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Event
Information:
Yom
Kippur also known as the Day of
Atonement, is the holiest day of the
year for religious Jews. Its central
themes are atonement and repentance.
Jews traditionally observe this holy
day with a 25-hour period of fasting
and intensive prayer, often spending
most of the day in synagogue
services. Yom Kippur completes the
annual period known in Judaism as
the High Holy Days.
Yom
Kippur is the tenth day of the month
of Tishrei. According to Jewish
tradition, God inscribes each
person's fate for the coming year
into a book, the Book of Life, on
Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom
Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During
the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to
amend his or her behavior and seek
forgiveness for wrongs done against
God (bein adam leMakom) and against
other human beings (bein adam
lechavero). The evening and day of
Yom Kippur are set aside for public
and private petitions and
confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the
end of Yom Kippur, one considers
one's self absolved by God.
The
Yom Kippur prayer service includes
several unique aspects. One is the
actual number of prayer services.
Unlike a regular day, which has
three prayer services (Ma'ariv, the
evening prayer; Shacharit, the
morning prayer; and Mincha, the
afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or
Yom Tov, which have four prayer
services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf,
the additional prayer; and Mincha),
Yom Kippur has five prayer services
(Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha;
and Ne'ilah, the closing prayer).
The prayer services also include a
public confession of sins (Vidui)
and a unique prayer dedicated to the
special Yom Kippur avodah (service)
of the Kohen Gadol in the Holy
Temple in Jerusalem.
Yom
Kippur is considered one of the
holiest of Jewish holidays and it is
observed by many secular Jews who
may not observe other holidays. Many
secular Jews fast and attend
synagogue on Yom Kippur — in fact,
for many secular Jews the High
Holidays are the only recurring
times of the year in which they
attend synagogue, causing synagogue
attendance to soar. Others choose
not
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