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115-480: Jews generally read it in May. The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks , the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2024 and 2027), parashah Behar is read separately. In common years (for example, 2025 and 2026), parashah Behar is combined with the next parashah, Bechukotai , to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings. In years when

230-707: A Baraita , the Rabbis interpreted the words "you shall not wrong one another" in Leviticus 25:17 to prohibit verbal wrongs, as Leviticus 25:14 had already addressed monetary wrongs. The Baraita cited as examples of verbal wrongs: (1) reminding penitents of their former deeds, (2) reminding converts' children of their ancestors' deeds, (3) questioning the propriety of converts' coming to study Torah, (4) speaking to those visited by suffering as Job's companions spoke to him in Job 4:6–7, and (5) directing donkey drivers seeking grain to

345-471: A Sabbatical year (in violation of Leviticus 25:4), (6) on a Festival-day (in violation of, for example, Leviticus 23:7), (7) when the plower is a priest (in violation of Leviticus 21:1) and (8) a Nazirite (in violation of Numbers 6:6) plowing in a contaminated place. Chananya ben Chachinai said that the plower also may have been wearing a garment of wool and linen (in violation of Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:11). They said to him that this would not be in

460-467: A base thought," he instituted the prozbul , a court exemption from the Sabbatical year cancellation of a loan. The Mishnah taught that any loan made with a prozbul is not canceled by the Sabbatical year. The Mishnah recounted that a prozbul would provide: "I turn over to you, so-and-so, judges of such and such a place, that any debt that I may have outstanding, I shall collect it whenever I desire." And

575-401: A coin to a poor person, for the donor could be giving not just a coin, but life. Rabbi Phinehas explained that if a loaf costs ten coins, and a poor person has but nine, then the gift of a single coin allows the poor person to buy the loaf, eat, and become refreshed. Thus, Rabbi Phinehas taught, when illness strikes the donor, and the donor's soul presses to leave the donor's body, God will return

690-457: A convert, nor oppress him"; in Exodus 23:9, "And you shall not oppress a convert"; and in Exodus 22:24, "And you shall not be to him like a creditor." Reading Exodus 22:20, "And you shall not mistreat a convert nor oppress him, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt," a Baraita reported that Rabbi Nathan taught that one should not mention in another a defect that one has oneself. Thus, since

805-428: A fellow and swore falsely about it had to go after the victim even as far as Media to return it. The Mishnah taught that just as the laws of fraud applied to buying and selling, so too did they apply to the spoken word. The Mishnah taught that one could not ask how much an object costs if one did not wish to buy it. At a feast, Rabbi served his disciples tender and tough cuts of beef tongue . When his disciples chose

920-458: A field with trees could be plowed in the sixth year. The House of Shammai said as long as such work would benefit fruit that would ripen in the sixth year. But the House of Hillel said until Shavuot . The Mishnah observed that in reality, the views of two schools approximate each other. The Mishnah taught that one could plow a grain -field in the sixth year until the moisture had dried up in

1035-619: A full day is intended: "you shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening." And Leviticus 23:29 threatens that whoever "shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his people." Leviticus 16:29 and 23:28 and Numbers 29:7 command that you "shall do no manner of work." Similarly, Leviticus 16:31 and 23:32 call it a "Sabbath of solemn rest." And in Leviticus 23:30, God threatens that whoever "does any manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy from among his people." Leviticus 16:30, 16:32–34, and 23:27–28, and Numbers 29:11 describe

1150-638: A grammatical plural form, refers to a singular abstract concept. Beginning in the classical period, the singular form kippur began to be used in piyyut , for example in Unetanneh Tokef , alongside the standard plural form kippurim . Use of kippur spread in the medieval period, with Yom Kippur ( יום כיפור ) becoming the holiday's name in Yiddish and Kippur ( כיפור ) in Ladino . In modern Hebrew, Yom Kippur or simply Kippur

1265-419: A mightier person than one who sees one's field untilled, see one's vineyard untilled, and yet pays one's taxes and does not complain. And Rabbi Isaac noted that Psalm 103:20 uses the words "that fulfill His word ( דְבָר ‎, devar )," and Deuteronomy 15:2 says regarding observance of the Sabbatical year, "And this is the manner ( דְּבַר ‎, devar ) of the release," and argued that " dabar " means

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1380-419: A person and his fellow until he has appeased his fellow." Thus, it is common practice on Erev Yom Kippur to request forgiveness from other individuals for misdeeds one has done to them. The Talmud records no less than 14 stories attesting to the importance of the day for repairing relationships with one's spouses, parents, children, coworkers, the poor, and other individuals. The day before a major Jewish holiday

1495-532: A person whom one knows has never sold grain. The Gemara said that Scripture uses the words "and you shall fear your God" (as in Leviticus 25:17) concerning cases where intent matters, cases that are known only to the heart. Rabbi Joḥanan said on the authority of Rabbi Simeon ben Yoḥai that verbal wrongs are more heinous than monetary wrongs, because of verbal wrongs it is written (in Leviticus 25:17), "and you shall fear your God," but not of monetary wrongs (in Leviticus 25:14). Rabbi Eleazar said that verbal wrongs affect

1610-452: A person's face upon such shaming. Reading the words of Leviticus 25:17, "And you shall not mistreat each man his colleague ( עֲמִיתוֹ ‎, amito )," Rav Ḥinnana, son of Rav Idi, taught that the word עֲמִיתוֹ ‎, amito , is interpreted as a contraction of עִם אִתּוֹ ‎, im ito , meaning: "One who is with him. " Thus one must not mistreat one who is with one in observance of Torah and commandments. The Gemara taught that

