Sukkot - First Day Readings

Sukkot Day 1

Torah: Leviticus 22:26-23:44, Numbers 29:12-16

Haftarah: Zechariah 14:1-21

Leviticus 22:26-23:44

22:26 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to Hashem 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.

29 “When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Hashem, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Hashem.

31 “Therefore, you shall keep My commandments, and do them. I am Hashem. 32 You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Hashem, who makes you holy, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your Elohim. I am Hashem.”

23:1 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The set feasts of Hashem, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My set feasts.

3 “‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Hashem in all your dwellings.

4 “‘These are the set feasts of Hashem, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Hashem’s Passover. 6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Hashem. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. 8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Hashem seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.’”

9 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before Hashem, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. 12 On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without defect a year old for a burnt offering to Hashem. 13 The meal offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to Hashem for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. 14 You must not eat bread, or roasted grain, or fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your Elohim. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

15 “‘You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 The next day after the seventh Sabbath, you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Hashem. 17 You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for the first fruits to Hashem. 18 You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect, a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Hashem, with their meal offering and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to Hashem. 19 You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Hashem, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Hashem for the priest. 21 You shall make a proclamation on the same day that there shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

22 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not wholly reap into the corners of your field. You must not gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Hashem, your Elohim.’”

23 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a solemn rest for you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no regular work. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Hashem.”

26 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “However, on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall afflict yourselves, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Hashem. 28 You shall do no kind of work on that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Hashem your Elohim. 29 For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 Whoever does any kind of work in that same day, I will destroy that person from among his people. 31 You shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”

33 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of booths for seven days to Hashem. 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. 36 Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Hashem. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Hashem. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work.

37 “‘These are the appointed feasts of Hashem which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Hashem, a burnt offering, a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day— 38 in addition to the Sabbaths of Hashem, and in addition to your gifts, and in addition to all your vows, and in addition to all your free will offerings, which you give to Hashem.

39 “‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Hashem seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. 40 You shall take on the first day the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Hashem your Elohim seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a feast to Hashem seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in temporary shelters for seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in temporary shelters, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Hashem, your Elohim.’”

44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Hashem.

Numbers 29:12-16

29:12 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. You shall keep a feast to Hashem seven days. 13 You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Hashem: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect; 14 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three tenths for every bull of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each ram of the two rams, 15 and one tenth for every lamb of the fourteen lambs; 16 and one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering.

Haftarah: Zechariah 14:1-21

14:1 Behold, a day of Hashem comes, when your plunder will be divided within you. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then Hashem will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 You shall flee by the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel. Yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. Hashem my Elohim will come, and all the holy ones with you.

6 It will happen in that day that there will not be light, cold, or frost. 7 It will be a unique day which is known to Hashem, not day, and not night; but it will come to pass that at evening time there will be light.

8 It will happen in that day that living waters will go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. It will be so in summer and in winter. 9 Hashem will be King over all the earth. In that day Hashem will be one, and His name one.

10 All the land will be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she will be lifted up and will dwell in her place, from Benjamin’s gate to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 Men will dwell therein, and there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will dwell safely.

12 This will be the plague with which Hashem will strike all the peoples who have fought against Jerusalem: their flesh will consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will consume away in their sockets, and their tongue will consume away in their mouth. 13 It will happen in that day that a great panic from Hashem will be among them; and they will each seize the hand of his neighbor, and his hand will rise up against the hand of his neighbor. 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together: gold, silver, and clothing, in great abundance.

15 A plague like this will fall on the horse, on the mule, on the camel, on the donkey, and on all the animals that will be in those camps.

16 It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Hashem of Armies, and to keep the feast of booths. 17 It will be that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn’t go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Hashem of Armies, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt doesn’t go up and doesn’t come, neither will it rain on them. This will be the plague with which Hashem will strike the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of booths.

20 In that day, there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO HASHEM”; and the pots in Hashem’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Hashem of Armies; and all those who sacrifice will come and take of them, and cook in them. In that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Hashem of Armies.

Week of Yom Kippur - Psalm Reading for Friday

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses, man of Hashem.

Hashem, you have been a dwelling place for us
from one generation to the next.

