Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur · Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement: , confession, forgiveness and the sealing of judgment.

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Name, translation, date and length — the facts to have by heart.

Hebrew name: Yom Kippur
English translation: Day of Atonement
Date / timing: 10 Tishrei (September–October); the close of the Days of Awe
Length: 1 day (a full 25-hour fast)
Historical reason: The annual day of atonement that concludes the Days of Awe.

Why this exists, what happened, and the values it carries.

Yom means day; Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement — atonement, forgiveness, repentance and confession.
The first step is to acknowledge the sin: name it honestly before anything else can be repaired.
It seals the process of begun at Rosh Hashanah.

The day is shaped by liturgy rather than a single narrative — there is no historical event behind Yom Kippur: opens it and closes it.
The Book of Jonah is read, a story of a reluctant prophet and of a city that repents and is forgiven.

Rituals, symbols, prayers and foods — and the reason behind each.

removes ordinary physical distraction so the day can be spent on the soul: we do not eat and do not drink.
Confession is said aloud and in the plural because the community takes responsibility together.
Everything is white, and white is the symbol of purity — but also of transition from one world to the next. We dress the dead in a white shroud, so dressing in white reminds us that we are mortal: I dress the way they will put me in the ground.
Because we are mortal, we do not have all the time in the world to mend relationships — amends cannot wait.
The concluding blast at , as the sun sets, is a big sound announcing that judgment is sealed and the fast is over.
Yom Kippur atones for wrongs between a person and God; wrongs against another person must be repaired directly: acknowledge the sin, confess to the person you wronged and ask forgiveness, fix what you did, and resolve never to do it again.

The color white: Purity, and the transition from one world to the next — the white shroud and our own mortality.
Closing shofar blast: The gates close as the sun sets; judgment is sealed and the fast ends.
Fasting: Affliction of the soul; setting aside the physical — no food, no drink.

The Hebrew vocabulary for this topic.

Kol Nidrei: The declaration that opens Yom Kippur evening.
Viddui: Confession.
Al Chet: The alphabetical litany of sins recited in the plural.
Unetaneh Tokef: Liturgical poem describing the day's judgment.
Neilah: The closing service of Yom Kippur.
Yizkor: Memorial service for the dead.
Shabbat Shuvah: The Shabbat of Return, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Answer these out loud before you sit down with the rabbis.

1The four steps when you wrong another person: acknowledge the sin, confess to the person and ask forgiveness, fix it, and resolve never to do it again.
2Why we fast and what the fast is for.
3The arc of the liturgy from to .
4Why people wear white.