The  Day of Atonement

Is the day of extraordinary exhortation and persuasiveness to the raising of people's self-esteem.

The Bible (Leviticus 16:30) presents the Day of Atonement as a day in which God may absolve man of his sins provided he purifies himself – a concept that will be explained later.

From the Jewish religion's perspective, the Day of Atonement is recognized as the day of asking forgiveness for sins by means of prayer, but also as a terrible day, judgment day, whose essence is wonderfully captured in the prayer known as "U'Netane Tokef" (Translated from Hebrew, this means "Gives Validity"), in which God seals each man's fate for the duration of the following year – who shall live and who shall die, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be brought down and who will be exalted. Man shall avoid this severe decree by means of prayer, repentance and charity. Religion has even supplied an impressive prayer based on this principle.

 Already within these lines, religion's different approach is discernible. It could even be said that religion presents an attitude which contrasts to that of the divine. This contrast will grow clearer as we prove the essence God wants to attain in this sacred day.

For a long time I was uneasy over religion's attitude on the issue of forgiving sins.
 I couldn't understand why and on what basis a person is accorded with absolution, when a reasonable possibility exists that he will continue sinning the following day as though nothing has changed. With the writing of this book, I have found that within every subject in which God Himself is involved, lies a concealed process or message bearing an immensely positive contribution to man - and the Day of Atonement is no exception. Moreover, it represents an outstanding example of this type of bestowal.

What is atonement?

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, this is a state of reconciliation between man and his God. In order to attain it, man tries to remove the barriers to this reconciliation. It is usually done through religious ceremonies which include a sacrificial offering, expression of regret for prohibited actions, an improvement in behavior, suffering or prayer. This process is common to most ancient religions.

According to the Oxford dictionary, atonement is even more than this; it is the attainment of a spiritual unity between the two sides.
As the encyclopedia and the dictionary describe, atonement is more than forgiveness. Forgiveness relates to the forgiver's actions alone, without taking the other's reaction or consent into consideration. Atonement, on the other hand, is a process which involves both sides, whose aim is to bring about reconciliation and, in so doing, to friendly relations between the parties, in order to pave the way to future mutually beneficial activities.

As to the Day of Atonement itself, God - on his own initiative – turns to man on this day and proposes reconciliation, on the basis of a "mutual clearing of obstacles", valid on a yearly basis and long-lasting. It is offered despite one's recurring immoral actions, due to God's great love for him. Therefore, it can certainly be claimed that God's conciliatory offer on the Day of Atonement is an unsurpassable act of divine love.

As to reconciliation between human beings, since they were created in God's own image, forces of love which wish to be expressed exist in them as well. Hence, man too can reach reconciliation with the other. These activities are recognizable in day to day life, such as the reconciliation between a parent and his children, between a husband and wife and also between a person and his companion. The other will not accept our love if he is angry with us. Therefore, in order to clear this obstacle, we must first reach reconciliation with him. This is not a rare activity, but an activity which must be carried out a great deal if we wish to march surely towards infinite progress.
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The Day of Atonement's essence

Allow me to present before you, dear readers, three divine verses  from the Day of Atonement's prayers, with marvelous guidance and encouragement for the raising of man's self-worth.

The first verse: "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord." (Leviticus 16:30).
(Note: The original biblical Hebrew is rather different and literally states: "For on this day will be atoned upon you, to purify you from all your sins, before the Lord be purified. The explanation which follow  in this verse are based on the original Hebrew version").
This verse is written in the future tense and informs us of what may occur, according to God's intent, on this sacred day. After having elucidated the meaning of atonement, this verse must be understood as follows: For on this day I shall conciliate with you and purify you of all your sins, on condition that you purify yourselves before Me first. This verse also hints that man must prepare for attaining atonement. It is divided into two parts: God's part and man's.