Before mountains were born,
before earth and its people came to exist.

From eternity until eternity, You are holy.

Mortals can turn to You until they are crushed.

You say, “Return, children of Adam.”

Because a thousand years You can hold in your sight
like a yesterday passing into today,
a watchman’s hour of relief at night.

You flood the years; they pass like sleep.
By morning, they vanish like grass.

At dawn a person flowers and is fragrant;
by evening we become withered and dry.

For by Your wrath we are extinguished.
By Your anger we are made to feel afraid.

You have laid out our transgressions before You,
our secrets are illumined by the light of Your face.

All our hours pass by in Your fury.
Our years come to an end as though imagined.

The days of our years are seventy;
if we are strong, maybe eighty.

All our boasts are toil and delusion,
because life passes and rushes and flies away.

Who can bear the force of Your rejection?
Our fear of You seems to us like Your anger.

Make known to us the portion of our days
so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Turn back to us, Hashem—-Oh, how long?
Have compassion on those trying to serve Your will.

Fill our morning with acts of Your kindness
and we will sing and rejoice all our days.

Bring us joy in proportion to our days of affliction,
years we saw only strife.

May Your acts be visible to Your servants,
Your splendor to their children’s eyes.

May the sweetness of the Holy One, our Creator,
be constantly before us.

And the work of our hands give us direction.
And the work of our hands–give it direction toward You.

Week of Yom Kippur - Psalm Reading for Thursday

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, Hashem, according to Your loving kindness.

    According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.
    Cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions.
    My sin is constantly before me.

4 Against You, and You only, I have sinned,
    and done that which is evil in Your sight,
so You may be proved right when You speak,
    and justified when You judge.

5 Behold, I was born in iniquity.
    My mother conceived me in sin.

6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts.
    You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean.
    Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness,
    that the bones which You have broken may rejoice.

9 Hide Your face from my sins,
    and blot out all of my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim.
    Renew a right spirit within me.

11 Don’t throw me from Your presence,
    and don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.
    Uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways.
    Sinners will be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O Elohim, the Elohim of my salvation.
    My tongue will sing aloud of Your righteousness.

15 Lord, open my lips.
    My mouth will declare Your praise.

16 For You don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it.
    You have no pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of Hashem are a broken spirit.
    O Elohim, You will not despise a broken and contrite heart.

18 Do well in Your good pleasure to Zion.
    Build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then You will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,
    in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings.
Then they will offer bulls on Your altar.

Week of Yom Kippur - Psalm Reading for Wednesday

Psalm 32

By David, a psalm of understanding.

Blessed is the one who lifts up his transgressions to Hashem;
his sins will be forgiven.

Blessed is the one for whom the Holy One
need not reckon his faults;
whose spirit is clean of deceit.

When I ploughed the fields in silence,
my bones wasted away;
they groaned all day as I worked.

For day and night your hand weighed heavy against me;
the juice of my breast went dry, like the brittle fruit of summer–Selah.

I made my sin known to You.
My wrongs I no longer attempted to hide.

I said, I will confess my rebellions to the Eternal–
and You forgave my sins and errors–Selah.

For this, let the one who loves You
pray at any time he can find–
do not let the flood of waters overtake him.

You are a hiding place for me,
protecting me from anguish.
You surround me with a loud cry of rescue–Selah.

I will enlighten and illumine for You
the path you should walk.
My eyes will give witness.

Don’t be like a horse,
a mule without understanding
with a bridle and halter put on to restrain it.

In such a way Elohim cannot approach you.

Many are the pains of those who persist in their wrongs,
but those who trust in their Creator are surrounded by love.

Take joy in Hashem and let the righteous rejoice.
Cry out with gladness, all who are steadfast of heart.

Week of Yom Kippur - Psalm Reading for Tuesday

Psalm 27

Hashem is my light and my salvation.

    Whom shall I fear?
Hashem is the strength of my life.
    Of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh,
    even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

3 Though an army should encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me,
    even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I have asked of Hashem, that I will seek after:
    that I may dwell in Hashem’s house all the days of my life,
    to see Hashem’s beauty,
    and to inquire in His temple.

