PURIM

THE FESTIVAL OF ESTHER

Around 1800 BCE, a part of the Aryan tribe living along the Caspian Sea moved southeast to India and the Fertile Crescent. This group of Aryans (from there Iranians) subdivided into the Mitannians, Medes and Persians.

In 570 BCE, a prophet called Zoroaster (Zarathustra) brought a new religion to the Persians. This turned them into warriors and by 525 BCE; the entire Middle East was in their power.

The underlying problem with all the philosophies and religions influenced by Zoroastrianism is that everything and everyone 'bad' is portrayed as being part of the 'Darkness'. The fear of belonging to the 'Darkness' became the driving force of Zoroastrians - and they spent all their time trying to prove they were part of the forces of 'Light'.

So as not to lose support, the Persians rulers had to place themselves permanently in the 'Light' even in defeat and misfortune. This they did in an ingenious manner.

By combining the already existing racial superiority belief of the Aryans with a claim of earthly representation by the most important Persian families of the seven most important angels of 'Light', they made themselves unassailable. The king could only have a queen who came from one of the seven noble families, and as positions and promotions were dependent on being a noble, all the Persians claimed to be descendents of the families. Intermarriage became a legal taboo. 

As women were regarded as being more susceptible to the 'dark forces' and capable of transmitting the 'darkness disease' to men, they had to be kept in harems and wore the veil when appearing in public. Even though this was not done for their modesty or their protection women willingly complied to ensure the forces of 'Light' would be victorious, as this was their only means of salvation.

The rule initially only applied to Persian women of nobility as they had more potential for evil power but obviously other Persian women took up the veil to show they also had class. Women of other races were not allowed to wear the veil and it became a symbol of racial superiority.

The veil originated as a practical device to prevent the spread of diseases like flu from the marketplace to the palace while the harem and using only virgins ensured the king did not pick up a sexually transmitted disease. The one-year quarantine of the virgins, as described in the Scroll of Esther, before contact with the king was also done for health reasons.

Archeology shows Persian society had become decadent by the time of Esther and women wearing little in the form of clothing provided the entertainment. This was permissible as these women were from other races and were regarded as being sub-human and incapable of absorbing and transmitting enough evil to overcome the Persian men.

In the west, the Persian Empire was prevented from further expansion as the Macedonians/Greeks grew in power. When the Greeks started pushing east the full support of the entire empire was needed in defense. To garner support King Xerxes (known in Hebrew as Ahasuerus) held a great feast in 483 BCE for all his subject rulers.

The name Xerxes is pronounced, 'Kh-sha-y-a-r-sha-a'. The 'sha' means ruler as in the later use of 'shah'. Xerxes was therefore a sort of title-name meaning 'king of kings'.

Xerxes was at pains to impress the various rulers and allowed them to act according to their customs (Esther 1: 8) but at some stage of the feast (1: 10) a clash arose around the issue of the veil. 

The rulers of the other nations were incensed when the Persian women turned up for the party wearing veils while the other women had to go without it. It was clearly an attempt to maintain Persian racial superiority and that is not a good way to win friends and influence people. They challenged Xerxes to produce Queen Amestris to appear in front of them without a veil to prove he was not racist. (Esther 1: 10 - 22) Amestris refused to appear as she was of the old religious school of Zoroastrianism.

Vashti means 'beautiful' - Amestris was reputed to be beautiful. Amestris was banished from the king's presence and she continued to be queen and lived to a ripe old age.

Xerxes consulted wise men who understood the times, as the world had changed. A new dispensation was called for but that had to wait until the war was over.

After a disastrous campaign against the Greeks, Xerxes returned and contemplated the future. Even if the Persians retained their personal belief in being the master race there had to be a public face of non-racialism to ensure future alliances as the Greeks were growing stronger. The new face of Persia had to be a non-Persian 'queen' of great beauty who could appear in public without the veil. Thus came about the selection process of the virgins described in the Book of Esther.

Amongst the aspiring virgins was Hadassah (Esther) who was brought up by her nephew and guardian, Mordecai. Hadassah had no chance in life until this opportunity came along as she was an orphan and Mordecai, being a beggar, had no money or power to make her a good marriage. Both she and Mordecai's fortunes were dependent on her doing well with the king. This she did and the future looked bright for the two orphans.