1725-479: A rough agreement with the solar year and thus with the seasons. The Chinese , Buddhist , Burmese , Assyrian , Hebrew , Jain and Kurdish as well as the traditional Nepali, Hindu , Japanese , Korean , Mongolian , Tibetan , and Vietnamese calendars (in the East Asian Chinese cultural sphere ), plus the ancient Hellenic , Coligny , and Babylonian calendars are all lunisolar. Also, some of

1840-508: A similar algorithm that is based on the Julian calendar . A tropical year is approximately 365.2422 days long and a synodic month is approximately 29.5306 days long, so a tropical year is approximately 365.2422 / 29.5306 ≈ 12.36826 months long. Because 0.36826 is between 1 ⁄ 3 and 1 ⁄ 2 , a typical year of 12 months needs to be supplemented with one intercalary or leap month every 2 to 3 years. More precisely, 0.36826

1955-534: A time. Fasting, along with the other restrictions, begins at sundown , and ends after nightfall the following day. One should add a few minutes to the beginning and end of the day, called tosefet Yom Kippur , lit. 'addition to Yom Kippur'. Yom Kippur is one of the only occasions when fasting is permitted on Shabbat . A number of different interpretations of these restrictions have been suggested. In one approach, fasting replaces animal sacrifices. Fasting causes one's fat and blood to be diminished, just as

2070-566: Is a calendar in many cultures , incorporating lunar calendars and solar calendars . The date of lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year , that is the position of the Sun in the Earth's sky . If the sidereal year (such as in a sidereal solar calendar ) is used instead of the solar year, then the calendar will predict the constellation near which

2185-527: Is a solar one but the Western Christian churches use a lunar-based algorithm to determine the date of Easter and consequent movable feasts . Briefly, the date is determined with respect to the ecclesiastical full moon that follows the ecclesiastical equinox in March. (These events are almost, but not quite, the same as the actual astronomical observations.) The Eastern Christian churches have

2300-477: Is also a tradition in which they are interpreted positively, as indications of closeness of God. Various sources compare the observances of Yom Kippur – fasting, barefootness (not wearing leather shoes), standing (in prayer), particular manners of prayer, even the peace that exists between Jews on this day – with the behavior of angels, suggesting that on Yom Kippur Jews become like angels in heaven, purified and close to God and not limited by physicality. Yom Kippur

2415-572: Is also called Agricultural Calendar [農曆; 农历; Nónglì; 'farming calendar'], or Yin Calendar [陰曆; 阴历; Yīnlì; 'yin calendar']), based on the concept of Yin Yang and astronomical phenomena, as movements of the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (known as the seven luminaries) are the references for the Chinese lunisolar calendar calculations. The Chinese lunisolar calendar is believed to be

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2530-695: Is considered especially desirable during the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and particularly on Yom Kippur itself. Thus, the Yom Kippur prayers contain extended confessions which list varieties of errors and sins, and to which one can add their own missteps, along with requests for forgiveness from God. According to the Talmud, "Yom Kippur atones for sins done against God ( bein adam leMakom ), but does not atone for sins done against other human beings ( bein adam lechavero ) until

2645-469: Is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources: The Damascus Document of the Qumran sectarians prohibited non-cash transactions with Jews who were not members of the sect. Professor Lawrence Schiffman of New York University read this regulation as an attempt to avoid violating prohibitions on charging interest to one's fellow Jew in Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36–37; and Deuteronomy 23:19–20. Apparently,

2760-433: Is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned." The Gemara compared the cases of Moses and David to the cases of two women whom the court sentenced to be lashed. One had committed an indecent act, while the other had eaten unripe figs of the seventh year in violation of Leviticus 25:6. The woman who had eaten unripe figs begged the court to make known for what offense she was being flogged, lest people say that she

2875-586: Is in God". According to Rabbi Akiva , this verse alludes to a ritual purification bath (also pronounced mikveh ), and thus on Yom Kippur God metaphorically becomes a mikveh in which Israel immerses and purifies itself. This idea is symbolized by immersion in an actual mikveh. In the Yom Kippur Temple service , the High Priest would immerse upon putting on and taking off his white Yom Kippur garments;

2990-623: Is often devoted towards preparing for that holiday (as with burning chametz before Passover or obtaining the Four Species before Sukkot ); for Yom Kippur, the appropriate preparation is to seek forgiveness from one's fellow man. Nevertheless, one should not ask forgiveness if this will cause further harm (for example, by bringing up an insult the victim was unaware of). According to halakha , one must eat on Erev Yom Kippur. A variety of reasons have been suggested for this requirement, among them: Kreplach are traditionally served at

3105-579: Is performed by some on Erev Yom Kippur as a means to enhance atonement. Prior to this day's morning prayer service ( Shacharit ), selichot prayers are recited, as they have been for the entire High Holiday period. In the afternoon prayer ( Mincha ), the long confession is recited, just as it is on Yom Kippur itself. This confession is recited before the last Erev Yom Kippur meal (the "Separation Meal" - in Hebrew se'udah hamafseket or aruha hamafseket ), in case one becomes intoxicated at this meal and

3220-479: Is quite close to 7 ⁄ 19 (about 0.3684211): several lunisolar calendars have 7 leap months in every cycle of 19 years (called a ' Metonic cycle '). The Babylonians applied the 19-year cycle in the late sixth century BCE. Intercalation of leap months is frequently controlled by the " epact ", which is the difference between the lunar and solar years (approximately 11 days). The classic Metonic cycle can be reproduced by assigning an initial epact value of 1 to