5 For in the day of trouble, He will keep me secretly in His pavilion.
    In the secret place of his tabernacle, He will hide me.
    He will lift me up on a rock.

6 Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me.
I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tent.
    I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Hashem.

7 Hear, Hashem, when I cry with my voice.
    Have mercy also on me, and answer me.

8 When You said, “Seek my face,”
    my heart said to you, “I will seek Your face, Hashem.”

9 Don’t hide Your face from me.
    Don’t put Your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
    Don’t abandon me,
    neither forsake me, Elohim of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
    then Hashem will take me up.

11 Teach me Your way, Hashem.
    Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.

12 Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
    for false witnesses have risen up against me,
    such as breathe out cruelty.

13 I am still confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of Hasehm in the land of the living.

14 Wait for Hashem.
    Be strong, and let your heart take courage.
Yes, wait for Hashem.

Yom Kippur

Torah Readings (Morning - Shacharit) 

Torah: Leviticus 16:1–34

Maftir: Numbers 29:7–11

Haftarah Reading: Isaiah 57:14-58:14 

Torah Readings (Afternoon - Mincha) 

Torah: Leviticus 18:1-30, Leviticus 19:1-4, 9-18, 32-37

Haftarah Reading (Afternoon):

The Book of Jonah and Micah 7:18-20

Morning Readings: Leviticus 16:1-34

16:1 Hashem spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before Hashem, and died; 2 and Hashem said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.

3 “Aaron shall come into the sanctuary with a young bull for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall have the linen trousers on his body, and shall put on the linen sash, and he shall be clothed with the linen turban. They are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and put them on. 5 He shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 He shall take the two goats, and set them before Hashem at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Hashem, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for Hashem, and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before Hashem, to make atonement for him, to send him away as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

11 “Aaron shall present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. 12 He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Hashem and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil. 13 He shall put the incense on the fire before Hashem, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the covenant, so that he will not die. 14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so he shall do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them in the middle of their uncleanness. 17 No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, and has made atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 “He shall go out to the altar that is before Hashem and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the bull’s blood, and some of the goat’s blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar. 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and make it holy from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 “When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is ready. 22 The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

23 “Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.

26 “He who lets the goat go as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp; and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung with fire. 28 He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29 “It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work, whether native-born or a stranger who lives as a foreigner among you; 30 for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before Hashem. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father’s place, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments. 33 Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

34 “This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as Hashem commanded Moses.

Maftir: Numbers 29:7–11

29:7 “‘On the tenth day of this seventh month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls. You shall do no kind of work; 8 but you shall offer a burnt offering to Hashem for a pleasant aroma: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old, all without defect; 9 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, 10 one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; 11 one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and their drink offerings.

Haftarah Reading: Isaiah 57:14-58:14

57:14 He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way!
    Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of My people.”

15 For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity,
    whose name is Holy, says:
“I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit,
    to revive the spirit of the humble,
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.

16 For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be angry;
    for the spirit would faint before Me,
    and the souls whom I have made.

17 I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness and struck him.
    I hid myself and was angry,
    and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.

18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him.
    I will lead him also,
    and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.

19 I create the fruit of the lips:
    Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
    says Hashem; “and I will heal them.”

20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea;
    for it can’t rest and its waters cast up mire and mud.

21 There is no peace”, says my Elohim,
    “for the wicked.”

58:1 “Cry aloud! Don’t spare!
    Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Declare to My people their disobedience,
    and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Yet they seek Me daily,
    and delight to know My ways.
As a nation that did righteousness,
    and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their Elohim,

they ask of Me righteous judgments.
    They delight to draw near to Hashem.

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see?
    Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’

“Behold, in the day of your fast, you find pleasure,
    and oppress all your laborers.

4 Behold, you fast for strife and contention,
    and to strike with the fist of wickedness.
  You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the fast that I have chosen?
    A day for a man to humble his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself?
Will you call this a fast,
    and an acceptable day to Hashem?

6 Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen:
    to release the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
    to let the oppressed go free,
    and that you break every yoke?

