Netivyah News, Jerusalem, October 11.

Yom Kippur: a personal and a national opportunity.

By Lydia Bachana.

This week marked a year since the October 7-massacre. Israel was covered in a cloud of sadness, emotions, memories, stories, photos, memorial services, alongside the storm of the ongoing war. I took one of our kids to a local memorial service which began by all of us just standing and holding Israels’ blue-and-white flag, while cars drove by. We held a photo of Avinatan Or, one of the captives held by Hamas in Gaza. While others held photos of other captives. More locals joined and it was a very peaceful and honorable event. To me, the most touching thing was to see my child, the next generation, holding this beautiful flag that symbolizes such a deep longing and hope, that’s perhaps best described in the Hatikvah (‘The Hope’), Israel’s National Anthem: 
“as long as deep in the heart,
The soul of a Jew yearns,
And forward to the East
To Zion, an eye looks
Our hope will not be lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”

This hope, no matter what, carries the People of Israel from generation to generation, in good and in bad times. It unites us and gives a deep sense of purpose and belonging. And so, seeing the next generation waving this flag – that witnessed so much joyful occasions, as well as tragedies – in the small hands of an innocent child who just lost another tooth, also symbolizes our hope to persevere,  as well as a bright hope for the future. If ever hope was powerful, it is now so for sure.

This week we finish the ten days of awe with Yom Kipur, the Day of Atonement. Yom Kipur is the day of forgiveness and atonement after 10 days of self-reflection and making things right. On this day especially, people stand before God and literally beg to be forgiven. And the question is, is such a day suitable for us as believers?

We ask this, because we believe that our sins have already been forgiven by the blood of Yeshua the Messiah. As believers, including myself, we believe that Yeshua has already forgiven my sins and enables me to stand pure and clean before our heavenly Father. So again, is this day still relevant for us?

My answer is yes. 
Our world and the time we live in, is very ‘individualistic’; however, the Bible isn’t individualistic. In fact, the Bible mainly touches people, in plural: as a group, a tribe and a people. Every person is part of a whole. And nobody stands alone before God. 

And so, an individualistic mindset truly has no use for Yom Kippur, and from that point of view it’s just a wasted day. Because, truly, we are saved by the precious blood of Yeshua the Messiah. God saved me, personally.

Yet, those who view our standing before God to be a social action, do fast and pray, from the understanding that we aren’t just ‘individuals’: it’s not just about ‘me’. We see how society crumbles around us, we see the moral decay and lack of faith around us and in our society. Are we in a better moral position today, than the society we read about in the Torah? Than the society that was severely punished and sent into exile, into the diaspora? Is our society today closer to God than the society we read about in the Bible?

On Yom Kippur, God’s Day of Judgment, we take an active part in national prayers and supplications. We fast and beg God to remember us – all of us – for good, to have mercy on us and to remember His promises and grace towards our forefathers and mothers. And for our Heavenly Father to give us – as a people – another opportunity to correct our lifestyle and live in a way that pleases God.

Because, surely, if the People of Israel is punished again; for example, by being sent into exile, it would be quite foolish of me to think that everyone would go into exile, but that I would remain here and worship God freely. If God prevents the rain to fall on our dry land, it would be silly of me to think that a personal cloud would cover my business or my field to irrigate my piece of land. 

This idea also applies to you.
Let’s say God punishes your country. You know what? Let’s forget about punishment. Let’s say God blesses your country: with food, financial success, wealth and blessed children. Isn’t it obvious that even the needy of society would receive those blessings? And so, our standing before God isn’t only personal, because it’s also national. As a people and as a society, we stand before God, and ask for mercy and grace.

Of course, Yom Kippur isn’t just a general and national prayer. Yom Kippur is also a personal opportunity to take a moment to stop everything we do, just for a day, and to focus on ourselves and our lives, and on the fact that we will stand and face our Heavenly Father as individuals. And yes, I believe with complete faith that Yeshua the Messiah cleansed our hearts and lives, and makes us pure before God, our King. 

May this Yom Kippur be very meaningful, and serve as a clean slate for this new year in your life. 
And may it be an opportunity to set things straight – not only with God, but also with those around us. 


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