3335-473: Is the common name, while Yom HaKippurim ( יום הכיפורים ) is used in formal writing. In older English texts, the translation "Day of Atonement" is often used. The Torah calls the day Yom HaKippurim ( יוֹם הַכִּיפּוּרִים ‎ ), and decrees fasting ("affliction of the soul") and a strict prohibition of work on the tenth day of the seventh month, later known as Tishrei . The laws of Yom Kippur are commanded by God to Moses in three passages in

3450-509: Is unable to confess properly afterwards, or else because a person might choke to death at that meal and die without confessing (seemingly an unlikely possibility, but one which reminds a person of their mortality). Nevertheless, some recommend repeating the Vidui immediately before Kol Nidrei if time allows. The Torah commands Jews to "afflict themselves" ( ve'initem et nafshoteichem ) on Yom Kippur. While these verses do not explicitly mention

3565-411: Is waived in the case of dangerous medical conditions ( pikuach nefesh ), and in such a case one is actually required to break the fast. Just as it is a mitzvah to fast on Yom Kippur, it may also be a mitzvah to eat or drink on Yom Kippur to safeguard a person's health. In such situations, though, it is preferable (if the medical situation allows for it) to consume only small amounts of food or drink at

Behar - Misplaced Pages Continue

3680-412: Is yours is Gods; and thus 1 Chronicles 29:14 says with regards to David: "for everything comes from You, and from Your own hand have we given you." Rabbi Phinehas in the name of Rabbi Reuben interpreted the words "If your brother grows poor . . . then shall his kinsman . . . redeem" in Leviticus 25:25 to exhort Israel to acts of charity. Rabbi Phinehas taught that God will reward with life anyone who gives

3795-589: The Canaanites ' pillars ( מַצֵּבֹתֵיהֶם ‎, matzeivoteihem ). And Deuteronomy 16:22 prohibits setting up a pillar ( מַצֵּבָה ‎, matzeivah ), "which the Lord your God hates." But before these commandments were issued, in Genesis 28:18, Jacob took the stone on which he had slept, set it up as a pillar ( מַצֵּבָה ‎, matzeivah ), and poured oil on the top of it. The parashah has parallels or

3910-569: The Chinese New Year , Lantern Festival (元宵節), Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節), Dragon Boat Festival (端午節), and Qingming Festival (清明節) are all based upon the Chinese lunisolar calendar . In addition, the popular Chinese zodiac is a classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. The Gregorian calendar (the world's most commonly used)

4025-490: The Haftarah for Yom Kippur morning, God describes "the fast that I have chosen [on] the day for a man to afflict his soul." Isaiah 58:3–5 makes clear that "to afflict the soul" was understood as fasting. But Isaiah 58:6–10 goes on to impress that "to afflict the soul," God also seeks acts of social justice: "to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke," "to let the oppressed go free," "to give your bread to

4140-559: The Mishnah describes Yom Kippur as a day on which men and women would once meet each other in the vineyards in order to arrange marriages. While this story is surprising given the generally somber nature of the day, it is based on the Biblical episode where the oath against marrying Benjaminites was circumvented by allowing them to take women from the vineyards as wives, and thus indicates the day's theme of abandoning grudges in order for

4255-480: The Sun , their leap months do not usually occur within a couple of months of perihelion , when the apparent speed of the Sun along the ecliptic is fastest (now about 3 January). This increases the usual number of common months between leap months to roughly 34 months when a doublet of common years occurs, while reducing the number to about 29 months when only a common singleton occurs. An alternative way of dealing with

4370-624: The full moon may occur. As with all calendars which divide the year into months there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of months. In some cases ordinary years consist of twelve months but every second or third year is an embolismic year , which adds a thirteenth intercalary , embolismic, or leap month. Their months are based on the regular cycle of the Moon's phases. So lunisolar calendars are lunar calendars with – in contrast to them – additional intercalation rules being used to bring them into

4485-1028: The "six ancient calendars" in the Warring States period , the Qin calendar in the Qin dynasty , the Han calendar or the Taichu calendar in the Han dynasty and Tang dynasty , the Shoushi calendar in the Yuan dynasty , and the Daming calendar in the Ming dynasty , etc. Starting in 1912, the solar calendar is used together with the lunar calendar in China. The most celebrated Chinese holidays, such as Spring Festival (Chunjie, 春節), also known as

4600-556: The 10th of the month of Nisan preparatory to the Festival of Passover, on the 15th of the month of Nisan. Leviticus 16:29–34 and 23:26–32 and Numbers 29:7–11 present similar injunctions to observe Yom Kippur. Leviticus 16:29 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:7 set the Holy Day on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei). Leviticus 16:29 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:7 instruct that "you shall afflict your souls." Leviticus 23:32 makes clear that

4715-469: The 50th year, the Jubilee year, and to proclaim release for all with a blast on the horn. Each Israelite was to return to his family and his ancestral land holding. In the second reading, in selling or buying property, the people were to charge only for the remaining number of crop years until the jubilee, when the land would be returned to its ancestral holder. In the third reading, God promised to bless

Behar - Misplaced Pages Continue

4830-579: The Bible, after the golden calf sin, Moses descended from Mount Sinai and broke the Tablets of Stone , which contained the Ten Commandments and symbolized the covenant with God. After God agreed to forgive the people's sin, Moses was told to return to Mount Sinai for a second 40-day period, in order to receive a second set of tablets. According to rabbinic tradition, the date Moses descended with