The future continued to look rosy until Mordecai got into conflict with Haman and refused to bow to him. Mordecai refused to bow because only the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and Mordecai as a Jew was under no orders to bow to Haman. Haman was therefore like Queen Amestris of the old school who believed the Persians to be a superior race while under the new dispensation, Mordecai saw himself as being Haman's equal even if he was a beggar. Haman in a rage plotted to kill all the Jews.

During the ancient Persian festival of Purim in the time of Esther people believed demons ran free on earth. The demons, they believed, brought misfortune to those who during the previous year had strayed too close to the 'dark side'. At the beginning of the year, lots were cast to determine the date.  

The entire empire prepared for this day and some of the practices to confuse the demons are preserved in the festival of Purim.

• People dress up or turn their coats inside out and wear masks so the demons won't recognize them.
• Knowing the demons are not easily fooled they get so drunk they can't recognize themselves.
• Demons are confused by noise and on Purim, there are rattles and firecrackers.
• Demons love to count things and can easily be occupied for the entire Purim by giving them little things to count and this is reflected in the food that sees pastries filled with poppy seeds and other foods like beans served.

The demons had free reign on Purim because the forces of 'Light' took a rest and left humanity unprotected. Haman fully believed this day was an auspicious day for dirty work. The law he promulgated was not for the soldiers to kill the Jews, as this would have been against the laws of the Empire but for the soldiers not to protect the Jews on this day so the non-Jewish people can do the killing without interference. A Persian law once made, could not be revoked. Esther and Mordecai overcame this by adding to the law. The non-Jews were not going to be protected either - the Jews could fight back without worrying about having to fight the soldiers.  

The 'miracle' happened when Esther took an incredible risk and appeared before the king after her successor had already been chosen and she had not been called to go in to the king these thirty days. Seeing her he suddenly realized he was in love and wanted to keep her as his queen. She found favor, was pleasing in his sight, and he gave her what no queen ever got - her freedom in the form of Haman's house. He no longer saw her as an object, but as a human being.

The festival was part of Zoroastrianism but it was such a lot of fun the Jews in the Persian Empire had adopted it long before the time of Esther. The saving of the Jews made it even more of a joyous occasion but it was still not regarded as a religious festival as God was not even mentioned in the Scroll of Esther. After the return to Jerusalem, the festival was barely acknowledged and mostly ignored - this changed through a strange coincidence.

In Israel the victory of Judah Maccabee over the Syrian general, Nicanor, was celebrated with great festivities on the 13th of Adar, exactly the same day Haman wanted to kill all the Jews in the world - the original day of Purim. The Pharisees could not for religious reasons and out of hatred for the Maccabees celebrate either festival. This made them highly unpopular with the very people they were trying to win to their cause.

Choosing, what was in their minds the lesser of two evils they decided to celebrate a 'purified' Purim. The date was moved from the 13th, so it was not a Maccabee festival, to the 14th to celebrate the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies.

Though God is never mentioned in the Scroll, the entire book is about how God works invisibly behind the scenes using even the Pharisees and their political ambitions to get the Scroll of Esther included in the Bible.            

HANUKKAH - BEYOND CANDLES AND DONUTS

I tell you today, on the last candle of the Hanukkah holiday - the Kotel will stay in our hands.

Benjamin Netanyahu

The festival of Hanukkah/Chanukah/Hanukah celebrates the victory of Jewish forces over the Seleucids (Syrian Greeks) and the rededication of the Temple. The festival lasts for eight days from 25 Kislev.

The war for the freedom of Israel started in 168 BCE, when King Antiochus IV, who was called Epiphanes ('the glorious' or 'manifestation of god'), ruler of the Seleucid Empire desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. Antiochus believed himself to be a god and to show his superiority as a 'god', he despoiled most religious sanctuaries of countries he conquered.

