"The Day of Atonement" is the holiest day of the year for Jews. It is known as Yom Kippur. Taking place in September or October (it moves because it is based on a lunar calendar), the day is a very solemn observance with fasting and worship. The mood is much like the Good Friday experience for Christians, but even more somber. It is based on the procedures laid out in Leviticus 16.
In this chapter, we find the high priest making atonement for the people of Israel. It involves the sacrifice of a bull as a sin offering for the priest, a ram for a burnt offering, and two goats - one to be sin offering and the other to be a "scapegoat."
The concept of the scapegoat was that the high priest would lay his hands upon the goat's head and pronounce over it all the sins of the people, symbolically transferring their sins to the goat (vs. 21). The goat is then not killed but led out into the wilderness to be alone (vs 22). All the sins of the people have been placed upon the goat rather than the people.
When Christ came to be the lamb that takes away the sins of the world, He also fulfilled the function of the scapegoat. He bore in his body the sins of all the people.
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