4945-579: The Days of Awe, a Jew reflects on the year, goals, and past actions, how his or her behavior has possibly hurt others and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other human beings. Repentance in Judaism (Hebrew: Teshuva ), traditionally, consists of regretting having committed the sin, resolving not to commit that sin in the future, and confessing that sin before God. While repentance for one's sins can and should be done at any time, it

5060-553: The Diaspora celebrate Passover for eight days and read the next parashah (in 2018, Shemini) one week later. In some such years (for example, 2018), the two calendars realign when Conservative and Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora read Behar together with Bechukotai while Jews in Israel and Reform Jews read them separately. In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות ‎, aliyot . In

5175-473: The Hebrew calendar and the Julian calendar use this sequence. The Buddhist and Hebrew calendars restrict the leap month to a single month of the year; the number of common months between leap months is, therefore, usually 36, but occasionally only 24 months. Because the Chinese and Hindu lunisolar calendars allow the leap month to occur after or before (respectively) any month but use the true apparent motion of

5290-603: The Jewish people sinned in later eras, prophets would repeatedly quote the Thirteen Attributes to God as a reminder of God's commitment to mercy and forgiveness. This is continued to the present day, as recitation of the Thirteen Attributes remains an important part of the Yom Kippur prayers (in Maariv and Neilah ). While many of the observances of Yom Kippur (such as fasting and long prayers) can be difficult, there

5405-468: The Jewish people to be reunited. On the day preceding Yom Kippur, known as Erev Yom Kippur (lit. 'eve [of] day [of] atonement'), a number of activities are customarily performed in preparation for Yom Kippur. These activities generally relate to the themes of the holiday, but are forbidden or impractical to do on Yom Kippur itself. According to the Talmud , "Yom Kippur does not atone for sins between

5520-445: The Jewish people were themselves strangers, they should not demean a convert because he is a stranger in their midst. And this explains the adage that one who has a person hanged in the family does not say to another member of the household: Hang a fish for me, as the mention of hanging is demeaning for that family. Expanding on Leviticus 25:23, in which God says that "the land is Mine," Rabbi Elazar of Bartotha said that you and all that

5635-576: The Lord you shall be purified. There are two forms of impurity in Judaism (see Tumah and taharah ): ritual impurity (e.g. when one touches a corpse) and moral impurity (when one commits a serious sin). While the Yom Kippur Temple service did purify the Temple if it had become ritually impure, the emphasis of the day is on the Jewish people's purification from moral impurity. Leviticus 16:30 mentions purification twice. According to Netziv ,

5750-539: The Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud, and chapter 3 of the tractate in the Tosefta interpreted the law of fraud in Leviticus 25:14. The Mishnah defined as fraud overcharging by one-sixth of the purchase price. And the Mishnah taught that a person defrauded had until that person had time to show the purchase to a merchant or a kinsman to retract the sale. The Mishnah taught that the law of fraud applied to both

5865-482: The Qumran sect viewed prevailing methods of conducting business through credit to violate those laws. The parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud : Tractate Sheviit in the Mishnah, Tosefta , and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the Sabbatical year in Exodus 23:10–11, Leviticus 25:1–34, and Deuteronomy 15:1–18 and 31:10–13. The Mishnah asked until when

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5980-605: The Sabbath-year in Leviticus 25:4. Thus, just as in the case of the Sabbath Day, work is forbidden on the day itself, but allowed on the day before and the day after, so likewise in the Sabbath Year, tillage is forbidden during the year itself, but allowed in the year before and the year after. The Mishnah taught that we encourage the work of non-Jews in the Sabbatical year, but not that of Jews. And we inquire after

6095-460: The Torah three times prohibits verbally mistreating a convert—in Exodus 22:20, "And you shall neither mistreat a convert"; in Leviticus 19:33, "And when a convert lives in your land, you shall not mistreat him"; and in Leviticus 25:17, "And you shall not mistreat, each man his colleague." And the Torah similarly three times prohibits oppressing the convert—in Exodus 22:20, "And you shall neither mistreat

6210-470: The Torah, the Yom Kippur Temple service was commanded in wake of the deaths of Nadab and Abihu on the eighth day of the Tabernacle inauguration. Not only was this eighth day the occasion of the Yom Kippur command, but the eighth day was also similar in its nature to Yom Kippur, both in biblical texts (e.g. the sacrifices offered on each day) and in rabbinic interpretation. The purpose of the eighth day

6325-584: The Torah: Yom Kippur is mentioned briefly in another context: on Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year the shofar was to be blown. According to some, this is the source for the current custom of blowing the shofar at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. When the Temple in Jerusalem stood, Yom Kippur was the occasion of an elaborate sacrificial service, as commanded by Leviticus 16 . The rabbis summarized

6440-509: The ancient pre-Islamic calendars in south Arabia followed a lunisolar system. The Chinese, Coligny and Hebrew lunisolar calendars track more or less the tropical year whereas the Buddhist and Hindu lunisolar calendars track the sidereal year. Therefore, the first three give an idea of the seasons whereas the last two give an idea of the position among the constellations of the full moon. The Chinese calendar or Chinese lunisolar calendar

6555-399: The blast was made with a ram's horn shofar, while on jubilee the blast was made with an antelope's (or some say a goat's) horn shofar. The Mishnah taught that exile resulted from (among other things) transgressing the commandment (in Leviticus 25:3–5 and Exodus 23:10–11) to observe a Sabbatical year for the land. And pestilence resulted from (among other things) violation of the laws governing

6670-423: The borrower could survive economically. A Baraita considered the case where two people were traveling on a journey, and one had a container of water; if both drank, they would both die, but if only one drank, then that one might reach civilization and survive. Ben Patura taught that it is better that both should drink and die, rather than that only one should drink and see the other die. But Rabbi Akiva interpreted