The despoiling is described in II Maccabees 6:

• To depart from the laws of their fathers
• Not to live after the laws of God
• To pollute also the Temple in Jerusalem
• To call it the temple of Jupiter Olympus
• The Temple was filled with riot and reveling
• The altar also was filled with profane things
• Neither was it lawful for a man to keep Sabbath
• Or to profess himself at all to be a Jew

A man called Judah Maccabee rose up against this and in 165 BCE, forces led by him and his brothers managed to defeat the Seleucids. They restored the Temple and this event was celebrated with a festival according to the ordination of II Maccabees 1: 9 - see that ye keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the month Kislev. Like the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), Hanukkah is kept for 8 days, festival-goers bare branches, and fair boughs, and palms also (II Maccabees 10: 7) and as is custom during Sukkot the Hallel prayers (Psalms 113 - 118) are said. Most importantly it is a rededication of the commitment Israel make at Sukkot - to keep the land safe and extend a welcoming hand to all visitors.

Note:

From Hallel comes the English word, 'hallelujah' as in Psalm 117:

O praise the Lord, all ye nations;

Laud Him, all ye peoples.

For His mercy is great towards us;

And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.

Hallelujah!

The festival is supposed to be a happy time in accordance with I Maccabees 4: 59 - the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their season from year to year by the space of eight days, from the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, with mirth and gladness. Over time the festival got its own character and two hundred years later it was known as the Festival of Hanukkah meaning 'to dedicate' - It was winter, and the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple was being celebrated in Jerusalem.  Jesus was walking in Solomon's Porch in the Temple . . . (John 10: 22).  The Greek word used is enkainia meaning 'renewal' or 'consecration'.

Lights or candles only became part of the festival during the rule of Herod the Great (ruled 37 BCE to 4 BCE) who hated the Maccabees and prohibited the celebration of a festival dedicated to their victory. He was however quite happy for the Jews to observe the old folk custom (pagan?) of lighting festival candles at this time of the year and the two festivals became bound to each other. Later rabbis tried to get away from what was so obviously a 'folk custom' and adopted the Greek myth (they called it a miracle) of a lamp with only a little oil which had burnt in front of the goddess Athena for a year.

In the special Hanukkah prayer the (V'al Hanissim), the lights are mentioned: 

Then Your children entered the shrine of Your House, cleansed Your Temple, purified Your Sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courtyards, and instituted these eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and praise to Your great Name.

This was based on I Maccabees 4: 49 - 50, when the Maccabees made new holy vessels, and into the temple they brought the candlestick . . . and the lamps that were upon the candlestick they lighted, that they might give light in the temple. From this a variety of candle lighting ceremonies began and one of the most common is to light first one, then two the next night, then three candles. On the eighth day, the whole row burns, even the faithful ninth, the servant which on other nights is used only for the lighting of the others (Theodor Herzl). Maoz tzur ('Rock of Ages') is sung when the candles are lit:

Rock of Ages

Let our song

Praise Your saving power

By the time of Josephus, around 50 CE, lighting candles had become the most recognizable custom of Hanukkah - we celebrate this festival, and called it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival (Josephus).

This is the light of 'hope' for all Jews in the Diaspora - the hope, Ha-Tikvah, of returning to Israel:

The two-thousand year old hope will not be lost

To be free people in our land

The land of Zion and Jerusalem

As with the lights and candles, the few other Hanukkah customs are of extremely dubious origins:

• Oil fried foods - to celebrate the oil lasting for 8 days.
• Other fattening Hanukkah foods - goose stuffed with dumplings, potato pudding, cheese dishes, pancakes, potato pancakes, cheese pancakes and all sorts of donuts especially jam/jelly stuffed ones.
• Hanukkah money (or presents) is given to children on the 5th day.
• Children gamble with four sided spinning tops called dreidel and lose their money to the sharp kids - this custom was adopted from the Germans in the Middle Ages and has nothing to do with the study of Torah - it was an early introduction to gambling.
• Adults play (gamble) cards and lose their money to the sharp guys.

Note:

Eating starchy oily fatty foods in winter is a survival mechanism and eating cheese dishes during Hanukkah is a very old tradition. In the Middle-Ages it was explained by making Hanukkah a celebration of Judith as well. She supposedly gave Holofernes salty cheese dishes which made him so thirsty he drank much more wine than he had drunk at any time in one day since he was born (Judith 12: 20).

