Yom Kippur: History & Meaning of the Day of Atonement (2025)

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Yom Kippur stands as a sacred date on the Jewish calendar, a time of deep reflection, repentance, and renewal. While many today recognize it as a solemn day marked by fasting and prayer, the roots of Yom Kippur stretch back thousands of years to the rituals of the ancient Israelite priesthood, described in striking detail in the Hebrew Bible.

So what is Yom Kippur? In this article, I’ll explain its multifaceted history and the evolving Yom Kippur meaning — from its biblical origins and priestly rituals of purification to its reinterpretation in early Christianity and its modern observance focused on personal introspection and ethical living. By tracing the journey of this holy day through Scripture, tradition, and transformation, we uncover how a single day can carry both ancient weight and contemporary relevance.

When is Yom Kippur 2025? This year it will start on Oct 1 at sundown and end at nightfall on Oct 2.

Yom Kippur’s Meaning

The name Yom Kippur, designating the highest of the Jewish holy days and celebrated on the 10th day of the 7th month of the Jewish calendar (the month of Tishrei), comes from the Hebrew Bible, specifically Leviticus 23:27 and 25:9 where it is called Yom Hakippurim (the -im ending indicates pluralization, or “Day of Atonements”). Marc Zvi Brettler points out that our translation of the word “kippur” as atonement actually comes from the Septuagint, the ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek.

In the Septuagint, kippur is translated as ilasmou, which can mean atonement or seeking the favor of a god. The Latin version of the Hebrew Bible then translated the word as “expiationum,” or expiation, the process by which individuals take some action to have their sins forgiven. Brettler notes, however, that the original Hebrew word kippurim does not mean individual atonement or expiation.

The ritual and purpose of the Yom Kippur is described in detail in Leviticus 16. At the end of this description, God explains the reason the ritual must be performed annually:

Brettler explains that in this ritual, “the altar absorbs certain sins of the Israelites, and the main function of Yom Kippur is to cleanse these sins by using the blood of a purification offering (sometimes called a “sin offering”) as a type of ritual detergent.” For this reason, he says that the best translation of the Hebrew word kippur would be “purgation,” which “specifically refers to the purgation or cleansing of sins from the tabernacle or temple.”

Leviticus 16 explains other connected rituals too, including a scapegoat (a literal goat) that bears away the Israelites’ sins (more on this later). Brettler concludes that while Leviticus 16 certainly addresses the purging of sin, it is not related to individual repentance, as it would be later in Jewish history.

By the way, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called the high holy days in Judaism. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and believed to take place on the date when God created the world, according to Samuel Boyd. As such, it’s a time for celebration. The ten days following Rosh Hashanah are called the Days of Awe, culminating in the highly solemn and sacred Day of Atonement.

Next, let’s discuss Yom Kippur’s relation to the New Testament.

The Day of Atonement in the New Testament

In The Impact of Yom Kippur on Early Christianity, Daniel Stokl Ben Ezra writes that since much of the New Testament was written after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, and since the Yom Kippur sacrifices were only to be made in the Temple, many Jews were rethinking the importance of the original ritual. This included some of the NT’s authors, some of whom characterized Jesus’ death as a Yom Kippur sacrifice. However, other NT authors, such as Paul, who was writing before the destruction of the Temple, had already begun to make this connection.

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For example, in Romans 3:23-25, Paul writes that

Similarly, in Galatians 1:4, Paul talks about Jesus “who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” Finally, in the most explicit reference to Jesus as the Yom Kippur sacrifice, in Hebrews 9:11-14, the anonymous author writes that Jesus was both the priest performing the sacrificial rite, and the sacrifice itself:

In addition, Hebrews 10:10 says that while the Yom Kippur sacrifices had to be made every year, those who believe in Jesus “have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Having explored the history of Yom Kippur, both for Judaism and Christianity, let’s look at how the original ritual was performed and what is done today.

The Ancient Ritual of Yom Kippur

A week before the ancient rite of Yom Kippur in the Temple in Jerusalem, the High Priest would live in a special chamber in the Temple to spiritually prepare himself for the Day of Atonement. On the day of Yom Kippur, he would enter the Holy of Holies, a special chamber closed off with a curtain and containing an altar. This was the place where God’s presence was believed to dwell within the Temple. Only the High Priest could enter this chamber, and only on the Day of Atonement.