6785-440: The buyer and the seller, both the ordinary person and the merchant. Rabbi Judah said that the law of fraud did not apply to the merchant. The Mishnah taught that the one who was defrauded had the upper hand: The person defrauded could demand from the other the money paid or the amount by which that person was defrauded. The Mishnah taught that one who stole something worth even a perutah (the minimum amount of significant value) from

6900-477: The case of a field with trees, until Shavuot. But Rabban Gamaliel and his court ordained that working the land was permitted until the New Year that began the seventh year. Rabbi Joḥanan said that Rabban Gamaliel and his court reached their conclusion on Biblical authority, noting the common use of the term "Sabbath" ( שַׁבַּת ‎, Shabbat ) in both the description of the weekly Sabbath in Exodus 31:15 and

7015-635: The coming year into the Book of Life , and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. This process is described dramatically in the poem Unetanneh Tokef , which is recited on Rosh Hashanah in the Ashkenazic and Italian rites and on Yom Kippur in the Eastern Ashkenazic and Italian rites: A great shofar will be blown, and a small still voice will be heard. The angels will make haste, and be seized with fear and trembling, and will say: "Behold,

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7130-491: The covenant between God and Israel. Along with Tu B'Av , Yom Kippur was historically considered one of the two happiest days of the Jewish year, for on this day Jews receive forgiveness for their sins, and on this date the covenant with God was reestablished. In Leviticus 16:30 , the Torah summarizes the purpose of Yom Kippur as follows: For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to purify you; from all your sins before

7245-462: The day of judgment!"... On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on the Yom Kippur fast it is sealed, how many will pass and how many will be created, who will live and who will die, who in his time and who not in his time... But repentance, prayer, and charity remove the evil of the decree... For You do not desire a person's death, but rather that he repent and live. Until the day of his death You wait for him; if he repents, You accept him immediately. During

7360-520: The efforts to mathematically correlate the solar and lunar cycles from the perspective of the earth, which however are known to require some degree of numeric approximation or compromise. The earliest record of the Chinese lunisolar calendar was in the Zhou dynasty (1050 BC – 771 BC, around 3000 years ago. Throughout history, the Chinese lunisolar calendar had many variations and evolved with different dynasties with increasing accuracy, including

7475-420: The encounter with God and the atonement may appear to be unrelated, in fact they are mutually dependent. On one hand, the priest is only worthy to approach God when in a state of purity, with the sins of the people being forgiven. On the other hand, only by approaching God with an intimate, personal request can God be persuaded to abandon justice for mercy, permitting the purification to take place. According to

7590-418: The expulsion man must work for food "by the sweat of [his] brow"; thus food and drink are refrained from on Yom Kippur, as well as washing, and the use of cosmetics to remove sweat or its odor. In Eden death was unknown and procreation unnecessary; similarly on Yom Kippur marital relations are avoided. According to Maimonides , the purpose of fasting (and the restriction on work) is to remove distractions from

7705-543: The fact that a solar year does not contain an integer number of lunar months is by including uncounted time in a period of the year that is not assigned to a named month. Some Coast Salish peoples used a calendar of this kind. For instance, the Chehalis began their count of lunar months from the arrival of spawning chinook salmon (in Gregorian calendar October), and counted 10 months, leaving an uncounted period until

7820-547: The fat and blood of a sacrifice were burned on the altar. Thus, the fast is a form of sacrifice which can atone for sin like the Temple sacrifices once did. Other approaches suggest that the prohibitions represent not suffering, but rather special holiness. For example, on Yom Kippur, Jews are said to become like angels. Just as angels do not need to eat, drink, or wear shoes, so too Jews do not engage on these activities on Yom Kippur. By detaching themselves from physical needs, Jews become purified and resemble angels. Similarly,

7935-485: The first day of Passover falls on a Sabbath (as it does in 2022), Jews in Israel and Reform Jews read the parashah following Passover one week before Conservative and Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora. In such years, Jews in Israel and Reform Jews celebrate Passover for seven days and thus read the next parashah (in 2018, Shemini ) on the Sabbath one week after the first day of Passover, while Conservative and Orthodox Jews in

8050-434: The first mention is a promise that God will purify Israel on this day, while the second is a command, calling on Israel to purify themselves through repentance. Thus, on this day Jews do their utmost to repent. But if, by the end of the day, they have reached the limits of their ability and are still morally flawed, God extends them forgiveness and purification anyway. Jeremiah 17:13 states that "Israel's hope ( mikveh )

8165-504: The first reading, on Mount Sinai , God told Moses to tell the Israelites the law of the Sabbatical year for the land. The people could work the fields for six years, but in the seventh year, the land was to have a Sabbath of complete rest during which the people were not to sow their fields, prune their vineyards, or reap the aftergrowth. They could, however, eat whatever the land produced on its own. The people were further to hallow

8280-486: The form of affliction, the phrase "afflicting oneself" frequently appears elsewhere in connection with fasting or lack of food, and public fast days for repentance were a common practice in Biblical times. According to the Jewish oral tradition , the Yom Kippur "affliction" consists of the following five prohibitions: In traditional custom, the fast is required of males over age 13 and females over age 12. However, fasting

8395-405: The gift of life. Similarly, Rav Naḥman taught that Leviticus 25:25 exhorts Israel to acts of charity, because fortune revolves like a wheel in the world, sometimes leaving one poor and sometimes well off. And similarly, Rabbi Tanḥum son of Rabbi Ḥiyya taught that Leviticus 25:25 exhorts Israel to acts of charity, because God made the poor as well as the rich, so that they might benefit each other;

