Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn day of the Jewish religious year. It concludes the Ten Days of Repentance that begin with Rosh Hashanah and is devoted to confession, forgiveness and repairing one’s relationship with God and other people. Biblical tradition connects the day with an ancient Temple rite of purification, while later Jewish practice centres on synagogue prayer and a roughly twenty-five-hour fast for adults who are able. Work, food and drink are set aside so attention can turn inward. The evening opens with Kol Nidrei, and the following day includes extended prayers, repeated confession and remembrance. Before Yom Kippur, people are encouraged to seek forgiveness directly from anyone they have harmed, because ritual prayer does not replace making amends to another person. The day closes with the Ne’ilah service and a final shofar blast, turning intense self-examination toward the hope of beginning again with greater honesty and responsibility.

Yom Kippur is significant to the community that observes it and helps preserve religious, family and cultural continuity.

Twenty-five hours without food or water, and without washing, leather shoes or work. Kol Nidre opens it at dusk and Ne'ilah closes it, and the shofar is sounded once at the end. Most of the day is spent in the synagogue.

In Israel the country stops - no broadcasting, no traffic, and the empty motorways fill with children on bicycles. Elsewhere it is the one day of the year on which synagogues are full, kept by many who keep nothing else.