Day of Atonement
1 dayA commanded day of affliction, repentance, and cleansing.
This fast is distinctive because it is commanded and communal. It frames fasting as humbling oneself before God, paired with priestly atonement rites and a national reset. In biblical language it is described as "afflicting" oneself, emphasizing seriousness rather than technique.
Scripture
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, the native-born, or the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you:
27 "However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.