It is clear that over time, Hanukkah has undergone dramatic changes with religion taking the place of nationalism. The novelist Irving Fineman notices this loss of the warrior Maccabees in How Many Angels:

There were still the candles after all;

though the hard-fisted Maccabees, I perceived,

were indeed hopelessly lost.

The nationalistic, and in a sense Zionistic, meaning of Hanukkah glorifying fierce warriors was deliberately obscured and turned into the celebration of the fake miracle of the oil. This 'miracle' was the fabrication of the school of the scholar Rabbi Judah the Prince (135 CE to 217 CE). He and the other rabbis and Jewish leaders did not want their followers to know they were once a great warrior nation - their message was, not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit (Zechariah 4: 6). This removed all fight from the Jews for two-thousand years while they waited for God to save them. The result was a worse disaster than anything they might have prevented with their 'be spiritual and wear funny hats' message.

NOTES ON THE DATE

The date, 25 Kislev, became 25 December in the Julian calendar and is of particular importance in the Greek and later Roman calendars - and in the calendars of many of the ancient civilizations.

The star Sirius (the brightest of all stars) flies directly behind the earth in its path around the Milky Way.  On or roundabout this day, it is right overhead at midnight.  This by sheer coincidence is when the sun is at its furthest south - it is midwinter in the northern hemisphere. After this the days get longer and life is reborn and returns to earth. For this reason the date was associated in many ancient religions with the birth of a god or a new period of a religion - some of the kings were gods.

It was therefore no accident for Antiochus Epiphanes to offer the first sacrifice to Zeus in the Temple on this date in 167 BCE. He intended to make it clear a new period of rule by the Greek gods (himself) had begun. To make sure this was understood; on the 25th of every month - on the day of the king's birth every month they were brought by bitter constraint to eat of the sacrifices . . . (II Maccabees 6: 7).

Judah Maccabeus would have been fully aware of this and would have made sure the rededication was also on the 25 Kislev 164 BCE to cancel out the Greek claim.  Now upon the same day that the strangers profaned the Temple, on the very same day it was cleansed again, even the five and twentieth day of the same month, which is Kislev. (II Maccabees 10: 5).

Persia was different from the other countries in their beliefs about Sirius, and used the star to make predictions.  This is based either on changes in color (white, blue, emerald) the star undergoes (in the past there were times when it has appeared red) or on the positional shift in relation to the background stars due to the gravitational influence of a white dwarf companion star.  Because these changes are small and dependent on great knowledge, it is no surprise nobody but the magoi noticed them.  This would explain why Herod and the scribes were caught unawares. If a huge big comet hung over Bethlehem, millions of people would have turned up, as they were strong believers in the magic of stars.  

SUKKOT

The customs surrounding the Biblical Feast of Sukkot suffer from forced explanations which makes it difficult to understand. The most problematic issue is the sukkah - the booth or tabernacle, from where the festival gets its name - Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of the Booths (also Feast of the Ingathering or simply The Festival). The fanciful explanations altered the meaning of the entire feast and this is a pity as it is easy to understand, and in its simplicity makes perfect sense.

In accordance with Leviticus 23: 42, Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Sukkot takes place during the autumnal equinox full moon, five days after Yom Kippur. From 15 to 22 Tishrei - this normally falls towards the end of September and October. This falls after the harvest and normally before the first rains. At this time of the year, activity on the farms slowed down and it was the ideal time to take a holiday - relax a little after a year of hard work. It was therefore the ideal time for Solomon to inaugurate the Temple (1 Kings 8) and the Second Temple (Ezra 3). For the same reason Jonathan Maccabee (160 BCE) and Alexander Janneus (103 BCE) timed their 'crowning' to coincide with the holiday. The holiday did not come into being because of the crowning or the opening of the Temple - or because it is the time when the Messiah/Messiach is going to appear or reappear. It was a natural 'holiday' time.    

