What is Yom Kippur and how is it celebrated?

Answer 1

THis is from the following web site:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday4.html


Yom Kippur is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri. The holiday is instituted at Leviticus 23:26 et seq.

The name “Yom Kippur” means “Day of Atonement,” and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to “afflict the soul,” to atone for the sins of the past year. In Days of Awe, I mentioned the “books” in which G-d inscribes all of our names. On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.

As I noted in Days of Awe, Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and G-d, not for sins against another person. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible. That must all be done before Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur is a complete Sabbath; no work can be performed on that day. It is well-known that you are supposed to refrain from eating and drinking (even water) on Yom Kippur. It is a complete, 25-hour fast beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. The Talmud also specifies additional restrictions that are less well-known: washing and bathing, anointing one's body (with cosmetics, deodorants, etc.), wearing leather shoes (Orthodox Jews routinely wear canvas sneakers under their dress clothes on Yom Kippur), and engaging in sexual relations are all prohibited on Yom Kippur.

As always, any of these restrictions can be lifted where a threat to life or health is involved. In fact, children under the age of nine and women in childbirth (from the time labor begins until three days after birth) are not permitted to fast, even if they want to. Older children and women from the third to the seventh day after childbirth are permitted to fast, but are permitted to break the fast if they feel the need to do so. People with other illnesses should consult a physician and a rabbi for advice.

Most of the holiday is spent in the synagogue, in prayer. In Orthodox synagogues, services begin early in the morning (8 or 9 AM) and continue until about 3 PM. People then usually go home for an afternoon nap and return around 5 or 6 PM for the afternoon and evening services, which continue until nightfall. The services end at nightfall, with the blowing of the tekiah gedolah, a long blast on the shofar. See Rosh Hashanah for more about the shofar and its characteristic blasts.

It is customary to wear white on the holiday, which symbolizes purity and calls to mind the promise that our sins shall be made as white as snow (Is. 1:18). Some people wear a kittel, the white robe in which the dead are buried.

Answer 2

How To Celebrate Yom Kippur

Answer 3

If you're looking for a short, simple answer, Yom Kippur is not celebrated- It's a day that we Jews fast all day,and pray that all our sins be forgiven. When the Temple in Jerusalem was still standing there was a beautiful and very interesting service done on this day and the Cohen Gadol (high priest) would go into the holiest room in the temple....now we have no temple so we fast, and pray that the temple be rebuilt soon

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What is Yom Kippur and how is it celebrated?

Answer 5

Yom Kippur is very important to Jews.It starts out with the Four Questions.Then there is a Seder.It is really quite fun when you celebrate it.

Answer 6

Yom kippur is the day of atonement for the Jewish people it is the day they go before God and have their sins rolled back from the previous year but not wiped away like Christians because we have the ultimate sacrifice through Jesus Christ that washes away our sins as far as the east is from the west.

Answer 7

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year--the day on which we are closest to God and to the quintessence of our own souls. It is the Day of Atonement -- "For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God" (Leviticus 16:30).

For twenty-six hours--from several minutes before sunset on Tishrei 9 to after nightfall on Tishrei 10--we "afflict our souls": we abstain from food and drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather shoes, and abstain from marital relations.

Before Yom Kippur we perform the Kaparot atonement service; we request and receive honey cake, in acknowledgement that we are all recipients in God's world and in prayerful hope for a sweet and abundant year; eat a festive meal, immerse in a mikvah, and give extra charity. Late afternoon we eat the pre-fast meal, following which we bless our children, light a memorial candle as well as the holiday candles, and go to the synagogue for Kol Nidrei services.

In the course of Yom Kippur we hold five prayer services: Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the eve of Yom Kippur; Shacharit--the morning prayer; Musaf, which includes a detailed account of the Yom Kippur Temple service; Minchah, which includes the reading of the Book of Jonah; and Ne'illah, the "closing of the gates" service at sunset. We say the Al Chet confession of sins ten times in the course of Yom Kippur, and recite Psalms every available moment.

The day is the most solemn of the year, yet an undertone of joy suffuses it: a joy that revels in the spirituality of the day and expresses the confidence that God will accept our repentance, forgive our sins, and seal our verdict for a year of life, health and happiness. When the closing Ne'illah service climaxes in the resounding cries of "Hear O Israel... God is one" and a single blast of the shofar, followed by the proclamation, "Next year in Jerusalem." Then joy erupts in song and dance (a Chabad custom is to sing the lively "Napoleon's March"), followed by the festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a Yom Tov (festival) in its own right.

Answer 8

Let me just add to what was said by other posters - in the day of atonement, it is important to remember that we can atone for those transgressions that we have committed against G-d, but we cannot 'pray' our way out of any transgressions that we have committed against others. Those transgressions must still be corrected face-to-face (if possible).

And, as the other posters have stated - we wear white, no leather, and fast so that we acknowledge the gravity of the day,

Answer 9

it is a jewish highholy day
it is 10 days after rosh hashannah
on rosh hashannah we repent for our sins
on yom kippur we are forgivin

Answer 10

i m not Jewish
but it is the most holly day for Jews
in which he prays for god to forgive him for all the sins and disappoints that he.or she , did in the passed year.for a person and colloquial that the nation has done for the humanity,so the god might forgive in order to turn page and start sins the day after.human nature
mostly they fasten the day.
have to remind you Egypt war was on that day 1973.in which both sides claims victory.but it led to the peace treaty in which Sadat of Egypt proved the ignorance in dealing with his so called victory and led his country into great Arab historical humiliation in their history,which led after wards to Sadat's killing