The days leading to Yom Kippur invite us to examine the direction of our lives and the choices we have made. T’shuvah is more than repentance—it is a call to return to our Creator.
It is an opportunity to seek forgiveness, restore relationships, and renew our walk with Yehovah.
There is a period of 40 days between the first day of the sixth biblical month and the tenth day of the seventh month. In Jewish tradition, these 40 days are known as the “Days of Repentance.”
The number 40 is significant throughout Scripture:
- 40 days of rain during the Flood in the days of Noah,
- 40 years in the wilderness after leaving Egypt,
- 40 days during which Moses sent the spies into the land of Canaan,
- 40 days of repentance in Nineveh in the days of Jonah,
- 40 days of Yeshua’s temptation in the wilderness, and
- 40 days of fasting while Moses was on the summit of Mount Sinai.
In fact, Moses ascended Mount Sinai several times, twice for periods of 40 days without food or water. According to tradition—and it fits quite well with the biblical chronology—his final ascent would have taken place during the 40 days leading up to Yom Kippur, as he interceded for Israel following the great sin of the golden calf.
These are the days traditionally called the “Days of Repentance.” Their observance is not a biblical commandment, but the concept makes sense. Yom Kippur is a solemn day—the holiest day of the year. It was the only day of the year when the Cohen HaGadol (High Priest) entered the Most Holy Place. How do you think he prepared for that day? How should we prepare ourselves?
Yeshua taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” On another occasion, Yeshua instructed people to first “be reconciled to thy brother” before bringing their offering.
Perhaps you are beginning to see where I am going with this. Thirty minutes before Yom Kippur is often not the best time to begin thinking about whom we may have offended or with whom we need to make things right before meeting with the Father.
We need time to prepare. It is important to be conscious that the appointed time is approaching. This is the very reason for the biblical calendar: to make us aware of the passing of time and enable us to come into harmony with the Creator’s cycles.
Returning to the word t’shuvah (תְשוּבָה), which we have said means “repentance,” this is not its only meaning. The word comes from the root shuv (שוּב), meaning to return.
This helps put everything into perspective. What does it mean to repent? It means to return! In fact, even the concept expressed in the New Testament as “conversion” to the faith, and the call to repentance proclaimed by Yochanan (John) the Baptist, was associated with the concept of t’shuvah.
The image of the prodigal son comes to mind—repentance and a return to the father. In the same way, we can use these days of t’shuvah leading up to Yom Kippur as an opportunity for us also to return to our Creator.
Yom T’ruah, the first day of the seventh month, is also traditionally regarded as the Day of Judgment, followed by the ten Days of Awe leading to Yom Kippur, when judgment is considered to be executed, or “sealed,” for the coming year. It is a time when our actions are weighed in the balance, so to speak—a day marking the end of one cycle and the beginning of another.
What things should we examine in our own lives? What is causing us to drift away from God? What can we change to improve areas of our lives? To whom do we owe an apology? To whom should we open our hearts and extend forgiveness?
That is the task before every believer during these days—not as an obligation or commandment, but as an opportunity to improve ourselves, to grow, and to draw closer to our Creator.
All the prophets of Israel called the people to make t’shuvah—to return to the Creator. The very Gospel of the Kingdom proclaimed by Yeshua and His disciples was founded upon this same call: repent and return.
The prophet Ezekiel declared that our God takes no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked. His desire is that every prodigal child turn away from wickedness and return to Him. As it is written:
But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
Ezekiel 18:21–22 — ASV