The holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, means "Day of Atonement". It is a sign of confession, repentance and forgiveness and falls on the tenth day after the Jewish New Year. Its origins are still shrouded in mystery. I believe that the traditions of Yom Kippur go back to ancient Egypt and the period of religious heresy during the reign of Akhenaten, and I discuss some of them here. Let's look at other contexts.

Ten days, five prayers, one God

Numbers five and ten are running Yom Kippur appear in the forefront. It also occurred significantly in life Moses a Akhenaten. For example between Rosh Hashanah a Yom Kippur there are ten days of repentance during which people ask God and their loved ones for forgiveness. These ten days are referred to as days of fear.

Moses twigs To the Israelites the ten commandments to obey, five kinds of sacrifice, and the five pillars of the tabernacle. In the days of the temple in Jerusalem, the high priest Yom Kippur he washed his hands and feet ten times and changed five times. On Yom Kippur there are five principal prayers, five prohibitions for the people to observe, and a confession ten times (viddui).

Five and ten were also important numbers in El-Amarna. In the front section Great Temple of Athens there were two rows of five poles on the sides of the main entrance, for a total of ten.

 

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