Jewish people will observe one of the holiest holidays from Sunday evening to Monday night: Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur starts nine days after the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and marks the end of the 10 Days of Repentance, a period of introspection in Judaism. During this period, Jewish people repent for their sins to start the new year on the right foot.
This holiday is among the most important for the local Jewish community, from Jewish institutions on the University of Florida campus to those in the greater Gainesville area.
“This holiday is extremely important,” said Executive Director of Congregation B’nai Israel Jenifer Petrescu. “It’s a wonderful day because it brings the entire community together.”
Here is everything you need to know about the holiday and how it’s observed.
What is Yom Kippur?
In Hebrew, Yom Kippur means the Day of Atonement, as it is believed that God seals each person’s fate for the coming year on this holiday.
Rabbi David Kaiman, 71, of Congregation B’nai Israel said Yom Kippur, unlike other Jewish holidays based on Hebrew history, focuses more on individuals and self-reflection. As a result, the Jewish people use the holiday to look inward, reflecting on past actions while also considering how they can improve next year.
“That’s the power of the holiday,” Kaiman said. “It’s very personal for individuals regarding their own life.”
It’s tradition for Jewish people to wear white when they attend services during Yom Kippur to signify purity and renewal, as they repent for their sins.
How is Yom Kippur observed?
The first religious service of Yom Kippur is Kol Nidrei, which takes place before sunset on Sunday and begins with the Kol Nidrei prayer.
Two members of the congregation each hold a Torah scroll, while the congregation leader, known as the chazan, reads a centuries-old Aramaic formula. Kaiman said the service begins by looking at how one can ask God for forgiveness for past mistakes while planning for a better year ahead.
On Monday, Jewish people will spend the entire day at the synagogue, missing school, work or any other commitment to take part in services. Kaiman said these services don’t only allow people to pray, but to study, meditate and contemplate how the ancient texts apply to today’s world.
“Being there and experiencing that from sunrise to sunset with several hundred of my closest friends is a powerful experience,” he said.
Services end at nightfall on Monday, with Ne’ilah, which translates to the closing or locking of the gates. This service concludes when the congregation says “L'shanah Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim,” which translates in Hebrew to “next year in Jerusalem," marking the end of Yom Kippur.
Why do people fast?
Yom Kippur stands out from other Jewish holidays because of the 25-hour fasting period. This year’s fast starts on Sunday and ends at nightfall on Monday.
During the fasting period, Jewish people do not eat, drink, bathe or work. They also do not wear leather during Yom Kippur, as it was seen as a luxury in ancient times.
Jonah Zinn, the rabbi and executive director at the Schilit Hillel at the University of Florida, said fasting allows people to set aside day-to-day concerns and focus on their relationship with God and themselves.
“They talk about it as sort of a rehearsal for death,” he said. “You feel like this sort of vulnerability when you don’t eat, and that vulnerability helps you to really sort of recognize some of the areas that are most ripe for growth.”
When it comes to breaking the fast, different Jewish communities have their own traditions regarding what the first meal is.
Zinn said that, to break the fast, people choose a cuisine from where their ancestors are from. For example, Jewish people whose family comes from Eastern Europe often break the fast with the foods from that region.
“That’s part of what makes Judaism so beautiful is the fact that we are able to sort of on one hand be our own sort of unique people while simultaneously connecting with the host cultures and being influenced by them,” he said.
Why is the shofar blown?
One of the most prominent symbols during Yom Kippur is the shofar, an ancient horn, usually made from a ram’s horn.
The shofar is blown during daytime hours of Rosh Hashanah and at the end of the Ne’ilah service during Yom Kippur.
Linda Maurice, executive director of the Jewish Federation of North Central Florida, said blowing the shofar signifies the end of the fasting period and the start of the Jewish New Year after a period of repentance. She added that the sound of the shofar wakes people up after they’ve been fasting for 25 hours and might feel tired.
“Hearing the shofar awakens something in me that takes me back,” Maurice said. “That it is something that has been done for generations and generations, and I am a part of that tradition.”
Hearing the shofar during Yom Kippur is a spiritual experience, said Sabina Chamoy, a University of Florida biotechnology sophomore and Chabad UF’s co-tabling director.
“Hearing the shofar … it evokes an emotion from my heart or my soul,” Chamoy said. “I feel as though God is speaking through the shofar. The sound that it makes, I feel comforted. I feel taken care of. I feel heard. I feel loved by God.”
What is next?
Once the shofar is blown, the congregation celebrates a successful fast, and the Jewish people look ahead to Sukkot, a seven-day Jewish holiday that starts on Sept. 25 and celebrates the autumn harvest.
For Chamoy and the rest of the Jewish community, the end of Yom Kippur marks an important moment in such an action-packed part of the religious calendar.
“This month of September is so packed with holidays every single week, and it’s truly a time for self-reflection and to reset, to rest, to pray, to reinstate your relationship with God,” Chamoy said.