CANDLE LIGHTING
6:03pm - Candle Lighting & Fast Begins, Sunday
7:01pm - Holiday & Fast Ends, Monday
These times are for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Eruv Status: KOSHER
Gmar Chatima Tova!
Details on Yom Kippur below...
PARSHAH IN A NUTSHELL
The Torah reading for Yom Kippur morning describes the service performed on this day by the Kohen Gadol (high priest) in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
A special feature of the Yom Kippur service was the casting of lots over two he-goats — equal in age, size and appearance — to determine which shall be offered to G‑d in the Holy Temple, and which shall be dispatched to carry off the sins of Israel to the wilderness.
The climax of the service was when the Kohen Gadol entered the innermost chamber in the Temple, the "Holy of Holies." Wearing special garments of pure white linen, the Kohen Gadol would enter the sacred place with a pan of burning coals in his right hand, and a ladle containing an exact handful of ketoret in his left. Inside the Holy of Holies, he would place the ketoret over the coals, wait for the room to fill with its aromatic smoke, and hastily retreat from the holy place.
"This shall be an everlasting statute for you," the Torah reading concludes. "...For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before G‑d... once a year."
During the afternoon Minchah service, we read chapter 18 of Leviticus, which details the prohibitions against incest and other deviant sexual behaviors. The Torah reading is followed by a haftorah (reading from the Prophets) which tells the story of Jonah — the prophet who was sent to prophesy the destruction of the sinful city of Ninveh, ran away from G‑d, was swallowed by a fish, and learned the power of prayer and repentance to evoke G‑d's mercy and annul the harshest decrees.
HAFTORAH IN A NUTSHELL
Yom Kippur Morning:
Isaiah 57:14-58:14
Today's haftorah discusses the concepts of repentance and fasting, the theme du jour of Yom Kippur.
The prophecy begins with the words "Pave, pave, clear the way; remove the obstacles from the way of My people." A reference to the Yetzer Hara ("evil inclination") which must be removed to pave the way for sincere repentance. G‑d assures that He will not be forever angry at those who repent, and that instead He will heal them and lead them. The wicked, on the other hand, are compared to a turbulent sea: "there is no peace for the wicked."
G‑d exhorts the prophet Isaiah to admonish the people regarding their fasting ways which G‑d finds reprehensible — a message which resonated to this very day:
"Daily they pretend to seek Me, desiring knowledge of My ways . . . 'Why have we fasted and You did not see?' they ask. 'We have afflicted our soul and You do not know?' Behold, on the day of your fast you pursue your affairs, and from all your debtors you forcibly exact payment. Behold, for quarrel and strife you fast, and to strike with a fist of wickedness. You do not fast in keeping with the spirit of the day, to make your voice heard on high. Is this a fast that I will choose? . . . Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush and spread out sackcloth and ashes beneath him?"
Instead, Isaiah teaches the Jews the proper way to fast:
"Loosen the fetters of wickedness, untie the bands of perverseness, send the oppressed free, and break every oppressive yoke. Offer your bread to the hungry, bring the wandering poor into your home. When you see someone naked, clothe him . . . Then you shall call and the L-rd shall answer, you shall cry and He shall say, 'Here I am.' . . . G‑d will always guide you and satiate your soul with radiance; He will strengthen your bones and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never cease..."
The haftorah concludes with the promise of great rewards for those who honor and take delight in the Shabbat.
Yom Kippur Afternoon:
Book of Jonah; Micha 7:18-20.
The entire Book of Jonah is read today as it contains an important and timely message on prayer and repentance. Click here for more on the connection between the Book of Jonah and Yom Kippur.
G‑d ordered the prophet Jonah to travel to Nineveh and present its wicked inhabitants with an ultimatum: repent or be destroyed. Jonah refused to comply with this directive, and fled on a boat. Strong winds threatened to destroy the ship, lots were cast among the crew and passengers and the lottery indicated that Jonah was the cause of the turbulent storm. He admitted his guilt and requested to be cast into the sea. Jonah was thrown into the raging sea and the storm abated.
Jonah was swallowed by a big fish, and while in its belly, was moved to repent. The fish regurgitated Jonah.
Jonah proceeded to Nineveh and broadcasted G‑d's word that Nineveh would be overturned in forty days. The people fasted and repented and the divine decree was annulled. When Jonah expressed his displeasure with this result, G‑d taught him a lesson. As Jonah sat on the outskirts of the city, the kikayon plant which was providing him with shade was destroyed by a worm, and Jonah was very upset. "And G‑d said: You took pity on the kikayon, for which you did not toil nor did you make it grow, which one night came into being and the next night perished. Now should I not take pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are many more than one hundred twenty thousand people?..."
The haftorah concludes with a brief portion from the Book of Micah, which describes G‑d's kindness in forgiving the sins of His people. "He does not maintain His anger forever, for He is a lover of kindness. He will have mercy on us, He will grasp our iniquities and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah concludes with an enjoinder to G‑d to remember the pacts He made with the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
SAGES ON THE PARSHAH
After the death of the two sons of Aaron who came close to G‑d and died (Leviticus 16:1)
They approached the supernal light out of their great love of the Holy, and thereby died. Thus they died by a "divine kiss" such as experienced by the perfectly righteous; it is only that the righteous die when the divine kiss approaches them, while they died by their approaching it. . . . Although they sensed their own demise, this did not prevent them from drawing near to G‑d in attachment, delight, delectability, fellowship, love, kissing and sweetness, to the point that their souls ceased from them.
