Yoma (
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
: יומא, lit. "The Day") is the fifth tractate of ''
Seder Moed'' ("Order of Festivals") of the ''
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tora ...
'' and of the ''
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
''. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the
Jewish holiday Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
, on which
Jews atone for their sins from the previous year. It consists of eight chapters and has a
Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishna ...
("Completion") from both the
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
and the
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
.
Content
The first chapter is regarding the seven days before Yom Kippur in which the
Kohen Gadol
High Priest ( he, כהן גדול, translit=Kohen Gadol or ; ) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post-Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Previousl ...
is separated from his wife and moves into a chamber on the
Beit HaMikdash, sprinkled with water from the
Red Heifer and taught the laws relating to the Yom Kippur sacrifices.
The second through seventh chapters deal with the order of services on Yom Kippur, both those specific to Yom Kippur and the daily sacrifices. Some of the issues addressed include those of the lottery employed to assign services to Kohanim, laws regarding the
scapegoat, and the incense sacrifices performed by the Kohen Gadol in the
Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's pres ...
.
The last chapter deals with the five afflictions of Yom Kippur, which apply in the absence of a Temple, including modern times. Five abstentions or strict avoidances are required:
*Eating or drinking
*Wearing leather shoes or things made from animals
*Anointing oneself with oil
*Washing
*Marital relations
The last chapter also discusses
teshuva, or repentance (8:8-9).
References
External links
* English translation by
Isidore Epstein in the
Soncino Talmud (1938
* Yoma in the
Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
br>
* Yoma on
Sefariabr>
{{Mishnah
Yom Kippur