Day of Atonement – Roi Ziv
This study was written by Roi Ziv, an Israeli Messianic follower who lives in the Galilee. We have been privileged to by with Roi and his sister on the last two trips to Israel. I recorded his last talk with the group in October and it will soon be available on the web site. Here’s what Roi contributed. The original message to me was aligned to the RIGHT rather than the left, since Roi is thinking in Hebrew. Roi as 23 years old and was a tank commander in the IDF.
Day of Atonement
What is required of us in this day?
Besides the detailed instruction for the high priest concerning the special sacrifices of this day, we find the command to “afflict our souls”[1] . An odd expression understood in Israel, probably since Isaiah’s time or earlier, to mean self suffering and torture. Thus Israel to this day is fasting on that day[2].
But there’s more to this day. The Day of Atonement, and the ten days leading to it are a special time of repentance, of asking forgiveness from God and man, and of self-examination.
What if there’s an additional meaning to “afflict your soul”? What light will a different reading of this command shed on this special day?
To do that we must go to the Hebrew text:
The verb used is “ana“[3]. While it is correct to understand it as “afflict/torture” it can also mean “to answer”. What if the commandment is to “answer our soul”? To talk to ourselves on this day, reminding ourselves of Yahweh’s truths, of our weakness and sinfulness compared with his greatness and compassion.
David and others would speak to their souls regularly[4]. Let’s look at David’s words in Psalm 103 (Reading the whole psalm is recommended, I put here the verses that are related in content to the Day of Atonement):
A psalm of David
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name…
Who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases…
He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel…
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities…
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us…
For he himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust…
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Is it not David answering his soul?
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:22.
Could David have been meditating on that when he wrote Psalm 103? Could it be that this psalm is his observation of the Day of Atonement?
This perspective puts this most holy day in a different light, a more joyous one.
Yes, we are sinners and we should grieve our sinfulness and our shortcomings, but this day is about Yahweh atoning and covering those sins, about him forgiving them! If that’s not a reason for joy, what is?
And who said that joy and thanksgiving can’t go hand in hand with sorrow and repentance? Greeks, that’s who!
[1] Leviticus 16:31, 23:27, 29, 32 NKJV, some other translations: “Humble your souls”, “deny yourselves”.
[2] Isaiah 58:5 makes the connection of the same expression to fasting.
[3] ע.נ.ה
[4] See also Psalms 42-43, 62, 104, 116, 146
I recently listened to a 10 min teaching from a Rabbi about Yom Kippur and he points out that, in the scripture, that speaks of the day, the point about forgiving sins comes at the end of the passage. He notes that it starts out with drawing near to God. Hebrew, as we know expresses the most important information first. So drawing near to God and doing it as He prescribes is the most important aspect of the day. When we do that He covers us, cleanses us and forgiveness is the byproduct.
Reason for rejoicing in my book!
Thank you, Roi! I experience happiness with tears (release) many times. True happiness is where I can get outside the prison of me, but Self has to be denied in that place to be able to experience that. That is a phenomenon that I experience as loss, and I cry. The happier I am, the harder I cry! It is the strangest of the strange to be trapped in a yet-to-be- realized existence. I am not yet truly me (which is that happiness). I must face that Atonement before I am free to be me on a continual basis, but my part is to be willing to let go of my sin before it can be separated from me, as far as the east is from the west. The tears are for the loss. That’s how messed up I am! But one day I am promised that all those tears are going to be wiped from my eyes. This is the tender gesture of a Lover, and it tells the beloved that crying is no longer necessary, for the Cause of rejoicing has just shown up. I am rejoicing with you, Cheryl! Halleluah!
Excellent commentary Roi! Thank you for sharing with us. It was a pleasure to have you and Ronni with us in Israel. May the Lord’s favor be with you as start your studies!
Thank you Roi! I have never heard a 23 year old write or speak as you do and did on the mountain top in Israel in June or in this commentary. You brought tears to my eyes then and you do so again today. You are truly blessed. I hope I am alive to hear you when you finish your studies.
Yes, David has been communicating and searching out his soul/spirit before YHWH.
We ought to do these as often too, it’s a wonderful place to be. HE will reveal our “misaligned efforts”, “good intentions”.