What is Yom Kippur?

Holidays

	Tweet	Pin It

0

by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

In addition to Rosh Hashanah, the holiday of Yom Kippur is one of the High Holidays observed at the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur falls ten days after Rosh Hashanah.

Starting on Rosh Hashanah and continuing until Yom Kippur, Jewish people are supposed to ask for forgiveness for the promises they have broken to people in the past year. Yom Kippur is the day when Jews are supposed to ask for forgiveness for promises they have broken to God in the past year.

To observe Yom Kippur, most Jewish people attend special services where they can reflect and pray. Additionally, healthy adults also fast (don’t eat or drink) from the evening on which Yom Kippur begins until the following night when it ends, to symbolize their dedication to repenting.

Yom Kippur is a solemn holiday and is widely considered the most important day of the year for Jewish people. At its conclusion, the shofar (hollowed-out ram’s horn used throughout the Jewish High Holidays) is sounded and most people break their fast at a meal with family and friends.

“Yom Kippur” translates to mean “Day of Atonement.”

The Yom Kippur fast is for healthy adults only. Children and people who are ill are not expected to participate in the fast, and no one who does is ever meant to hurt him or herself in the process.

Out with the old, in with the new!

During the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jewish people ask those in their lives for forgiveness for the wrongs they have done. To symbolize getting rid of sins, many people make a trip to a river or lake, where they throw pieces of old bread into the water in order to represent the sins they are casting away! This practice is known as “Tashlikh.”

Can you think of any other ways that people could symbolize getting rid of the old and starting something new? Are there any traditions from religions you have learned about or practices you have at home which are similar to this??