Thought on Yom Kippur
By
Rabbi Robert. O. Miller
Kol Nidre – means “all vows,”
“All personal vows we have made that we did not fulfill, all personal oaths and pledges we made in the past Yom Kippur until this Yom Kippur, that we did not fulfill, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.”
Let us observe the testimony of Hebrews.
“The Son is the radiance of Yahweh’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Heb. 1:3)”
On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these “books” is sealed.
“As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened… there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14)”
“I saw the dead, small and great, stand before Yahweh; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Revelation 20:12)”
“I did not see a Temple in the city (New Jerusalem), because Yahweh Elohim and the Lamb (Messiah) are its Temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of Yahweh gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Revelation 21:22-27)”
This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment for that year, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.
“Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, YahShua the Son of Yahweh, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess… Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence… (Heb. 4:14,16 )”
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain (Ta hagia is “within the veil.”), where YahShua, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. (Heb. 6:19,20)”
“The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. (Heb. 8:1)”
The Torah Tots Website describes the Yom Kippur Temple Service like this:
On Yom Kippur the High Priest changes his clothes FIVE times, and at every change immersed himself in a Mikvah.
Before and after each change he also washes his hands and feet.
Two goats are the stars of this part of the show. The High Priest stands in the Azarah (courtyard) with an assistant priest to his right and the leader of the priest on duty that week on his left.
You’ve got two goats, one is going to be dedicated to Yahweh (Lord’s Kid) and the other is going to be sent to “Azazel.” – But which will be which?
A box is placed before the High Priest. It’s got only two wooden lots (pieces of wood) inside, one lot says “L’Yahweh”(for Yahweh), the other says “L’Azazel” (for Azazel). The High Priest puts both hands into the box and takes one lot in each hand. The lot in his right hand is placed on the head of the goat on the right. The lot in the left hand is placed on the head of the goat on the left.
The High Priest announces the goat marked “L’Yahweh”will be used as a supreme sacrifice. Later, the goat is slaughtered and its blood is sprinkled in the Holy of Holies.
The “L’Azazel” goat is led out to the desert by a special messenger who is chosen before Yom Kippur. This messenger’s job is to push the goat off a cliff where the animal will be smashed to the rocks below.
Pretty disturbing, eh? Well, it all goes to wake up the Commonwealth of Israel (US – you and me) to do Teshuva (repent). The thought that it should really be us instead of that goat gets the Teshuva juices going!
As we said, the High Priest only enters the Holy of Holies ONE day during the year. That is on Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur the High Priest enters a total of FOUR times:
- The first time he offers a Korban Ketoret (Incense Offering). This is the highlight of the Yom Kippur service.
- The next time he sprinkles the blood of the bull he personally offers as an atonement. The blood is sprinkled eight times before the Aron Hakodesh (Holy Ark).
- The third time is when the blood of the “L’Hashem” goat is sprinkled eight times before the Holy Ark.
- The fourth time he enters, is to retrieve the spoon and pan he left in the Holy of Holies after the Incense Offering.
“Only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing… He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood … For Messiah did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself now to appear for us in Yahweh’s presence. (Heb. 9:7-25)”
“. . . we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood if YahShua, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body. (Heb. 10:20)”
“The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so YahShua also suffered outside the city gate… (Heb. 13:11-12)”
Let us now approach the Throne of Grace:
Hear our prayer
We have sinned before Thee
Have compassion upon us and upon our children
Help us bring an end to pestilence, war, and famine
Cause all hate and oppression to vanish from the earth
Inscribe us for blessing in the Book Of Life
Let the new year be a good year for us.
Sing “Avenu Malkenu“
Originally written by Rabbi Robert O. Miller on Sept. 22nd 2007
(Robert Owen Miller 1957-2021)
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Great read. Thank you.