The holiest day in Judaism, Yom Kippur

The tenth day of the Tishri lunar month marks the start of the Jewish religious holiday, Yom Kippur.

This year Yom Kippur will be celebrated from sunset on Friday 11 October and ends the following evening on Saturday 12 October 2024. Yom Kippur falls ten days after the start of Rosh Hashanah, which is the new year in Judaism.

The history of Yom Kippur 

According to tradition, the holiday originated with the prophet Moses. After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.

After Moses returned from the top of Mount Sinai to the Israelites he observed that they had began worshiping a golden calf, considered a false idol. In his anger, Moses broke the sacred tablets then headed back up the mountain to pray for forgiveness for himself and his people. God forgave them and provided Moses with a new set of the Ten Commandments. 

Jewish texts state that Yom Kippur was the only day on which the high priest could enter the inner sanctum of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. He would then perform a series of rituals, which continued until around 70 AD until it was adapted into a service for rabbis and their congregations in individual synagogues.

Observing Yom Kippur 

There are 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known as the Days of Repentance or Days of Awe.

During this time, Jewish people reflect on their actions from the past year. If they have made mistakes they seek to correct them, ask for God’s forgiveness, and commit to not repeating them.

This is Judaism’s most sacred day in the year, so because of this it can also be referred to as ‘Sabbath of Sabbaths.’ 

The Torah commands all Jewish adults (apart from the sick, the elderly and women who have just given birth) to fast between sundown on the evening before Yom Kippur and nightfall the next day. The Torah refers to the first five books of the Bible and is the most important book in Judaism.

The fast is then broken at home after the final Yom Kippur service has taken place with a festive meal.

It is customary for religious Jews to dress in white as a symbol of purity on Yom Kippur. It is also well known that acts of charity play a crucial role in seeking god’s forgiveness and a way to atone during Yom Kippur. 

The most significant aspect of Yom Kippur is the time spent in the synagogue for prayer and reflection. With many services taking place throughout the day, the last is the most powerful. An emotional service called Neilah is performed, during which the worship imagines the gates of heaven closing at the end of the High Holiday period. This service concludes with a long blast of the shofar or ram’s horn, which is often seen as signifying God’s redemptive act in answer to true repentance.

How to wish someone a happy Yom Kippur

There are many ways in which you might wish someone well during Yom Kippur. In English you can say “Have an easy fast” for those participating, or if they are not, you can say “Good Yuntif” or “Yom Tov.” These are Yiddish and Hebrew for ‘have a good holy day’ (respectively).

We would like to wish a happy Yom Kippur to all of our students, colleagues, alumni and friends who are observing the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, also known as the Day of Atonement.