APPLETREE
Yom Kippur
At-A-Glance
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Contributing Editor
• What We Observe: Yom Kippur
is the day of atonement;yom in
Hebrew means "day',' and kippur
means "atonement."
• When We Observe: This year,
Yom Kippur begins the evening of
Wednesday, Oct. 12..
• Why We Observe: The com-
mandment to observe Yom Kippur
is in the Torah in Leviticus 16:29,
and Numbers 29:7. Also see
Leviticus 16:30-34, 23:26 32,
and Numbers 29:8-11.
•Rites And
help
Rituals: The
fam
commandment
to observe Yom
Kippur includes the direc-
tive to "afflict yourselves." The rab-
bis interpreted this to mean no
food or drink (including smok-
ing); no wearing of leather shoes;
no bathing for pleasure; no marital
relations; and no anointing with
oils (in ancient times, people used -
oil to clean and perfume the skin).
Those on medication, or who
are in poor health, should consult
their rabbi and physician regard-
ing fasting.
Yom Kippur prayers are the
longest of any day in the year. A
significant feature of the liturgy is
the Vidui, or confession, which
consists of Ashamnu ("We have
trespassed"), an alphabetically
arranged list of sins; and Al Chet
("For the sin"), an inventory of •
transgressions, accompanied by
beating of the breast. The confes-
sion is recited at all services of
Yom Kippur.
Along with Rosh Hashanah,
Yom Kippur is the only day on
which we prostrate ourselves in
prayer (in a modified form) as was
done in the days of the Beit
HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. The
prostration, which consists of
kneeling and touching the fore-
head to the floor, is done during
the cantor's repetition of the Musaf
service.
October 6 • 2005
Yom Kippur includes two unique
prayer services: Kol Nidrei,
which begins the day and in
which we nullify all personal
vows for the coming year; and
Neilah, which closes the holiday.
Yom Kippur concludes with a
blast of the shofar.
• Customs Of The Holiday: It is
traditional on Yom Kippur to wear
white, which serves as a reminder
of our mortality because burial
shrouds are white. It also is a sym-
bol of purity, because we hope
God will forgive our sins and
restore us to lives of virtue.
We greet one another
with the words "G'mar
chatima tova," or,
ish "May your fate be
sealed for the good"
on Yom Kippur.
Some shorten the greeting to
simply, "G'mar toy."
• Thematic Significance: Yom
Kippur is the day when God seals
the decision He made on Rosh
Hashanah regarding the fate of
every person.
On the High Holy Days, the
Book of Life, with the name of
every man, woman and child, is
opened. On Rosh Hashanah, God
decides the fate of each person,
and on Yom Kippur He seals His
decision.
Although some believe that
Yom Kippur, unlike Pesach,
Chanukah and Purim, does not
commemorate a historical event,
tradition says that Yom Kippur is
the anniversary of God's forgiving
the Jewish people their first disas-
trous, national sin — the build-
ing of the golden calf. Moses
scolded the people, destroyed the
tablets of the Torah and went
back up the mountain a second
time to pray for God's forgiveness
and receive new tablets. Moses
returned to the people, ascended
the mountain a third time and
prayed for God to grant the
Jewish people atonement. After 40
days, God erased the collective sin
of the Jews, and Moses returned
to the people on the 10th of
Tishrei, or Yom Kippur. 111
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