When does the Yom Kippur fast start and end?

From evening to evening

The Torah says: “It shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practise self-denial; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening” (Leviticus 23:32). The Talmud learns from “the ninth day” that one adds time from the weekday to the holy day. The fast therefore begins a little before sunset on the 9th of Tishrei and ends after nightfall on the 10th.

Before the fast

It is a mitzvah to eat well on the day before Yom Kippur. The final meal (seudah mafseket) ends before sunset; candles are lit and the evening service, Kol Nidrei, follows.

The five afflictions

No eating or drinking, no washing for pleasure, no anointing, no leather shoes, no marital relations. People who are ill, pregnant or nursing should consult a doctor and a rabbi; when there is danger, eating is a mitzvah.

The end

The Ne’ilah prayer closes the day; the shofar is sounded after nightfall, followed by havdalah. Check local times – they vary by many minutes between cities.

Dates in the civil calendar

Yom Kippur falls on 10 Tishrei, between mid-September and mid-October; in 2026 it begins on the evening of Sunday 20 September and ends on the evening of Monday 21 September. By the rules of the fixed calendar Yom Kippur never falls on a Friday or a Sunday, so it never adjoins Shabbat. Unlike other festivals, it is kept for one day even outside Israel, because of the difficulty of fasting two days.