Day of Atonement

Today is Yom Kippur. It actually began last night at sunset but I'm late getting this post done. Yom Kippur is considered the most important holy day in the Jewish calendar and is the culmination of the week following Rosh Hashana, covered in a previous post. It is the final day for Jews repent of the sins committed the previous year against God and their fellow humans.

Yom Kippur is a day of repentance and confession and one hopes, forgiveness. God seals his verdict in the books where he's been keeping track.

I won't go into great detail because I think there are more informative sites you can research if you are interested. I found a site that explains the use of the prayer shawl and I strongly recommend watching the video. It was fascinating to learn how this is worn.   https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tallit-the-prayer-shawl/

Learning about these Holy Days is quite interesting. I don't know if it is because I tend to like rituals and how they relate to things or if it is just my innate curiosity. I'm a Christian and of course, we read about them in the Bible and hear about them in Sunday School and church services but those times often don't include details of what goes on, the purpose of the day, and when they're celebrated according to our calendar. Most calendars have the dates posted but to be honest, I've never really paid much attention. So, I'm trying to take them as they come and read up on them.

I can't tell you why it suddenly seems important but it does. Perhaps because as Christians we take our roots for granted, never remembering that who we are as Christians began very long ago with a band of shepherds. Not the ones in the New Testament, the ones who packed their goods and left the land of Ur. Abraham birthed more than the Jewish nation. He pointed the way to the cross and our redemption story is interwoven with the history of the Jews. We should make an effort to learn more about these days that figured so heavily throughout their history and the New Testament.

And if you think Christians are too defensive of the Jews and Israel, well, you shouldn't be surprised. We see them as God's chosen and in essence, we view them as our family.

If you want to learn more about this Holy Day, check this website.
https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays

You can learn more about other holidays as well.