Yom Kippur is the solemnest day of the Jewish year. It is a day devoted to repenting of one's sins before God, asking God's forgiveness, and vowing to do better in the coming year. Like Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur is directed to the individual and not to the community. It is a day for self-reflection and honest self-examination. For, as the rabbis teach, the observance of Yom Kippur is effective only if one truly does try to live better in the coming year. As Rabbi Louis Jacobs has written, "God does not, as it were, come down to earth for only one day in the year. But the day, if observed in proper fashion, will have the effect of bringing man nearer to God in the year ahead."
Yom Kippur falls on the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. The roots of Yom Kippur can be found in the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 16 Verses 29-31:
And this shall be a law for all time: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall practice self-denial; and you shall do no manner of work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you. For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord. It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice self-denial; it is a law for all time.
In Biblical times, on Yom Kippur the High Priest exchanged his ornate vestments for ordinary linen garments. After atoning for his own sins, he was presented with two goats. The High Priest then cast lots and selected one goat to be sacrificed to God and the other goat, bearing the sins of the community (the scapegoat), to be taken to Azazel (a place in the wilderness or, possibly, a wilderness demon).
After the destruction of the Temple and the persecutions of the Middle Ages began, Yom Kippur took on its more somber character.
