From: btiffany@pbs.org
Newsgroups: alt.messianic
Subject: Yom Kippur
Date: 29 Sep 92 18:40:49 GMT
Organization: PBS:Public Broadcasting Service, Alexandria, VA

I posted this for the first time last year.  Now that the Days of Awe are upon
us, it seems fitting to repost it. -- Bruce Tiffany

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The following article was written by Bob Mendelsohn of Jews for Jesus, and
appeared in the 1:5752 Jews for Jesus Newsletter (September 1991).

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        H O W    S H A L L    A    M A N    A P P R O A C H    G O D ?

                    (THREE THINGS WE NEED ON YOM KIPPUR)


     Most notable to me about growing up in an Orthodox Jewish home was the
     intensity of our concern for the proper celebration of Yom Kippur, the
     Jewish  Day  of  Atonement.   On  that  day,  unmatched  in  synagogue
     splendor,  our  rabbi  and  cantor  wore the most majestic robes.  The
     choir sang like they never sang any other day of  the  year,  and  the
     cantor  actually  knelt  down  and  bowed low during the services.  Of
     course we all fasted and prayed for God's mercy  and  forgiveness  for
     our sins.


                              THE BIBLICAL BACKGROUND

     Leviticus 16 details the laws for the Day  of  Atonement.   The  Bible
     calls  it "a sabbath of sabbaths," by which we understand it to be the
     holiest day in our Jewish calendar.  As a Jew, I always knew that even
     though  we might neglect our duties of religious expression throughout
     the year, we *could not* do that on  Yom  Kippur.   That  awesome  day
     required our careful attention, heartfelt prayer, complete seriousness
     and trust in God's forgiveness -- "kippur", or atonement.

     Whatever else atonement might mean in modern usage, it is  related  to
     the  word  in Genesis 6 where Noah covered the ark inside and out with
     PITCH.  That word "pitch" is from the same  root  as  "kippur",  which
     indicates  something  like  a covering of tar, used for waterproofing.
     As Noah's ark was preserved from seepage by the pitch covering, so our
     sins were to be covered by the "kippur" of Yom Kippur.

     We need our sins covered to escape God's judgment.  It is very serious
     to fall into the hands of the living God.  Eventually we all must deal
     with God's justice.  The Old Testament portion  of  Scripture  teaches
     that  God's  justice  is  not  something we can blink at or nullify by
     disbelief.  It will surely come upon  all  the  earth.   Understanding
     that,  we  need  somehow  to be buffered from it.  We need a covering.
     When we sin we justly deserve separation from God.  If, however,  when
     He  looks at us our sins are covered, we do not merit judgment and can
     experience His blessings.  That was the purpose of "kippur".


                            AN OLD HASSIDIC METHOD

     Throughout the ages, even after the destruction of the Temple and  the
     cessation  of  the  Temple  sacrifices,  the  rabbis  have  seemed  to
     understand from Leviticus 17:11 that the spilling of innocent blood is
     required  for atonement to be effected.  Many Orthodox Jews around the
     world still practice the tradition of "kappores",  the  slaying  of  a
     chicken  so  that its blood is spilled.  They recognize that it is not
     enough to shake the symbolic crumbs of sin from our  pockets  on  Rosh
     Hashana while reading from the prophet Micah, "and throw our sins into
     the sea" as some Jewish people do on Rosh Hashana.

     Some still argue that fasting is enough because it is medically proven
     to  be  a  blood-depleting  experience.   Some  maintain that internal
     bleeding occurs when people fast.   If  they  believe  that,  or  that
     "kappores"  can  restore  them  to a right relationship with God, they
     fail to understand the history and majesty of the meticulous  biblical
     requirements of Leviticus.


                         SO WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM US?

     Leviticus 16 prescribes three  requirements  for  securing  atonement:
     The  High Priest as mediator, the prescribed blood of the atonement to
     be sprinkled in a definite way, and the  transference  of  sins  in  a
     certain  way.   Today these three -- the mediator, the innocent blood,
     and the transference of sin -- are missing in the  Jewish  celebration
     of Yom Kippur.


                                 THE MEDIATOR


     Aaron was the first High Priest.  His responsibilities were  manifold,
     and  he  had  a  large  cadre  of  priests  to  help  him in his daily
     functions.  But one responsibility fell on him alone.  Each Yom Kippur
     he was required to dress, sacrifice and pray in a very particular way.
     He  wore  a  plain  robe  of  linen.   The  garment  was  pure  white,
     symbolizing the purity he hoped to achieve for the Israelites.  It was
     ordinary because God is not impressed with human pomp  and  pageantry.
     First  the High Priest had to atone for his own sins in the prescribed
     manner, and then he had to offer a  sacrifice  for  the  rest  of  the
     people.

     Only that one man could perform the ritual, and only once a year.   No
     ordinary  Jew  could  ever go into the Holy of Holies to do that.  Not
     even the other priests could enter the fifteen-square-foot cube  where
     God  manifested  His  glory.  Only Israel's High Priest mediator could
     enter and procure the atonement.

     Many modern Jews -- and I was among them -- think  they  can  approach
     God  on  a  whim  or  even in the midst of a religious event and He is
     somehow obliged to hear them.  But no matter how sincere the approach,
     God  who dwelled in the Holy of Holies only responded to the mediating
     work of the High Priest.  He alone was called  by  God  to  accomplish
     that holy task.


