This year, Yom Kippur begins several minutes before sunset on Wednesday, September 15th to just after nightfall on Thursday, September 16th.

It is a day of atonement and repentance. Traditionally, Jews observe this day with a day-long fast and intensive prayer. Often, they spend the day in synagogue services.

“Yom” is translated “day” and Kippur is translated as “atonement.” The day is set aside in Leviticus 23:27, “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord.” (ESV)

Other verses of Scripture that reference Yom Kippur include:

“…because of this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” Leviticus 16:29

“On this day, you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God.” Leviticus 12:28

Clearly, Yom Kippur is the day set aside by God for the Jews to atone for misdeeds and become cleansed and purified from them.

It is a day that is dedicated to introspection, prayer, and asking God for forgiveness. It is a solemn day, but it is a day of hope, as the Jews express in their prayers the confidence that God will accept their repentance and forgive their sins, setting the stage for a clean heart and a fresh start to the year ahead. In fact, it is said that this day of repentance seals their fate in the “Book of Life” for the coming year. That belief is the basis for the traditional Yom Kippur greetings such as “Good year” and “A final good sealing” and a “Good and blessed year.” By tradition, Jews also wish each other an easy fast.

(Sources: Chabad.org and Wikipedia.org)

As Christians, what should we take out of this day?

1. Forgiveness for sins is a gift from God. The removal of sins from us is a result of Christ’s taking our sins upon Himself, dying in a sinless state, taking our sins to the grave forever, and then rising again, opening the gates to heaven for us.

2. We do and should regularly inventory our sins and ask for forgiveness. This is done through both personal and joint communal confession and as part of the Communion service.

3. Many Christians mark Good Friday as the day of reflection upon sins and request for requesting forgiveness and cleansing, as the day that marks Jesus’ death and His taking of our sins to the grave.

4. Other churches and groups of believers set aside other days for prayer and reflection.

To that last point, the Bible study group in which I take part in has a day it calls the “Long Walk.” It is a day set aside to take a long walk—just you and God--and to speak your heart to Him. This can include requests for forgiveness, clarity for the year ahead, a sense of His presence, and guidance for a specific concern.

If you don’t have a specific day you set apart for requests of forgiveness and prayer, or even if you do, consider celebrating Yom Kippur in this fashion.

If you are seeking the words to say, you might want to start with Psalm 51: 3-14 (this is David’s plea of repentance for the sins he committed against God, specifically with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband):

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

(NIV)

We, too, have the promise of God’s forgiveness so that we, too, can sing of His righteousness.

A blessed Yom Kippur!