Yom Kippur

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Many Jews who are secular nevertheless observe this day, and synagogues often have to assign tickets in advance to the participants so that there is enough room.

This day follows Rosh Hashanah by ten days. Rosh Hashanah is the New Year, in which God traditionally records each person's fate for the coming year. In the following Days of Awe, the person confesses sin and seeks forgiveness for all sins against God and man. Yom Kippur, the day that the person's verdict is "sealed" for the coming year, is a solemn day of fasting, confession, and prayer.

Yom Kippur stands in contrast to the messianic system, in which Yeshua, the perfect lamb of God, has already been sacrificed and made atonement for all sin: past, present, and future. The believer has exchanged his own deeds for Yeshua's righteousness; HaShem has made the sacrifice.