                             THE BLOOD OF ATONEMENT

     Even Aaron the High Priest could not approach empty-handed the  throne
     of  God  where  the  Shechinah  dwelled.  He had to bring with him the
     blood of a bull and the blood of a goat.  As Aaron  was  carrying  the
     blood  and sprinkling it seven times with his finger, surely some must
     have spilled on his white robes.  This was not a day to be cheap,  but
     to  be lavish in remembering the cost of the atonement.  REDEMPTION IS
     NOT CHEAP!  Not only on that day but every time Aaron saw those  linen
     garments he would remember the cost and God's just punishment for sin.

     The veil that isolated the Holy Place from  the  Holy  of  Holies  was
     without  separation.   Aaron  had  to  get  not  only  himself and the
     sacrificial blood into the Holy of  Holies,  but  also  the  altar  of
     incense,  which  rested  throughout  the  rest of the year in the Holy
     Place but on this day was moved into the Holy  of  Holies.   And  once
     there  in that small cubbyhole of a room, he had to sprinkle the blood
     in various places, especially onto the "mercy seat" (Leviticus 16:15).
     In  Hebrew  the  "mercy  seat"  is again the "kippur" word, for it was
     there that God's mercy would be dispensed in the form of atonement for
     the people.

     A tradition developed that the High Priest  not  only  had  all  those
     items  in  his  hands as he went in, but also a rope around his ankle.
     If he did not secure atonement for himself -- if  he  were  so  sinful
     that  God  judged  him right there in the tent -- Israel would have no
     atonement and no way to get the High Priest out, since he alone  could
     enter.    The   rope  around  the  High  Priest's  ankle  provided  an
     opportunity to drag  him  out  if  necessary.   It  is  not  recorded,
     however, that it was ever used.

     There is a tradition about another rope or thread used at Yom  Kippur,
     probably  developed  during  the Temple period.  That rope was made of
     red cords, and the lore surrounding it  is  most  mysterious.   Legend
     says that on Yom Kippur the scarlet thread was hung outside the Temple
     high above the courtyard.  If the High Priest  secured  atonement  for
     the  Jewish  people,  the  scarlet  thread  turned  white,  perhaps  a
     reflection of Isaiah 1:18, "...  though your sins be as scarlet,  they
     shall  be  white as snow." The tradition may also stem from the Joshua
     account of Rahab hanging the scarlet  thread  from  her  window  as  a
     signal  of  safe  haven  to the spies and the conquering Israelites in
     Jericho.

     We find a curious declaration in the  Talmud  concerning  the  scarlet
     thread:   Yoma  39:b states that forty years before the destruction of
     the Temple "the scarlet thread no longer  turned  white."  This  would
     correspond  to  the  time when Jesus died in Jerusalem.  Why would the
     scarlet thread no longer have turned white?  Because now atonement was
     no  longer  to  be  obtained through the blood of bulls and goats, but
     rather through the blood  of  Messiah  Y'shua,  God's  only  Son,  the
     sacrificial Lamb of God.

     How fitting that the Messiah should be our mediator.  He is  the  High
     Priest  who  Himself delivered the blood atonement before the heavenly
     throne.  He had no need to make atonement for Himself because  He  had
     never  sinned.   But  He  did  make  atonement  for  the  people.  How
     appropriate that He brought His  own  blood,  which  was  perfect  and
     sinless.  Whereas the blood of bulls and goats could no longer cleanse
     us from sin, the blood of the eternal sacrifice  definitely  could  --
     and did (Hebrews 10:4-10)!


                           THE TRANSFERENCE OF SINS

     The third requirement for Israel's atonement on  Yom  Kippur  was  the
     transference  of  sins  through  the  laying  on of hands.  One of the
     duties of the High Priest was to place his hands on the  head  of  the
     "azazel".   Whatever  else this word might mean, it certainly includes
     the idea of the scapegoat.  The scapegoat did not exactly receive  the
     punishment.   In fact he might more properly be called the EScapegoat.
     Some commentators even talk about "azazel" as referring to the kingdom
     of  darkness  or  hell  itself.  But however we define "azazel", it is
     clear that when the High Priest placed his hands on the head  of  that
     goat  and  sent  it into the wilderness, the sins of the Jewish people
     were transferred to it in such a way that they were no longer culpable
     for their sins.  The goat received in itself the sins of the nation.


                              WHAT ABOUT TODAY?

     Today if we  are  to  satisfy  the  rigid  commands  of  Almighty  God
     according  to  Scripture,  the  three  items are still necessary:  the
     mediator, the blood and the transference of  sin.   Anything  else  is
     substandard.   Anything  else  does not carry with it the assurance of
     sin removal that  God  promises.   Moses  could  only  promise  Israel
     "kippur",  but  in  the  New  Testament we have the ASSURANCE OF GOD'S
     FORGIVENESS.  What a glorious and better covenant we have in Y'shua --
     a better covenant than we ever did under the Mosaic constitution.  New
     Testament forgiveness involves not just the covering of our  sins  but
     their  actual  removal  as  far  as God is concerned.  Our sins are no
     longer with us.  They are as far removed from us as the east  is  from
     the west.

     Y'shua is the only way of forgiveness for sins.  He alone is our  High
     Priest.   He alone shed His innocent blood that we might be saved.  On
     Him we must "lay our hands," transferring our sins to Him so they  can
     be judged with the judgment He bore for us and be removed forever.

     As a Jew who has found Y'shua as my "kipporah", I am  so  thankful  at
     Yom  Kippur  that God loved us enough to make that atonement available
     to all once and for all.
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