History of Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement

Second Temple, Jerusalem, 2,000 years ago

The Jewish High Holy Days begin with Rosh Hashanah and continue until Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown tonight. Yom Kippur, the “Day of Atonement,” or more correctly Yom ha-Kippurim (Leviticus 16), goes back to Jewish antiquity almost 4,000 years to the time of Moses. This most solemn occasion of the Jewish Festival cycle was the season for annual cleansing from sin, but in time its significance was deepened so that…