties are equally essential.
תשובה “return,” is the principal object of the celebration of the Day of Atonement; it implies the following four steps:—
1. Consciousness of sin, ידיעת החטא. We must again and again examine ourselves and try to discover our failings; our actions and our words must pass in review, and we must remember that, however good we may [[407]]be, no man is righteous upon earth “that doeth good and sinneth not” (Eccles. vii. 20).
2. Confession of sin, ודוי.[107] On the discovery of sin, we must have the courage to confess our guilt before him against whom we have sinned; if it is against God alone that we have sinned, we make silent confession before Him; if we find ourselves guilty of an offence against our fellow-man, we must confess our sin to him.
3. Regret, חרטה. Having discovered and confessed our sin, we should feel pain and remorse, alike for the evil we have done and for the good we have left undone.