Sukkot is a 'get-back-to-nature' and 'meet-the-neighbors' holiday and in this context the sukkah, is the 'cabin in the woods'. It is natural to be outdoors at this time of the year - in modern Israel nature reserves are still popular over Sukkot. Starting with the full moon, the festival starts with an experience of the night. Sleeping in the sukkah, the moon keeps festival-goers awake till late and they only wake up when the sun bakes them out of bed. All around are neighbors doing the same so nobody feels guilty about relaxing a bit - the perfect holiday.

For seven days of the festival, all family activities like eating, prayers, and getting together (the men are supposed sleep in the booth as well) take place in a sukkah built outside the house. The booth is a room with at least three walls constructed according to strict guidelines. Materials like branches and planks are used with the roof covered with branches (normally palm) to leave a certain amount of gaps. Originally, and during the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert, the sukkah was built from palm leaves, olive and myrtle branches or when nothing else was available, almost any branch. This was done according to a minimum specification as to what constitutes a 'house'. With more building materials at hand in later years, the minimum standard became a maximum, so it would still seem like a hastily constructed 'booth'. At some stage decorating the sukkah and hanging colorful and pleasant smelling citrons like the esrog in the sukkah became a custom. Later still more elaborate decorations were used.  

The sukkah was there to maintain a distinct character for the Israelites while they wandered among the desert tribes. It stands as a counterpoint to Pesach which is a celebration of the Israelites leaving Egypt and going into the desert to live in tents. To prevent assimilation God ordered them to build 'booths'. They did this whenever they stopped for seven days or more to remind them they were not nomads - one day they will live in houses in a land they can call their own. In this, it is like an harvest, an 'ingathering'.

At Pesach, those partaking of the feast recline while they eat because in a tent sitting upright on a chair or standing is impossible. The booth was built next to the tent based on an Egyptian design of a shelter, which was used by rich Egyptians when they went hunting or for a picnic. It was high enough so everyone could sit on chairs at a table, get up to pray standing, and never bow down the way one has to do in a tent. It was the way of people who lived in houses.

Sukkot is therefore a time of a promise fulfilled. This makes it a hated festival among those who do not stand with Israel - it is salt in the wounds of the Palestinians and Arab nations who base their entire system of belief on replacement theology. But Zechariah 14: 16 - 17, makes it clear; there are those who live in tabernacles and those who live in tents in the desert - without rain. And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth who do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain.

From this understanding of Sukkot it is clear how it fits in with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to form one festival, as it was during the First Temple period. Rosh Hashanah is there to determine who stands with Israel for the year - Yom Kippur mourns the shame of those who did not stand with Israel - Sukkot celebrates those who stand with Israel.

ROSH HASHANAH AND YOM KIPPUR

Rosh Hashanah is commonly understood to be the Jewish New Year and it takes place during the new moon period on the first two days of Tishrei, the seventh Jewish month. Modern Judaism teaches it to be the yearly 'day of judgment'. Trumpets roar through heaven calling the angelic host to assemble before the Throne. The 'Scrolls of Fate' are unrolled where each person's actions during the year have been recorded. God judges the accumulation of deeds fixing the fate for the person during the year to come. Some to wealth, some to health, others to despair and horror. But the decision isn't final. There is still a chance to change God's mind.

Note: The Babylonians had two New Year's days six months apart at both equinoxes. The autumn equinox was the 'day of judgment' or 'Marduk Day'. The sages adopted this from the Babylonians during the exile. It was the 'Day of Justice', which is still remembered as the first day of the astrological month of Libra - with the symbol of the scales.

During the ten days following Rosh Hashanah, a person's fate can be changed with repentance, prayer and good works. A last chance (there is another last chance) to change God's mind before the sealing of destiny on Yom Kippur. These are the 'Days of Awe' - the 'High Holy Days' - from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.

In 'modern' Judaism, it is explained that Yom Kippur is the 'Day of Atonement'. But before there can be atonement, there is a group confession in the form of a common prayer and then 'atonement' is made through fasting and asking forgiveness from everyone for every transgression. And then sins are forgiven - if the penitent has accounted for every misdeed no matter how small and has truly been changed for the better. If not, bad things will happen to the person during the year to come. Obviously, nobody can ever remember every single thing they might have done which could have been a 'sin'. Neither can they know if they had been repentant enough. So, God and the rabbis are always proved both just and correct.