 God's part: "For on this day will be atoned upon you, to purify you from all your sins". This is the divine remuneration, bestowed upon us provided we purify ourselves. Since this reward will be bestowed upon us following our cleansing, this contains an unusual form of exhortation. It is the primary encouragement for its execution, the motive for actualizing the activity we are to carry out.

Man's part: "before the Lord be purified". This is the spiritual activity we are to carry out. However, since a possibility exists that we, as an independent creation, will not wish or be incapable of carrying it out, the Divine reward is not guaranteed.

From this we learn that despite the commandment and divine exhortation, only we ourselves, of our own free will, can instigate the internal improvement known as purification.

The 2^nd verse: " I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins" (Isaiah 43:25). This verse reveals further details regarding reconciliation's uniqueness. It notes that God assures us of complete absolution provided we agree to reconciliation in accordance with His conditions, as detailed in the first verse. This forgiveness will be so complete, that God will not even remember our sins.

It is logical and even necessary, in order to achieve true reconciliation, for each side to clear the obstacles between them.

The actions are: from our side – carrying out the purification process and from God's side – the complete absolution of our sins and His subsequent purifying us.
In the following lines I shall clarify the meaning of this purification and how man's purification clears his obstacles.

The 3^rd verse: "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee." (Isaiah 44:22). This verse describes what shall occur following the reconciliation between God and man. In this verse, God reveals to us the cause for His establishing this special conciliation. The verse also points to an improvement of man's values and status, produced by his purification. God refers to this status as "redemption". Due to the reconciliation, relations between man and God may greatly improve and a new situation should be created. On this basis, God invites man to Him with the words: "Return unto me".

This is an invitation to mutual activity, which could only be the very same activity for which Israel appeared in Nature, which is: To solve man's basic problem and to guide him to the realization of his purpose through personal example. in this verse.
 

The expression "return unto me" apparently points to our having been united with God in the past, but having later grown distant. This expression leads us to understand that prior to this distancing; an intimate and cooperative relationship existed between man and God, similar to those which God so wishes to re-establish on the Day of Atonement..

According to Jewish philosophy, this is the return from the state of exile to an improved state – that of redemption. The prophet Isaiah calls this return, a return to that state in which peace between men prevails. Plato, the renowned philosopher of ancient Greece, regarded this return as a return to the real life outside Socrates' cave of shadows. Ancient Greece's philosophers even believed the entire universe, man included, have in their nature, a yearning to return to their source – which, in my opinion, is God.
 
How should we understand the concept of purification?

After determining the type of activity we have to carry out following our return to God, and due to our awareness of the spiritual improvements needed for the execution of God's task after this return, purification can only be a type of spiritual improvement. A form of liberation from the unnatural elements that are within us. This can only be achieved through the raising of our self-worth.
Hence, "purify yourself" means: raise your self-worth and esteem your-self in accordance with this exalted value.
The high self-worth will bring us to avoid doing immoral actions as we have previously done. We shall recognize these as such, and refrain from them. This spiritual capacity will remove the obstacle between us and God and so we will return to Him, to mutual activity.
The purification of the first verse should be seen as an activity which comes to cleanse us of sin's impurity, thereby forming a foundation for the initial state of high self-worth which now appears. It may be that without this foundation, the aforementioned state has little chance of prevailing and developing for long. This apparently, is the activity which brings about the expression: "for I have redeemed thee".

Redemption

As referred to in the third verse, redemption is that improved and stabilized spiritual status at which we are in full cooperation with God, correctly and efficiently fulfilling our divine role, long-lastingly and at increasing levels. It is also the same improved spiritual status, produced within us due to the raising of our self-worth, which dramatically improved our self-image and in so doing, encouraged our spiritual development in general and the development of the forces of love and creativity in particular. It is also the same improved spiritual status produced within us due to the extremely dramatic execution of the divine decree on the Day of Atonement, "before the Lord be purified". This fits Webster's dictionary definition of "redemption", which is: An improved spiritual state, due to man's liberation from sin's burden or impurity
According to all that was said, the concept of redemption can also be interpreted as a form of ordination to fulfill these activities, following man's return to God. Therefore, "return unto me; for I have redeemed thee", also means, return to me, for I have ordained you to work with me on the "project" for which you were created.

