Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר – Day of Atonement)
Leviticus 16:1–34; Leviticus 18:1–30 • Numbers 29:7–11 • Isaiah 57:14–58:14 • Jonah 1:1–4:11
The Torah describes the ritual performed by the High Priest in the sanctuary: entering the Holy of Holies, sending the scapegoat into the wilderness, and sprinkling blood to atone for the people’s sins. In the second Sefer, it details the specific sacrifices of the day. In the afternoon, the reading recalls the laws of holiness.
In the morning haftarah, the prophet Isaiah urges repentance (teshuva) and the pursuit of justice. The afternoon haftarah recounts Jonah’s flight and the repentance of the great city of Nineveh.
Jonah 2:1
וַיְמַן ה׳ דָּג גָּדוֹל לִבְלֹעַ אֶת-יוֹנָה
The Eternal sent a great fish to swallow Jonah.
Located 12.5 km north of Tiberias, Huqoq (חוקוק) is mentioned in the Book of Joshua[1]. Inhabited since the Bronze Age (3300 BCE – 1200 BCE), the village flourished during the Roman (1st–3rd century) and Byzantine (4th–7th century) periods.
Since 2011, excavations led by Jodi Magness[2] have uncovered a monumental 5th-century synagogue built of basalt, a rock typical of the region’s geological landscape.
Its mosaic floor is exceptional for its artistic richness and diversity of scenes. The depiction of Jonah is particularly remarkable. Rare in ancient Jewish art, it shows Jonah at the critical moment of being swallowed by the fish. Other mosaics are also extraordinary: Samson in Gaza carrying the city gates after tearing them out, the crossing of the Red Sea, the spies, Noah’s ark, and a non-biblical scene interpreted as a meeting between Alexander the Great and a Jewish priest.
The walls were painted in red, pink, and white, and the columns bore traces of colored plaster.
Coins, rock-cut tombs, and ancillary structures testify to a thriving community.
[1] In the description of the border of the territory of Naftali (Joshua 19:32–39), verse 34 mentions Huqoq. Naftali means “my struggle.” Jacob blessed him saying: “Naftali is a doe let loose; he utters beautiful words” (Genesis 49:21).
[2] Jodi Magness is a professor of archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has led the Houqoq excavations since 2011 with an international team. The discoveries have been published in several scientific journals and featured in media outlets such as National Geographic.