Just as Christmas and Easter are the most popular Christian holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the most celebrated Jewish holidays. Each year, Israeli airports, buses, television, and radios are shut down in honor of Yom Kippur as people all over the world celebrate the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people.
Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur mark the High Holy Days or Days of Awe:
10 days where Jews forgive others, give to those in need, and confess sins in order to secure their names in the Book of Life for another year.
The Days of Awe end in a 25 hour fast and Sabbath-rest called Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur represents the day God provided atonement for the sins of the Israelites (Leviticus 16).
The Lord commanded the High Priest to bring two animals for sacrifice into the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle. After sacrificing on the priest’s own behalf, he would then sacrifice one animal in the temple as the sin offering. The second was named the Azazel or scapegoat. The priest would symbolically lay the sins of the people on the head of the goat and lead it outside of the camp, representing the sins of the people being taken away.
This animal sacrifice would occur once a year, and was always a temporal covering of sin. Year after year the Israelites repeated this tradition to ensure sins were covered and names were sealed in the Book of Life.
But the Day of Atonement was always meant to be a symbol pointing to something to come—something much greater: The promise of Christ as the ultimate, once-and-for-all sacrifice and scapegoat for our sins.
As followers of Christ, we aren’t called to walk in guilt. Christ entered the Most Holy Place on our behalf and washed us clean from our sins. Hebrews 9:14 reminds us, “If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out.”
However, we can honor Yom Kippur by celebrating the incredible sacrifice and radical forgiveness Jesus displayed on the cross. In 2014, Rosh Hashanah falls on September 24th. Yom Kippur begins October 3rd at sundown and ends on October 4th.
Here are 3 ways to celebrate Yom Kippur as a follower of Christ:
1. Don’t wait another day to extend radical forgiveness.
Yom Kippur and the Days of Awe center around forgiveness and establishing right relationships with one another. Matthew 6:14-15 reminds us “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” When you don’t have the grace or strength to forgive, ask God to supply both of those in greater measure. Try this today and experience the joy and wonder that comes with forgiveness.
2. Consider fasting for a meal or an entire day.
During your time of fasting, spend time in prayer and reflect on the truth that everything we have comes from God. End your fast by reading Psalm 107:8-9: “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”
3. Gather your family and friends for a tashlich ceremony.
During a tashlich ceremony, people of the synagogue go down to a local stream or river, and empty their pockets of crumbs, symbolizing their sins being washed away. Read Hebrews 10:1-25 together as you celebrate Christ as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for your sins.
Great article pointing out how Christians can join in the celebration.
I agree with what you’ve said and would like to take the suggested participation one step further. You noted that one reason for the celebration/fast was to give to those in need. While being thankful for the provisions is a good thing for us to do, I think it would behoove us to include radical giving to someone in need as a way to participate as well.
I love that, Christi. Thanks for adding!
as christians, we can celebrate all the jewish feasts as we have been grafted into the jewish bloodline through abraham. also, this is the Lord,s feast and we should celebrate it. i plan to.
janna
I’d love to know how you celebrate, Janna!
As a Christian I am celebrating by fasting and giving others in need which makes me feel totally Blessed
Margaret, thanks for sharing the beautiful attributes of Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. You know how many people, just this week have ask the question “What Is Yom Kippur?” You my wonderful sister was gracious enough to answer. Thank you.
May you continue to allow God to speak through you to His children!
Thanks, Zion!
The Lord spoke to my heart years ago about celebrating the feasts and other biblical holy days. I was blessed to receive a book “Celebrating Biblical Feasts” by Martha Zimmerman and found a unit study book for homeschooling called “A Family Guide to Biblical Holidays” by Robin Sampson & Linda Pierce. Instead of bread crumbs being emptied from pockets though it taught us to pick up pebbles or small rocks and carry them in your pockets think of particular sins and then throw those rocks into the river. We also learned to celebrate Chanukah and Purim too. My kids love to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and when we celebrate it we bake a cake for the earth birthday. I personally believe the feasts should be celebrated by the church and taught too. We have learned so much by celebrating. Learning about The Omer helped me to understand one of Jesus’ teachings. It is such a blessing. Thank you for sharing your article and encouraging and teaching others.