7 Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry,
    and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house?
When you see the naked,
    that you cover him;
    and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then your light will break out as the morning,
    and your healing will appear quickly;
then your righteousness shall go before you,
    and Hashem’s glory will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and Hashem will answer.
    You will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away from among you the yoke,
    finger pointing,
    and speaking wickedly;

10 and if you pour out your soul to the hungry,
    and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light will rise in darkness,
    and your obscurity will be as the noonday;

11 and Hashem will guide you continually,
    satisfy your soul in dry places,
    and make your bones strong.
You will be like a watered garden,
    and like a spring of water
    whose waters don’t fail.

12 Those who will be of you will build the old waste places.
    You will raise up the foundations of many generations.
You will be called Repairer of the Breach,
    Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.

13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
    from doing your pleasure on My holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight,
    and the holy of Hashem honorable,
    and honor it,
    not doing your own ways,
    nor finding your own pleasure,
    nor speaking your own words,

14 then you will delight yourself in Hashem,
    and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth,
    and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father;”
    for Hashem’s mouth has spoken it.

Afternoon Readings: Leviticus 18:1-30 

18:1 Hashem said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am Hashem your Elohim. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes. 4 You shall do My ordinances. You shall keep My statutes and walk in them. I am Hashem your Elohim. 5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them. I am Hashem.

6 “‘None of you shall approach any close relatives, to uncover their nakedness: I am Hashem.

7 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

8 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife. It is your father’s nakedness.

9 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad.

10 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness; for theirs is your own nakedness.

11 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister.

12 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister. She is your father’s near kinswoman.

13 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman.

14 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife. She is your aunt.

15 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness.

16 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. It is your brother’s nakedness.

17 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter. You shall not take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near kinswomen. It is wickedness.

18 “‘You shall not take a wife in addition to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is still alive.

19 “‘You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.

20 “‘You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, and defile yourself with her.

21 “‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your Elohim. I am Hashem.

22 “‘You shall not lie with a man as with a woman. That is detestable.

23 “‘You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it. No woman may give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.

24 “‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. 25 The land was defiled. Therefore, I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. 26 You therefore shall keep My statutes and My ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you 27 (for the men of the land that were before you had done all these abominations, and the land became defiled), 28 that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

29 “‘For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore, you shall keep My requirements, that you do not practice any of these abominable customs which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile yourselves with them. I am Hashem, your Elohim.’”

Leviticus 19:1-4, 9-18, 32-27 

19:1 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Hashem your Elohim, am holy.

3 “‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep My Sabbaths. I am Hashem, your Elohim.

4 “‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Hashem, your Elohim.

19:9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Hashem, your Elohim.

11 “‘You shall not steal.

“‘You shall not lie.

“‘You shall not deceive one another.

12 “‘You shall not swear by My name falsely, and profane the name of your Elohim. I am Hashem.

13 “‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.

“‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

14 “‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your Elohim. I am Hashem.

15 “‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

16 “‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people. ‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Hashem.

17 “‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Hashem.

19:32 “‘You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of the elderly; and you shall fear your Elohim. I am Hashem.

33 “‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Hashem, your Elohim

35 “‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Hashem, your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 “‘You shall observe all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them. I am Hashem.’”

                     

Book Of Jonah

I encourage you to read the Book of Jonah from your Bible; it is too long to print here.

Concluding Reading: Micah 7:18-20 

7:18 Who is an Elohim like you, who pardons iniquity,
    and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage?
He doesn’t retain His anger forever
    because He delights in loving kindness.

19 He will again have compassion on us.
    He will tread our iniquities underfoot.
    You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

20 You will give truth to Jacob,
    and mercy to Abraham,
    as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Today’s Meditation:

All of today’s readings remind us that we must be on the path to holiness with complete repentance. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting, repentance, and giving all glory and honor to Hashem for all He has given us. We individually ask Hashem for His forgiveness and redemption, and we also do so collectively with our community/nation. We request His blessing on our families and us for the next year. We refrain from earthly pleasures today, and it is tradition not to bathe or wear leather shoes. At the end of the day, we rejoice that our sins have been forgiven, and we have the start of a new year to make our lives better.

“Gmar Hatima Tova” – May we all be sealed in the Book of Life for a year of goodness.