On Yom Kippur, three different types of sacrificial services were performed. First, the regular daily offering which was offered every day of the year. Numbers 28:3-8 describes what was offered to God in this ritual:

Next came the Mussaf, or additional sacrifice for special days, described in Numbers 29:7-11:

Finally, the official Yom Kippur service, described in Leviticus 16, was performed. First, the high priest would donate one young bull for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering. Then the people would give the priest two goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering. One of the goats would be sacrificed as atonement for the collective sins of the people while the other would be designated the scapegoat. Leviticus 16:21-22, describing Moses’ brother Aaron as the first high priest, explains what is to be done with the scapegoat:

With the sins of the people symbolically carried away by the scapegoat, the people and the Temple were purified for another year. However, once the Temple was destroyed, the Yom Kippur ritual necessarily changed, both in significance and in practice. How is the day celebrated by modern Jewish people and what does it mean now?

Modern Day of Atonement: What Do You Say on Yom Kippur?

While the Day of Atonement in the ancient world focused on purifying the collective Jewish people and their Temple of sins, modern Jewish denominations focus more on individual repentance for sins and trying to live more ethically in the future.

The website ReformJudaism.org notes that the modern practices of Yom Kippur focus on three principles. The first is t’shuvah or repentance, the recognition of what one has done wrong and the intention to do better. The second is t’filah or prayer, bringing one closer to God. The third is tzedakah, which means justice or righteousness and refers specifically to charitable giving. With these three combined, Jews believe they can atone for past wrongs and strive to be better in the future.

Leviticus 16 states that before the rituals of Yom Kippur, people must practice self-denial. For modern Jews, this means abstaining for 24 hours from eating or drinking, from wearing leather, from showering or shaving, from putting on perfumes or lotions, and from sexual relations. Keep in mind that this 24 hours is counted from sundown the day before the holiday until sundown the next day, in accordance with ancient Jewish timekeeping practices.

Additionally, many Jews wear white on Yom Kippur. ReformJudaism.org notes that for some this symbolizes purity, while for others it represents the shroud in which the dead are buried, a reminder to remain humble and repent.

At home, a final meal is eaten before sundown followed by a candle lighting to initiate the Yom Kippur fast. Many also make sure to do some form of charitable giving before going to the synagogue.

At the synagogue, there is a long series of services. Not everyone attends them all, but most religious Jews go to at least some. The first service happens the evening before the Day of Atonement and is called Kol Nidre, meaning “all vows.” It is a special liturgy only performed on Yom Kippur in a mix of Aramaic and Hebrew. Its purpose is to annul any unintended vows made to God and is repeated three times.

The services also include multiple readings from the Torah, and even a memorial service for deceased loved ones, vowing to let their memory inspire the living to be the best people they can be in the coming year.

Additionally, the congregation recites a prayer called Al Cheit, a prayer of confession that recounts the sins of the past year. Implied in this is repentance and the intention not to repeat these mistakes in the coming year.

Finally, at the end of Yom Kippur, the shofar, a ritual horn made from a ram’s horn, is blown to signal the end of the Day of Atonement and the fast is broken.

Conclusion

For Jews, past and present, Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year. It is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Tishrei in the Jewish calendar and signifies purification from the sins that would displease God.

The original Day of Atonement can be found in the Hebrew Bible, especially Leviticus 16. It included burnt offerings and a ritual in which a goat, the scapegoat, was symbolically loaded with the sins of the people and sent away, signifying that the sins no longer existed.

Some early Christians, such as the author of the book of Hebrews, saw Jesus as the new form of the Yom Kippur sacrifice, a sacrifice which he saw not as an annual necessity but as a one-time offering that wiped away sin forever for those who believed.

While the original rituals with burnt offerings were performed in the Temple, new traditions arose after its destruction. Modern Jews fast and abstain from luxuries like bathing and the wearing of leather on the day of Yom Kippur. They also spend a long time in prayer and liturgy at the synagogue. At the end of the day, the shofar is blown, signifying both the end of the holiday and the successful completion of the required repentance.