I love that, Jennifer!
Christ celebrated the Jewish Feast then why shouldn’t we as His followers ????
I’m fascinated by the feasts, Margaret. They’re one of my favorite things to study. Great suggestions for a Yom Kippur celebration. Praying that these 10 days of repentance will tender the hearts of the Jews to embrace the good news of the Gospel.
Hugs from VA
Thank you for posting this valuable information Margaret. I am enthralled by all things Jewish as I believe it is one way to know our Lord better; after all, He was a Jew not a Christian. I will be fasting and emptying my pockets, just not sure how that will look yet. I have a Messianic Jewish girlfriend so maybe we can do something together.
if you state we are not required to walk in guilt, then why suggest Tachlich organizing? makes no sense. I’d rather follow the traditions as they were and are, it brings me closer to Jesus knowing He was, at the same place and time thousands of years ago, worshiping in the same manner.
why change it?WWJT?
This was our second year celebrating the feasts of the Lord. Once I “discovered” them I felt a little cheated growing up in a church and not ever being taught about them, much less celebrating them other than to loosely understand Easter and the communion table. I was totally reignited in my faith to understand their foreshadow and fulfillments in Christ…the fulfilling of his first coming and the fulfillment of the remaining feasts in His second. The High Holy Days are so special to me as a Christian becuase it’s a declaration that I believe and am getting ready for His return.
This year for Rosh Hashanah, our entire family gathered and spent a couple nights at my parents house. We took turns making “sweet” meals for each other, spent time in group prayer and repentance, and watched the live Web cam of the Western Wailing wall while praying for the people of Israel.
For Yom Kippur we fasted (Israeli time), wore white and spent our day in prayer with and for them.
In celebrating we have found many Christians ask us why we celebrate Jewish holidays. We reply they are biblical God given holidays and though given to Israel, we indeed are grafted in and want to proclaim the fulness of Christ and understand His revelation. Celebrating as a Christian has allowed us to witness and share with believers and non-believers alike.
I’m so privileged to know God desires to reveal Himself and His redemptive plan through these feasts…it’s rich and beautiful!
What an amazing gift, Jenn. Thanks for sharing.
This will be a blessing to me, I am studying about the Jewish holidays that God gave to the Israelites. Now that I am a born again Christian of the Lord Jesus Christ and graphed in, I want to celebrate my inheritance. I am looking for a family, or church I can celebrate it with.
This is wonderful, Gloria!
Hi Gloria. Try United Church of God, they celebrate God’s feasts.
Some observations from a Jew. First, we don’t “celebrate” Yom Kippur. We observe it. Second, Tashlich is done on Rosh Hashanah, not on Yom Kippur. Third, as a Christian, you don’t need to observe the Jewish holidays. They’re Jewish holidays, not Christian holidays.
Hi Kathy, they are not just Jewish holidays. They are Biblically decreed holy days we all should observe… unlike Christmas and Easter, which were Christianized versions of pagan celebrations added years after Yeshua fulfilled the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah.
According to the Torah they were given to all the tribes. So the dispersed that are among the nations are now coming back to an understanding of their roots. That is why so many believers in Yeshua are seeking out the Moediem. Many of us understand that the Father wishes us to take part in His ways, just like the mixed multitude that left Egypt. We are either part if the dispersed or part of the adopted in. Either way, we honor the practices.
Thank you for adding to the discussion, ladies!
Hi kathy. They are God’s Holydays, not Jewish. given to Israel which consists of 12 tribes, of which Judah (Jews) is only one. So true Christians should follow God’s appointed feats.
