What holiday is Yom Kippur?

In the Torah

“On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement… you shall afflict your souls” (Leviticus 23:27), and “on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; of all your sins before the Lord you shall be clean” (Leviticus 16:30). In Temple times the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on this day only; the Mishnah tractate Yoma describes his service, which is retold in the Musaf prayer.

Atonement and forgiveness

Maimonides writes that the essence of the day is repentance (teshuvah): regret, confession and the resolve not to repeat the sin. The Mishnah adds a crucial limit – Yom Kippur atones for sins between a person and God, but not for wrongs done to another person until one has asked that person’s forgiveness. That is why people apologise to family and friends before the fast.

How the day is kept

Five afflictions are observed: no eating or drinking, no washing, no anointing, no leather shoes and no marital relations. Many wear white. The prayers begin with Kol Nidrei at sunset and continue through the next day – Shacharit, Musaf, Mincha with the Book of Jonah, and Ne’ilah, the closing prayer, ending with a long blast of the shofar.

Health

Anyone whose health would be endangered by fasting must eat and drink, in the way a doctor and rabbi advise – saving life overrides Yom Kippur. Children under bar or bat mitzvah age do not fast fully.

See our Yom Kippur guide for dates and times.