Afflicting Our Souls & Repenting on Yom Kippur

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We are to afflict our souls, repent of our sins, and adopt Yeshua's death as our atoning sacrifice on Yom Kippur.

Category: Days & Seasons

Type: Positive

Form: Implied

Source dataset: Old Testament

Uniqueness: Unique

Classical commandment: Yes

New Covenant Literal Application

Applies to Person Categories: Everyone

Literal Application: mandated, recommended

More explanation about New Covenant Literal Application

The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.

It combines person categories such as Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, and Gentile, together with male/female distinctions and an application level such as mandated, recommended, optional, or prohibited.

This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. On this page, the technical code is summarized into plain language to help new readers understand it more easily.

Read the full explanation from the source

Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

2 Corinthians 5:21
Hebrews 9:6-10:20
1 Peter 1:18-19
1 Peter 2:24-25

Key OT Scriptures

Leviticus 6:18-23
Leviticus 16:1-34
Leviticus 22:21
Leviticus 23:27-29
Numbers 28:31
Numbers 29:7-8

Supportive NT Scriptures

1 Corinthians 5:7
John 1:29
Matthew 20:28

Supportive OT Scriptures

Isaiah 53:4-12

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

The 10 th day of the seventh month is referred to in Leviticus 23:27 and 25:9 as Yom HaKippurim , and in Leviticus 23:28 as Yom Kippurim . Although the day appears in the plural in Scripture, it is more commonly known as Yom Kippur , and is translated "Day of Atonement". Because the CJB translates the above Scriptures differently than do several other highly regarded English translations, I had to decide which of them to rely upon in constructing this Mitzvah . The five Scripture verses at issue are: The CJB and NIV translate the four as "deny yourselves", and the KJV and NKJ translate them as "afflict your souls". The NAS version differs by translating the first three as "humble your souls", and Numbers 29:7 as "humble yourselves". The CJB and NIV both translate Leviticus 23:29 as "deny himself", the KJV translates it as "not be afflicted", the NKJ version translates it as "not afflicted in soul", and the NAS version translates it as "not humble himself". The weight of lexical authority appears to favor (and I have adopted) the view that we are commanded to afflict and humble our souls on Yom Kippur . The question is "What does that mean?" and "How are we to accomplish it?" Jewish tradition, based partially upon Scripture (e.g. Psalms 35:13 ; 69:10 ; Jeremiah 36:6 ), interprets "afflict your souls" as meaning that we are to fast from food and drink for twenty-five hours; this fast has become one of Yom Kippur 's most well-known features. While fasting on Yom Kippur is certainly appropriate and a practice that I heartily endorse, I am of the opinion that THE TRUE BIBLICAL MEANING AND INTENT OF AFFLICTING OUR SOULS ON YOM KIPPUR IS THAT WE REPENT OF OUR SINS. Consider God's admonition to the Israelites in Isaiah 58:1-8 : Shout out loud! Don't hold back! Raise your voice like a shofar! Proclaim to my people what rebels they are, to the house of Ya'akov their sins. Oh yes, they seek me day after day and [claim to] delight in knowing my ways. As if they were an upright nation that had not abandoned the rulings of their God, they ask me for just rulings and [claim] to take pleasure in closeness to God, [asking,] 'Why should we fast, if you don't see? Why mortify ourselves, if you don't notice?' Here is my answer: when you fast, you go about doing whatever you like, while keeping your laborers hard at work. Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting, to lashing out with violent blows. On a day like today, fasting like yours will not make your voice heard on high. Is this the sort of fast I want, a day when a person mortifies himself? Is the object to hang your head like a reed and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself? Is this what you call a fast, a day that pleases ADONAI? Here is the sort of fast I want - releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke, sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen! Then your light will burst forth like the morning, your new skin will quickly grow over your wound; your righteousness will precede you, and ADONAI's glory will follow you. The theme and purpose of Yom Kippur is repentance, and the above Scripture eschews any fast (including the Yom Kippur fast) that does not include it. We are familiar with the discomfort of not eating, so fasting might seem to be the primary and most logical way that God wants us to afflict our souls on Yom Kippur . Consider, however, how much more our souls are afflicted by our having to face the reality of our sins and repent, often with confession and restitution. Although afflicting our souls is called for, what is really sought from us is not bodily discomfort but repentance. Observance of Yom Kippur as a Shabbat and time for personal repentance is mandatory for Jews and K'rov Yisrael Gentiles, and recommended for other Gentile followers of Yeshua as well. Not only is repentance important for us personally, but it is necessary if we are to fulfill the priestly responsibilities that God has given to each of us. According to Exodus 19:6 , Israel has been made into a kingdom of priests (albeit not all of Israel are descended from Levitical priests) and, according to 1 Peter 2:9 and Revelation 5:10 , all New Covenant believers have become priests as well. This "priesthood of believers" is not for the purpose of sacrificing animals in an earthly temple, but for serving Yeshua who, as High Priest, entered the heavenly "Holy Place" by means of His own blood sacrifice ( Hebrews 9:11-12 ). So whether we are Jews or Gentiles, all disciples of Yeshua carry priestly responsibilities for which spiritual cleansing through repentance is a prerequisite. Note also that, whereas animal sacrifices (accompanied by repentance) conducted in the Temple merely covered over sins, Yeshua's sacrifice (accompanied by repentance) in the New Covenant completely removes sin.

Classical commentators

Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch express their respective mitzvot as our having to fast on Yom Kippur . They deduce this from the above Scriptures which they understand to be saying "We must afflict our souls". This Mitzvah agrees with them on that latter point, but does not agree that afflicting the soul necessarily equates to fasting. Maimonides and HaChinuch state that on Yom Kippur , in addition to resting and fasting, we must refrain from all activities that care for the body; this includes washing, applying oil to the skin, and marital relations. Maimonides and HaChinuch also state that we are not to wear shoes, but Meir limits this to not wearing shoes made of leather. The commentators do not connect "afflicting the soul" with "repentance" and, in fact, do not discuss repentance with any depth at all.

Drawings

Artist: Jenske Visser

Short Movies

Vlad Savchuk - Four reasons to Fast

Southern seminary - What is the purpose of fasting?

Sermons

A & O Productions - This Happens in the Unseen World When We Fast and Pray

Books

John Piper - A Hunger for God

There is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened. I invite you to turn from the dulling effects of food and the dangers of idolatry, and to say with some simple fast: “This much, O God, I want you.” Our appetites dictate the direction of our lives — whether it be the cravings of our stomachs, the passionate desire for possessions or power, or the longings of our spirits for God. But for the Christian, the hunger for anything besides God can be an arch-enemy. While our hunger for God — and him alone — is the only thing that will bring victory. Do you have that hunger for him? As John Piper puts it, “If we don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” If we are full of what the world offers, then perhaps a fast might express, or even increase, our soul's appetite for God. Between the dangers of self-denial and self-indulgence is this path of pleasant pain called fasting. It is the path John Piper invites you to travel in this book. For when God is the supreme hunger of your heart, he will be supreme in everything. And when you are most satisfied in him, he will be most glorified in you.

https://www.desiringgod.org/books/a-hunger-for-god

Classical sources

Maimonides

Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 12th century) organized all 613 Torah commandments into a structured list. These linked items show where this Law of Messiah commandment overlaps with that classical framework.

Meir of Rothenburg

Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (13th century, Germany) was a leading Talmudic authority. These reference numbers link this commandment to his halachic rulings.

MP32

Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0

Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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