I want to know how to observe day of atonement at home
is it ok to take my medicine on the day of atonement
Thank you very much for this blog. My husband and I run a mountain retreat in a national park in Serbia. During prayer time this year I heard God tell me to make a prayer and fasting retreat Sept 10-13. I didn’t understand why. It wasn’t even a weekend and it’s a busy time for people with school starting in Europe. However when I looked at the calender I saw it was the day after Yom Kippur. I had no idea what that was and was amazed when I saw that it is celebrated with prayer and fasting. I want to welcome anyone interested to join us September 10-13 as directed by God to seek him in prayer and fasting for the up coming year. For more information contact me at info@retreattara.com
This is so disrespectful to the Jewish community. If we want to partake in traditions as dictated in the Bible, we should not have to intrude into the religion of others. A person commented that these are “Biblically decreed holy days we all should observe”, but by observing it following the Jewish tradition not only are we disrespecting family and friends in the religious community, but we are also being disrespectful to our own religion and set of practices. This Biblically decreed holy day of atonement is not one that Christians participate in for a simple reason: as Christians, we have been atoned of our sins through Christ. That is why we celebrate Easter instead. While it is great to know more about the history of our religion and how Jesus lived, we need to be 1) respectful of the Jewish community and 2) respectful of our own Christian traditions.
I just came upon this thread and had a thought.
You are right in that we should not try to make another holiday “FIT”in the “Christian” mold. However, since the point of Yom Kippur was originally to observe the sacrifice for their sin in the day of atonement and to observe a day of fasting in contriteness – perhaps instead as Christians it would be approprite to make a special time of taking the Communion Supper together in recognition of the Final Atonement on our behalf. It would honor the symbolism of our “adopted” heritage in a way that is respectful to both.
The problem with you is your stuck in tradition made by man. Easter is not Jesus day of Resurrection. You cant get 3 days and 3 nights from Friday to Sunday. If you are following the calendar and time correctly, you will know that Friday evening begins the Sabbath and end Saturday evening. That would only be 1 day. Saturday evening to Sunday evening is 2 days. That would mean Jesus rose up on Monday evening if you are counting 3 days. Also, You would also know if you are a true believer that Jesus gave you the fourth commandment. “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Stop worshipping that sun god. And to complete what you said about being atoned for our sins. Does that mean you don’t have to do anything? Faith without works is dead. Why would you continue to go to church if you believe that all has been forgiven. And please don’t say to fellowship. Who changed God’s law in to a lie? Man! And please tell me you don’t believe we are going to heaven either. Revelation 21 read it. Don’t just pull pieces and use it to fit you, it has to fit what Jesus has for you in the Bible. And if you think the Jewish people that stole the land back in 1948 is the real Jews, think again. God has his wrath for them. The real Jew is scattered all over America. One that God dispersed out of their land. The black people we have in America that was sold in to slavery by Africans. And I am of a mixed race. (White and Hispanic) Learn to read and read to learn.
For centuries we have done the opposite of what the Messianic believer was supposed to do, that was raise the Jews to jealousy they should have looked at us from the start and seen we were doing all the commandments of Yahweh as given by Moses without the traditions of the Pharisees and Sadducees. That is what Yeshua came to do, rightly divide the word of God and make his commandments light and not heavy burdens, on top of receiving him as Messiah. The not to soon Christian church after they chased out the Jews soon made “Another Jesus” as Paul writes and then the Jews did not recognise him and would not come to salvation with the one the church presented to them, and would not accept him we were to present a fully keeping Torah observant Jew anything less they are taught is a false prophet. Along comes a corrupt Christianity that hates the Jews and wants everything connected to Jews kicked out of their faith. Now they present a Messiah that says all his commandments are done away with when the Jews are told the exact criteria of their Messiah to be the opposite of that, a Messiah that does not follow the Fathers Feasts dates his divine appointments but some Pagan holidays with his name slapped over the top. He said do not mix the Holy with the Profane and offer it to me as worship. So we are following the correct Messiah and his commandments as we are grafted into a tree that is fully Jewish there is not another tree and another way. The way to life is very narrow and difficult and few find it but many are on the wide road that leads to death. Yes the Jews are suppose to say who is it they are worshiping ? and Yahweh will then open their eyes to the true Messiah not the one the false church has tried to give them.
