Once Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, has passed, the holiest day in Judaism arrives, Yom Kippur (or Yom Kippur). It is a solemn day full of meanings and traditions. It is the day when God decides the destiny of each person for the new year, so men and women, religious and secular, make amends and ask forgiveness for the sins committed during the year that is left behind.
The period of reflection that begins on Rosh Hashanah lasts 10 days – it is called the 10 Terrible Days or Repentance (Yamím Noraím) – and culminates on Yom Kippur, the Day of Forgiveness.
Yom Kippur is always celebrated on the tenth day of tishrei, the seventh month of the lunisolar Hebrew calendar. This year (2023, or 5784 for Jews) the main Jewish holiday begins on Sunday, September 24.
The holiday is also known as Shabbat Shabaton, something like The Great Sabbat (the seventh and sacred day of the week) and is a day dedicated to atonement, forgiveness and reconciliation.
The main practice of Yom Kippur is a 25-hour fast, from the night of the holy day until the first three stars rise in the sky the next day, a moment that is announced with the blowing of the shofar, made with a twisted horn and considered one of the oldest musical instruments in the world.
While you cannot eat or drink, Jews pray, reflect and ask for forgiveness from their family, friends, acquaintances and strangers.
Other actions prohibited on Kippur are working, cooking, showering, watching TV, lighting a cigarette, wearing leather shoes, putting on cologne or creams, or having sexual relations.
The blowing of the shofar means that divine forgiveness has been granted and the end of the fast has arrived. From that moment on, Jews go home to share food with family and friends.
The origin of the holiday dates back to the Torah itself, where it is called Shabbat of Solemn Rest, a day in which no type of productive work can be carried out, as occurs on any Shabbat.
There are those who believe that this important day for the Jews coincides with the day on which Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the second tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments and on which God forgave the Israelites for the sin of the golden calf.
Yom Kippur is respected by the majority of the more than 13 million Jews in the world. In Israel, it is a day without cars, buses, trains or planes; There are only children on bikes. While public institutions, businesses and businesses remain closed, synagogues boast their best start of the year and hold five prayer services
Children under nine years of age are exempt from fasting, as well as sick people who do not have a doctor’s recommendation. As most rabbis remember, health is more important.