 At this stage, it can be stated with a great degree of confidence, that true redemption is mostly attained  through a individual's proper actions. Any other interpretation and activity, may lead us to a false redemption.
 

What happens in reality, and why?

What brought the people of Israel to act on the Day of Atonement in a way which is opposed to God's words? What prevents them from acting to attain that which the Day of Atonement may provide? Is it possible that for so many years, none of Israel's great thinkers was able to discover the Day of Atonement's true essence, or perhaps there was some other cause to this?

The selection of the two additional verses, from the ocean prophets' sayings which are very well suited to the first verse's essence, clearly points to some of our wise men having been aware of this holy day's true essence. Therefore, this possibility is unacceptable. The more likely explanation is that there were weighty reasons behind establishing this tradition.
Could it be the reason  stems from the existence of misleading earlier interpretations, which had been presented as being "in God's name" and therefore, left no way of withdrawing from them? This seems to me to be the more realistic supposition.
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In light of this, the following picture is arrived at: God turns to man, proposing complete atonement for his past sins, providing that he first purifies himself before Him. The religious one replies that all he can do to earn this forgiveness is to request it in his prayers. Could he really not purify himself, were he to be furnished with the necessary tools? The decisive answer is that he could. But he acts as he does because he was educated to do so, and because he is unfamiliar with the true essence and with the proper activity which he must perform on the Day of Atonement.

I have no doubt that were we to purify ourselves, as God requests, we would lovingly accept the divine reconciliation and the path of returning to God would open up for us. Moreover: an urge would awaken in us to return and perform that unique work, with all that it provides. Much misery, tragedy and wrongfulness would have been avoided, had we properly implemented the Day of Atonement's divine content. We could have already been, for a long time now, in that state described by the prophet Isaiah; a state in which wars and conflicts among men would no longer have a place and would vanish; and we would have efficiently realized our divine role.

Is it advantageous for us to be in an improved condition?

In our current state, we open our hearts and express longing and yearning to the good days in which we shall be improved. We are confronted with this attitude throughout the prayer. This is no small matter; it is a source of crucial spiritual food, which provides us with much hope, satisfaction and even happiness. It is also a tool which cannot be dismissed, for approaching the source from which we seek mercy, love, protection and inspiration.

What would happen if we were to reach a higher perfection? Would we lose this important source and all that it provides? Of course not. We would still be in an imperfect state, and therefore would have a similar need for approaching God and for the benefits that drawing near to this source provides.
 

Is it worthwhile for us to improve? If we believe in the infinite intelligence's existence and trust in its wisdom, our reply to it will be an absolute yes. After all, His Grace would not ask us to improve were this not to be significantly advantageous to us. So what anyway is the benefit, even from a selfish point of view, to being in an improved state? The advantage is expressed in our being capable of, for example, better fulfilling our divine role; that among other things, we are about to be those who provide the needy with spiritual sustenance and mercy. And this is in addition to those other wondrous things we would perform and the marvelous experiences we would go through. As such, we would not be heartless. We shall be more like God in our love, our assistance, our charity, our broad heartedness, our appreciation of God's creations and mostly to that, which was created in His own image.

Were I to be asked about the Day of Atonement's proper character, I would reply that this is a day of extraordinary elation and joy, because on this day man may be awarded divine reconciliation and purification, and thereby leave his status of exile and return to the status of redemption. The Day of Atonement is also a day of extraordinary exhortation and persuasiveness to the raising of people's self-esteem.

The act of reconciliation this chapter presents should be seen as a wise means for bringing two conflicted parties, which had been working in a conceptual framework of sin and  punishment, to positive mutual activity.

To sum up: The Day of Atonement's purpose is to bring people to a spiritual state at which they shall want and be capable of working in cooperation with God, towards the realization of mankind's purpose.