8510-440: The handles of the bolt" ( Song of Songs 5:5 ) – "I rose up to open to my beloved" – this refers to Yotzer [the morning prayer ]; "My hands dripped with myrrh" – this refers to Mussaf ; "my fingers with flowing myrrh" – this refers to Mincha ; "upon the handles of the bolt" – this refers to Neilah . Using a similar metaphor, the Mishnah describes Yom Kippur as a wedding date, as on this date Moses returned having reestablished

8625-680: The holiest day of the year in Judaism . It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei , corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and repentance . The day's main observances consist of full fasting and asceticism , both accompanied by extended prayer services (usually at synagogue ) and sin confessions . Many Jewish denominations, such as Reconstructionist Judaism (vs. Reform , Conservative , Orthodox , etc.), focus less on sins and more on one's goals and accomplishments and setting yearly intentions. Alongside

8740-403: The hungry, and . . . bring the poor that are cast out to your house," and "when you see the naked, that you cover him." Tamara Cohn Eskenazi wrote that Biblical laws required Israelites to act as redeemers for relatives in four situations: (1) redemption of land in Leviticus 25:25–34, (2) redemption of persons from slavery, especially in Leviticus 25:47–50, (3) redemption of objects dedicated to

8855-472: The jubilee. Levites were to have a permanent right of redemption for houses and property in the cities of the Levites. The unenclosed land about their cities could not be sold. If a kinsman fell into straits and came under one's authority by virtue of his debts , one was to let him live by one's side as a kinsman and not exact from him interest. Israelites were not to lend money to countrymen at interest. In

8970-424: The judges or witnesses would sign below. The Mishnah employed the prohibition of Leviticus 25:4 to imagine how one could with one action violate up to nine separate commandments. One could (1) plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together (in violation of Deuteronomy 22:10) (2 and 3) that are two animals dedicated to the sanctuary, (4) plowing mixed seeds sown in a vineyard (in violation of Deuteronomy 22:9), (5) during

9085-538: The last year of the cycle and incrementing by 11 each year. Between the last year of one cycle and the first year of the next the increment is 12 – the saltus lunae ( Latin for 'leap of the moon') – which causes the epacts to repeat every 19 years. When the epact reaches 30 or higher, an intercalary month is added and 30 is subtracted. The Metonic cycle states that 7 of 19 years will contain an additional intercalary month and those years are numbered: 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19. Both

9200-639: The laws of this service in Mishnah tractate Yoma , and they appear in contemporary traditional Jewish prayer books for Yom Kippur, and are studied as part of a traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service. The Mussaf prayer on Yom Kippur includes a section known as the Avodah , where a poem is recited describing this Temple service. Yom Kippur is one of the two High Holy Days , or Days of Awe (Hebrew yamim noraim ), alongside Rosh Hashanah (which falls nine days previously). According to Jewish tradition, on Rosh Hashanah God inscribes each person's fate for

9315-455: The maiden abide with us a year, or at the least ten months." The Gemara then suggested that יָמִים ‎, yamim , might mean "a month," as Numbers 11:20 suggests when it uses the phrase "a month of days ( יָמִים ‎, yamim )." The Gemara concluded, however, that יָמִים ‎, yamim , means "a month" only when the term "month" is specifically mentioned, but otherwise means either "days" (at least two) or "a year." The Sifra read

9430-400: The next chinook salmon run . The following is a list of lunisolar calendars sorted by family. Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( / ˌ j ɒ m k ɪ ˈ p ʊər , ˌ j ɔː m ˈ k ɪ p ər , ˌ j oʊ m -/ YOM kip- OOR , YAWM KIP -ər, YOHM - ; Hebrew : יוֹם כִּפּוּר ‎ Yōm Kippūr [ˈjom kiˈpuʁ] , lit.   ' Day of Atonement ' ) is

9545-399: The non-Jews’ wellbeing for the sake of peace. Rabbi Isaac taught that the words of Psalm 103:20, "mighty in strength that fulfill His word," speak of those who observe the Sabbatical year. Rabbi Isaac said that we often find that a person fulfills a precept for a day, a week, or a month, but it is remarkable to find one who does so for an entire year. Rabbi Isaac asked whether one could find

9660-506: The observance as "a statute forever." Leviticus 16:3–28 sets out detailed procedures for the priest's atonement ritual during the time of the Temple . Leviticus 25:8–10 instructs that after seven Sabbatical years, on the Jubilee year , on the day of atonement, the Israelites were to proclaim liberty throughout the land with the blast of the horn and return all people to their possessions and to their families. In Isaiah 57:14–58:14,

9775-575: The observance of the Sabbatical year in both places. The Mishnah taught that the fines for rape, seduction, the husband who falsely accused his bride of not having been a virgin (as in Deuteronomy 22:19), and any judicial court matter are not canceled by the Sabbatical year. The Mishnah told that when Hillel the Elder observed that the nation withheld from lending to each other and were transgressing Deuteronomy 15:9, "Beware lest there be in your mind

9890-489: The origin of some variant calendars used in other neighboring countries, such as Vietnam and Korea. The traditional calendar calendars used the sexagenary cycle-based ganzhi system's mathematically repeating cycles of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches . Together with astronomical, horological, and phenological observations, definitions, measurements, and predictions of years, months, and days were refined. Astronomical phenomena and calculations emphasized especially