This modern version of the 'Days of Awe' came about under the religious thinking of the Pharisees, the philosophers who are called 'Jewish Sages', and then in the Common Era, the all-powerful rabbis. The Sages slowly rose to power and prominence after the Babylonian exile and they adapted the religion to fit in with their observations of the world. From about 150 BCE they grabbed power and much of what they learnt from the Persians, Hindus, Hellenists and Egyptians were incorporated into Judaism. The changes were not made for some evil satanic purpose; it was done to account for the vagaries of reality. There simply were not enough blessings in the real world.

After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE and the Bar-Kokhba revolt, the rabbinical leadership left over was those who had surrendered, ran away or had been in hiding. Survival was the only thing of importance to them and in the 2nd century CE they changed Judaism accordingly. All Jewish festivals were demilitarized so future generations would not be tempted into war.

In their belief, there was to be no more war as the Jews had lost God's support. They believed, Jews did not deserve Jerusalem because they had too much sin and would always be defeated. They refused Vespasian's offer after 70 CE to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. Instead, they turned their backs on the Promised Land and chose to become objects in history. Dispersed in the Diaspora the rabbis believed a remnant would always survive if Jews lived in subservience to the gentiles. While in exile, they had to perfect themselves spiritually as a people by observing the minutiae of the law. By doing this they will pave the way for the coming of the Messiah - who will then lead them back to the Israel, to rebuild the Temple. To do this, a 'fence' was built around the law through a massive number of extra 'protection' laws.

This survivalist approach brought about the 'modern' message of Yom Kippur:

• It is a sin not to keep a law
• Sin can be resisted
• There is atonement for sin through fasting etc
• The responsibility lies with each person individually

The origin of the custom of fasting on Yom Kippur is unclear and though many claims are made, none can be traced with certainty to a date before the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The initial Biblical reason for fasting was to influence God in order for Him to rectify specific negative events - be they from nature (like a drought) or through human action (like a war). In later years, fasting as a spontaneous phenomenon related to specific events was replaced by fasting as magic. Under the influence of paganism, the idea came about where fasting was used so God would act favorably towards an enterprise or person. For the ultra-pious, it became an acceptable way to show their dedication and superior religious fervor. With the rise of Christianity and Islam, fasting turned into a competition for the attention of God and became very popular on Yom Kippur.

Leviticus 23: 27 orders affliction of the souls on Yom Kippur - the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; there shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And the seriousness is stressed in verse 29; "For any person who is not afflicted of soul on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people". This clearly does not mention fasting but the accepted interpretation is that the word 'soul' means 'life-force'. Then afflicting the 'soul' can be understood to mean fasting as in pagan thinking, fasting reduces the 'life-force' and it is therefore a sacrifice. It is something the person uses as a payment to reduce the 'sentence' of Rosh Hashanah.  

This was not the original Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns, a holy convocation. (Leviticus 23: 24) The original name and meaning of Rosh Hashanah was the 'Day of Teruah'. Te-ru-wah is the ancient Israelite battle-cry, a loud shout, stamping of feet and the trumpeting of horns. The day was a yearly gathering where with a communal shout, a commitment was made to fight for Israel in the year to come. Those who did not commit were excluded from the numbers.  

Leviticus does not order fasting on Yom Kippur, and it is clear from Isaiah 58, 'fasting' and 'affliction of souls' are two separate things - even if they can be done at the same time.

Why have we fasted, they say, and You have not seen?

Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?

Isaiah 22: 12 explains what is meant by 'affliction of the souls', in that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth.   

Yom Kippur is a day to remember the shame of Israel as explained in Isaiah 22: 2 - 3, Thy slain are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All they rulers are fled together. It is a day to weep for the defeats in war due to cowardice and running away - mourning for the battles lost due to Israel choosing not to fight but to surrender and be bound together. (The enemy used their bowstrings for binding, as they had no need for shooting.) The day is there to remember the shame of the past and to know what will happen if the commitment made at Rosh Hashanah, with the shouting, is not kept. Humiliation afflicts the soul. Some egos need to be bruised and Isaiah knew just how to do this - it is the day of the shaving of the beards and the cutting of the hair.