Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, when Jews everywhere, from all backgrounds and denominations, flock to the synagogue to pray and reconnect. The Torah sets aside the tenth day of the month of Tishrei as a day of fasting and forgiveness. But quite a few other things happened on Yom Kippur too. Read on for 15 historical events that took place on this holy day, from the Biblical era all the way to our times.
1. Abraham Was Circumcised
At the age of 99, Abraham was given the covenant of circumcision. The Torah doesn’t spell out the exact date, but it does drop a clue: the verse says it took place “on that very day,” an unusual phrase that’s also used for Yom Kippur.1 According to one tradition, this hints that Abraham’s circumcision took place on Yom Kippur. That merit, it’s said, stands us in good stead every Yom Kippur when we ask for our sins to be forgiven.2 (According to another tradition, Abraham’s circumcision was on 13 Nissan.3)
Read: 18 Facts About Abraham
2. Isaac Was Bound on the Altar
There are a few traditions about the exact date of Akeidat Yitzchak, the day Abraham bound Isaac as a sacrifice, only to be told to let him go at the very last moment. One tradition places this dramatic event on Yom Kippur.4
3. Moses Descended From Mt. Sinai With the Second Tablets
Moses spent three separate stretches of forty days and forty nights on Mt. Sinai. During the first, from 6 Sivan (Shavuot) until 17 Tammuz, he received the first set of Tablets, which he then broke upon seeing the Jews sin with the Golden Calf. During the second, from 18 Tammuz until 29 Av, he pleaded on behalf of the Jewish people and secured Divine forgiveness. And during the third, from 29 Av until 10 Tishrei (Yom Kippur), he received the second set of Tablets.
Yom Kippur thus marks the day the Jewish people were wholeheartedly forgiven, which is why it was dedicated as a day of forgiveness for all generations to come.5
4. Jubilee Years Would Begin
In ancient times, every fiftieth year was marked as a Jubilee Year. On Yom Kippur, the Beth Din (Jewish court) would sound a shofar to announce that this special year had begun. At the sound of the blast, all property would return to its original owners, and all slaves would go free.6
5. The First Temple Was Inaugurated
King Solomon inaugurated the First Temple with seven days of celebration, running from 8 Tishrei through the 14th. That meant the Jewish people ate and drank on Yom Kippur that year—the only time in history such a thing was ever permitted. G‑d was pleased with their conduct, promising each participant a share in the World to Come.7
6. Zechariah Was Killed in the Temple Courtyard
Scripture records a tragic episode from the days of Joash, King of Judah. A prophet named Zechariah, son of the High Priest Yehoyada, stood up to rebuke the nation for abandoning G‑d and returning to idol worship. Furious and unwilling to listen, the people rose up and stoned him to death in the Temple courtyard.8 According to a Midrashic tradition, this happened on Yom Kippur.9
Read: The Story of Joash
7. Ezekiel Envisioned the Third Temple
The book of Ezekiel closes with a prophecy set in the year 3352 (410 BCE), fourteen years after the First Temple's destruction. Ezekiel saw himself transported to the Temple Mount, where an angel holding a measuring rod walked him through the Third Temple in careful detail, delineating the exact measurements of its various structures. This vision came to him on Yom Kippur.10
8. Rabbi Akiva Was Killed by the Romans
Rabbi Akiva was one of the most prolific and inspiring teachers in Jewish history. He led during the turbulent years surrounding the destruction of the Second Temple, and was ultimately put to death by the Romans for the “crime” of teaching Torah. Some sources place his tragic death on Yom Kippur.11
9. Rabbi Yehuda the Prince Was Born
Rabbi Yehuda the Prince is best known for being the first to give structure to the Oral Law by compiling the Mishnah. The Talmud tells us that he was born on the very same day Rabbi Akiva passed away.12 Since Rabbi Akiva was killed on Yom Kippur, that means Rabbi Yehuda was born on Yom Kippur too.
Read: Rabbi Yehuda the Prince
10. Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg's Ransomer Passed Away
Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg was one of the most influential scholars of medieval Germany. In 1286, he was arrested by a local ruler and held for ransom. Rabbi Meir, however, forbade his followers from paying for his release, worried that doing so would only encourage others to imprison more Torah scholars. He remained in prison for seven years, until his passing. Even then, the authorities refused to release his body.
Fourteen years later, a generous Jew named Alexander Suskind Wimpfen of Frankfort paid a heavy ransom to recover Rabbi Meir’s body and give it a proper Jewish burial. In exchange, he asked to be buried beside Rabbi Meir when his own time came. Alexander passed away shortly after, on Yom Kippur 5068 (1307), and was laid to rest right alongside the great sage.13
Read: Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg
11. The Jews Were Expelled from France
The Jews of medieval France endured several expulsions, each followed by an eventual invitation to return. The last and final expulsion was signed into law by King Charles VI in 1394. According to some sources, the Hebrew date of this decree was Yom Kippur, 5155.14 It wasn’t until the 17th century that Jews returned and began reestablishing their communities.
12. Antisemitic Riots in Djerba
On Yom Kippur, 1864, antisemitism struck the ancient Jewish community of Djerba, an island off the coast of Tunisia. A mob of three thousand Arabs stormed the Jewish quarters of Hara Kebira and Hara Seghira while residents were gathered in synagogue praying Musaf. The rioters robbed, killed, and left destruction behind.15
13. The Horrific Tragedy of Babi Yar
In a diabolical twist of cruelty, the Nazis often timed their roundups and massacres to fall on Jewish holidays. One infamous example is the massacre at Babi Yar, a ravine just outside Kiev, Ukraine, where more than 30,000 Jews were murdered on the eve of Yom Kippur, 1941.
14. The Yom Kippur War Began
Yom Kippur marks the start of the Yom Kippur War, fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab forces in October 1973. On the afternoon of Yom Kippur, while Jews across Israel were fasting and praying, Egypt and Syria attacked from the south and the north simultaneously. Tens of thousands of reservists had to leave synagogue mid-prayer, pulling off their tallits and kittels and rushing straight to the battlefield. Israel suffered heavy losses at first, but the tide miraculously turned, and its forces pushed back those bent on its total destruction.
15. Sandy Koufax Refused to Pitch
October 6, 1965, was the opening game of that year’s World Series, Los Angeles Dodgers versus Minnesota Twins. It also happened to be Yom Kippur night. With nearly 50,000 fans in the stands, Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, who was Jewish, sat the game out for religious reasons. His decision earned him the admiration of Jews everywhere, and gave many the confidence to feel proud and not be embarrassed about their Judaism.
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