(Ohr HaChaim)
https://w2.chabad.org/media/pdf/133843.pdf
Submission to Emmanuel's? See here
Kaparot
In the early morning hours of the day preceding Yom Kippur, the Kaparot ("Atonement") ceremony is performed. We take a live chicken (a rooster for a male and a hen for a female) and, circling it three times above our heads, we declare: "This is my replacement, this is my exchange, this is my atonement; this fowl shall go to its death, and I shall go to a long, good and peaceful life." The fowl is then slaughtered in accordance with halachic procedure, at which time we contemplate that this is a fate we ourselves would deserve, G-d forbid, for our failings and iniquities. The value of the fowl is given to the poor, and its meat eaten in the Yom Kippur meal; some give the fowl itself to the poor. (A alternate custom is to perform the rite only with money, reciting the prescribed verses and giving the money to charity. Kaparot can also be performed in the preceding days, during the "Ten Days of Repentance").
Links: All About Kaparot; a Chassidic story; What Give us the Right to Kill Animals?
Omit Tachnun
Tachnun (confession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted.
Festive Meals
The day before Yom Kippur is a Yom Tov, a festive day; for although we stand prepared to be judged in the supernal courtroom for our deeds of the passed year, we are confident that G-d is a merciful judge, and will decree a year of life, health and prosperity for us. Two festive meals are eaten -- one at midday and the other before the fast, which begins at sunset. The Talmud states that "Whoever eats and drinks on the 9th [of Tishrei], it is regarded as if he had fasted on both the 9th and the 10th."
In many communities it is customary to eat kreplach on the day before Yom Kippur. Kreplach are small squares of rolled pasta dough filled with ground meat and folded into triangles. They can be boiled and served in soup or fried and served as a side dish. The meat symbolizes severity, the dough is an allusion to kindness. In preparation for the Day of Judgment we "cover" the severity with kindness. (Click here for a recipe.)
Links: Eating Before Yom Kippur; Reverse Biology; Food: an Anthology
Mikveh
Both men and women immerse in a mikveh (ritual pool) to attain an extra measure of sanctity before the holy day.
Lekach (honey cake)
It is customary to ask for and receive lekach (sweet cake -- signifying a sweet year) from someone (usually one's mentor or parent) on this day. One of the reasons given for this custom is that if it had been decreed, G-d forbid, that during the year we should need to resort to a handout from others, the decree should be satisfied with this asking for food. The Lubavitcher Rebbe adds a deeper insight: "asking for lekach" on the eve of Yom Kippur instills in us the recognition that all the sustenance we receive throughout the year, including that which we supposedly "earn" by our own powers and endeavors, is in truth a gift from Above, granted in response to our daily requests from "He who nourishes the entire world with in His goodness, with grace, with benevolence and with compassion."
Link: Our Daily Bread
Additional customs
Additional eve of Yom Kippur customs include receiving symbolic malkut ("lashings") as atonment for one's transgressions, reciting the "Al Chet" confession of sins after minchah and at sunset, and lighting a 26-hour candle that would burn for the duration of Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur fast begins before sunset
Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"), the holiest day of the year, begins this evening before sunset. Its most basic observance is the fast that begins this evening and ends tomorrow evening at nightfall (a total of approximately 26 hours), during which we abstain from food and drink in fulfillment of the biblical command (Leviticus 16:29; see also "Festive Meals" above).
For more on the Yom Kippur observances see Laws & Customs for tomorrow, Tishrei 10.
Kol Nidrei
The first of the five Yom Kippur prayer services, which begins with the solemn Kol Nidrei prayer, is recited in the synogogue tonight at sunset, at the onset of the holy day.
For more on the Yom Kippur observances see Laws & Customs for tomorrow, Tishrei 10.
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year -- the day on which we are closest to G-d and to the quintessential core of our own souls. It is the "Day of Atonement" -- "For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before G-d" (Leviticus 16:30).
For twenty-six hours, from several minutes before sunset on Tishrei 9 to after nightfall on Tishrei 10, we "afflict our souls": we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather shoes, and abstain from marital relations.
When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, the Yom Kippur service included the High Priest's entry into the "Holy of Holies" to offer the ketoret -- the only time that anyone entered the Temple's innermost chamber -- and the "casting of lots" over two goats, one to be offered to G-d and the other to carry off the sins of Israel to the wilderness. Today, we spend the day in the synagogue garbed in a white garment called a kittel to resemble the sin-free angels and to waken thoughts of repentance by reminding us of the day of our death. In the course of the day we hold five prayer services: Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the eve of Yom Kippur; Shacharit; Musaf, which includes a detailed account of the Temple service; Minchah, which includes the reading of the Book of Jonah; and Ne'illah, the "closing of the gates" service at sunset. We say the Al Chet confession of sins ten times, and recite Psalms every available moment.
The day is the most solemn of the year, yet an undertone of joy suffuses it: a joy that revels in the spirituality of the day and expresses the confidence that G-d will accept our repentance, forgive our sins, and seal our verdict for a year of life, health and happiness. When the closing Ne'illah service climaxes in the resounding cries of "Hear O Israel... G-d is one" and a single blast of the shofar, the joy erupts in song and dance (a Chabad custom is to sing the lively niggun known as "Napoleon's March"), followed by the festive after-fast meal, making the evening following Yom Kippur a Yom Tov (festival) in its own right.
See also: More Yom Kippur laws & customs; an overview of the Yom Kippur services