10005-405: The other person has been appeased." Therefore, it is considered imperative to repair the harm that one has done to others before or during Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is described in the prayers as "a day of creating love and brotherhood, a day of abandoning jealousy and strife". It is said that "if one does not remove hatred [from their heart] on Yom Kippur, their prayers are not heard". According to

10120-462: The parashah according to a different schedule. The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources: Leviticus 25:8–10 refers to the Festival of Yom Kippur . In the Hebrew Bible , Yom Kippur is called: Much as Yom Kippur, on the 10th of the month of Tishrei , precedes the Festival of Sukkot, on the 15th of the month of Tishrei, Exodus 12:3–6 speaks of a period starting on

10235-425: The people in the sixth year, so that the land would yield a crop sufficient for three years. God prohibited selling the land beyond reclaim, for God owned the land, and the people were but strangers living with God. In the fourth reading, if one fell into straits and had to sell land, his nearest relative was to redeem what was sold. If one had no one to redeem, but prospered and acquired enough wealth, he could refund

10350-424: The people's sins were forgiven and purification achieved in that year. Yom Kippur is considered a day of Jewish unity. In Kol Nidre , in which vows are released, vows of excommunication against sinning Jews were similarly lifted and these "transgressors" were allowed to pray alongside other Jews. According to the Talmud, "Any fast in which Jewish sinners do not also participate is not a valid fast". Similarly,

10465-413: The poor person, not to bite the poor person as the serpent—cunning to do evil—bit Adam . The Midrash taught that one who exacts interest from an Israelite thus has no fear of God. Rav Naḥman bar Isaac (explaining the position of Rabbi Eleazar) interpreted the words "that your brother may live with you" in Leviticus 25:36 to teach that one who has exacted interest should return it to the borrower, so that

10580-410: The practical purpose of this cord was to distinguish the scapegoat from the goat which was to be slaughtered, it also symbolized the sin which the scapegoat was carrying away. Isaiah 1:18 promises that if the Jewish people repents, "if [their] sins are like crimson, they shall become white as snow." According to tradition, in some years the scapegoat's cord would miraculously turn white to indicate that

10695-402: The pre-fast meal. Also, it is common to ask for and receive lekach on Erev Yom Kippur. Many Orthodox men immerse themselves in a mikveh on this day. Opinions differ on whether this is a technical act to remove ritual impurity , or else a symbolic one to symbolize one's cleansing from sin on Yom Kippur. The kapparot ritual, in which either money or a chicken is given to charity,

10810-426: The pro rata share of the sales price for the remaining years until the jubilee, and return to his holding. In the fifth reading, if one sold a house in a walled city, one could redeem it for a year, and thereafter the house would pass to the purchaser beyond reclaim and not be released in the jubilee. But houses in villages without encircling walls were treated as open country subject to redemption and release through

10925-553: The produce of the Sabbatical year. A Midrash interpreted the words "it shall be a jubilee unto you " in Leviticus 25:10 to teach that God gave the year of release and the jubilee to the Israelites alone, and not to other nations. And similarly, the Midrash interpreted the words "To give you the land of Canaan" in Leviticus 25:38 to teach that God gave the Land of Israel to the Israelites alone. Chapter 4 of Tractate Bava Metzia in

11040-644: The prohibitions allude to the experience of Moses on Mount Sinai, who did not eat or drink while receiving the Torah and while receiving forgiveness for the people's sins. Similarly, the prohibitions have been interpreted as a return to the purity of the biblical Garden of Eden. Upon leaving Eden shoes became necessary for the first time ("thorns and thistles will grow in your way...the snake will raise its head (to bite you) and you will give your heel (to crush it)" ); thus on Yom Kippur Jews do not wear (leather) shoes. While in Eden food and drink were easily obtained, but after

11155-502: The purpose of the day to make atonement for the people. Similarly, Leviticus 16:30 speaks of the purpose "to cleanse you from all your sins," and Leviticus 16:33 speaks of making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, the altar; and the priests. Leviticus 16:29 instructs that the commandment applies both to "the home-born" and to "the stranger who sojourns among you." Leviticus 16:3–25 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:8–11 command offerings to God. And Leviticus 16:31 and 23:31 institute

11270-405: The rabbis counted no fewer than five immersions over the course of the day's service. Among modern-day Jews, too, there is a custom of immersion before Yom Kippur (though not on Yom Kippur itself, as bathing is forbidden in normal circumstances). When the scapegoat was selected on Yom Kippur to symbolically carry the people's sins to the desert, a crimson cord was tied around its horns. While

11385-484: The related holiday of Rosh Hashanah , Yom Kippur is one of the two components of the High Holy Days of Judaism. It is also the last of the Ten Days of Repentance . The formal Hebrew name of the holiday is Yom HaKippurim , 'day [of] the atonements'. This name is used in the Bible, Mishnah , and Shulchan Aruch . The word kippurim 'atonement' is one of many Biblical Hebrew words which, while using

11500-459: The rich one benefiting the poor one with charity, and the poor one benefiting the rich one by affording the rich one the opportunity to do good. Bearing this in mind, when Rabbi Tanhum's mother went to buy him a pound of meat, she would buy him two pounds, one for him and one for the poor. The Gemara employed Leviticus 25:29 to deduce that the term יָמִים ‎, yamim , (literally "days") sometimes means "a year," and Rab Hisda thus interpreted

11615-628: The same category as the other violations. He replied that neither is the Nazirite in the same category as the other violations. The Gemara implied that the sin of Moses in striking the rock at Meribah compared favorably to the sin of David . The Gemara reported that Moses and David were two good leaders of Israel. Moses begged God that his sin be recorded, as it is in Numbers 20:12, 20:23–24, and 27:13–14, and Deuteronomy 32:51. David, however, begged that his sin be blotted out, as Psalm 32:1 says, "Happy