Jesus Christ fulfilled EVERY feast and we keep the Jewish Feasts because every feast is ALL ABOUT HIM, THE JEWISH MESSIAH AND KING OF THE UNIVERSE!!! SAVIOR, PASSOVER LAMB, THE ONE WHO MADE ATONEMENT FOR OUR SINS,, THE FINAL SACRIFICE MADE FOR ALL WHO WILL RECEIVE HIM
SHALOM DEAR ONE. MAY YESHUA COME TO YOU SOON AND REVEAL HIMSELF TO YOU. ❤️
K hello dear friend. These were not Jewish feast but they were God’s Feasts God’s appointed days and they were to be kept forever. The day of atonement is still in effect it is a day to repent of your sins and to be right before God in every way. Although we honor our beloved savior he is their Messiah many of them know him now and will know him in the future. I think it’s very wise to honor these feasts as God’s Feasts the best that we can and especially Yom Kippur the day of atonement it doesn’t make atonement for your life forever it’s for a year that God May seal you to a New Year in his kindness he gave 10 days the 10 days of all to search our hearts and cleanse ourselves of hidden sin or things that we’ve not been willing to give up. I hope you don’t mind my sharing with you. I am a pastor in the US and God has led us to share the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith.
Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays and I do not partake in them at all anymore. I follow the 7 mo’edims and sabbath rest. Its helpful to also observe the biblical days as was in the bible and not the customs of men. Shalom, everyone!
Hello!
I just wanted to chime in. A few years ago I decided that our family would celebrate passover because we didn’t regularly see my stepson every easter and I figured we could at least start a tradition as a family that we could always celebrate together around Easter Time. I was reading a magazine about how the observances of Passover were a prophecy of the life of Christ, and it also dawned on me that this was the last meal that Christ ever ate. This past Passover I was in the middle of preparing our passover meal and I just started crying. I got goosebumps all over, I had to sit down. I was preparing the same supper my Lord ate right before he was crucified. God calls us to celebrate and feast. He calls us to not be slaves to work, and he calls us to base our lives and our calendars around honoring Him. I don’t have a probelm celebrating Christmas, and Easter but I find a lot less commercialism surrounding the other observances of both the Liturgical and Hebrew calendar. Many of the observances line up extremely closely and all of the Hebrew observances point to the coming of the Messiah. I also find it a great illustration to discuss and remind our children of the stories of the bible and how they relate to what Christ has done for us, and why we believe what we beilieve. There is some speculation that Jesus might have actually been born on Rosh Hashanah, which is kind of interesting. I am looking to incorporate the High Holy Days into our family calendar to as Rosh Hashanah marks the Birth of the World, as well as the birth of the miracle baby Isaac, and the sacrifice of his Son that Abraham was willing to make. Imagine being Jesus, every year celebrating Rosh Hashanah and knowing that your Father in Heaven had a miracle baby, and every year as you ate this meal, you knew what your father was going to ask of you. Jesus is the lamb that God gave Abraham to slaughtered instead of the boy.
This is my first year celebrating Yom Kippur as a Christian. I am so thrilled to be celebrating a holiday that the Lord has made. My prayer is that I am careful not to become religious about it, but genuinely soak in the true meaning of what Christ has done on the cross for us and that He became the ultimate sacrifice and we can simply ask for forgiveness at any time.
So because this is my very first year, I am very excited! I started my fast in the evening and will fast through until the next evening and end it with a beautiful meal for my family. I just want to honor the Lord and recognize Him for His great love.
I am still trying to understand all of the feasts and festivals and celebrate them with my family, however, growing up with pagan traditions such as Christmas, Easter and Halloween, is bit of a challenge now. Breaking tradition and learning a new way isn’t easy and it’s been a little confusing, so I’m thankful for this post! I am excited and know the best is yet to come.