11730-479: The sanctuary in Leviticus 27:9–28, and (4) avenging the blood of a murdered relative in Numbers 35. In 1 Kings 21:2, Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell his vineyard to King Ahab because the land is an inheritance subject to the rule in Leviticus 25:23. Leviticus 26:1 directs the Israelites not to rear up a pillar ( מַצֵּבָה ‎, matzeivah ). Exodus 23:24 directed the Israelites to break in pieces

11845-582: The second set of tablets was Yom Kippur. On this day Moses announced to the people that they had been forgiven; as a result the Torah fixed this date as a permanent holiday of forgiveness. The new covenant, which God announced by proclaiming the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy to Moses, is textually similar to the covenant of the Ten Commandments except that God's nature is described as merciful and forgiving, rather than zealous. When

11960-485: The seventh reading, if an Israelite fell into straits and came under a resident alien's authority by virtue of his debts, the Israelite debtor was to have the right of redemption. A relative was to redeem him or, if he prospered, he could redeem himself by paying the pro rata share of the sales price for the remaining years until the jubilee. Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read

12075-487: The sixth reading, if the kinsman continued in straits and had to give himself over to a creditor for debt, the creditor was not to subject him to the treatment of a slave , but to treat him as a hired or bound laborer until the jubilee year, at which time he was to be freed to go back to his family and ancestral holding. Israelites were not to rule over such debtor Israelites ruthlessly. Israelites could, however, buy and own as inheritable property slaves from other nations. In

12190-420: The soil (that it, after Passover, when rains in the Land of Israel cease) or as long as people still plowed in order to plant cucumbers and gourds (which need a great deal of moisture). Rabbi Simeon objected that if that were the rule, then we would place the law in the hands of each person to decide. But the Mishnah concluded that the prescribed period in the case of a grain-field was until Passover, and in

12305-410: The tender over the tough, Rabbi instructed them so to let their tongues be tender to one another. Rabbi taught that this was the meaning of Leviticus 25:14 when Moses admonished: "And if you sell anything . . . you shall not wrong one another." Similarly, a Midrash concluded that these words of Leviticus 25:14 taught that anyone who wrongs a neighbor with words will be punished according to Scripture. In

12420-404: The victim's person, while monetary wrongs affect only the victim's money. Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani said that while restoration is possible in cases of monetary wrongs, it is not in cases of verbal wrongs. And a Tanna taught before Rav Naḥman bar Isaac that one who publicly makes a neighbor blanch from shame is as one who sheds blood. Whereupon Rav Naḥman remarked how he had seen the blood rush from

12535-558: The word יָמִים ‎, yamim , in Genesis 24:55 to mean "a year." Genesis 24:55 says, "And her brother and her mother said: ‘Let the maiden abide with us יָמִים ‎, yamim , at the least ten." The Gemara reasoned that if יָמִים ‎, yamim , in Genesis 24:55 means "days" and thus to imply "two days" (as the plural implies more than one), then Genesis 24:55 would report Rebekah 's brother and mother suggesting that she stay first two days, and then when Eliezer said that that

12650-437: The words "that your brother may live with you " in Leviticus 25:36 to teach that concern for one's own life takes precedence over concern for another's. Part of chapter 1 of Tractate Kiddushin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the Hebrew servant in Exodus 21:2–11 and 21:26–27; Leviticus 25:39–55; and Deuteronomy 15:12–18. Lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar

12765-583: The words of Leviticus 25:35, "You shall support him," to teach that one should not let one's brother who grows poor to fall down. The Sifra compared financial strains to a load on a donkey. While the donkey is still standing in place, a single person can take hold of it and lead it. But if the donkey falls to the ground, five people cannot pick it up again. In the words, "Take no interest or increase, but fear your God," in Leviticus 25:36, "interest" ( נֶשֶׁךְ ‎, neshech ) literally means "bite." A Midrash played on this meaning, teaching not to take interest from

12880-688: Was also unique as a time of closeness to God in the Yom Kippur Temple service . Yom Kippur was the only occasion on which the High Priest of Israel was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies , the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem , where God's presence was said to dwell. On Yom Kippur the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies several times, first to create a cloud of incense smoke in which (the Bible promises) God would reveal Himself without being seen, and later to offer sacrifices of atonement. While

12995-462: Was being punished for the same sin as the other woman. The court thus made known her sin, and the Torah repeatedly records the sin of Moses. The latter parts of tractate Arakhin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the jubilee year in Leviticus 25:8–34. The Mishnah taught that the jubilee year had the same ritual as Rosh Hashanah for blowing the shofar and for blessings. But Rabbi Judah said that on Rosh Hashanah,

13110-577: Was the revelation of God's presence to the people; similarly, the Yom Kippur service was a unique opportunity for the people's representative to obtain closeness with God. A midrash compares the Yom Kippur prayers to a verse from the Song of Songs , describing a woman who rises from bed at night to begin a romantic encounter with her lover. With each Yom Kippur prayer, it is implied, Jews approach closer to God: "I rose up to open to my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh , my fingers with flowing myrrh, upon

13225-406: Was too long, nonsensically suggesting ten days. The Gemara thus deduced that יָמִים ‎, yamim , must mean "a year" in Genesis 24:55, as Leviticus 25:29 implies when it says, "if a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year ( יָמִים ‎, yamim ) shall he have the right of redemption." Thus Genesis 24:55 might mean, "Let

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