Yom Kippur (Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּר, IPA: /ˈjɔm kiˈpur/)
Yom Kippur, also known in English as the Day of Atonement,
is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holidays. Its
central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally
observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and
intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue
services. Yom Kippur is the tenth and final day of the Ten Days of
Repentance which begin with Rosh Hashanah.
According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each
person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah
and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Ten
Days of Repentance, a Jew tries to amend his behavior and seek
forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and
against his fellow man (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day
of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and
confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one
considers himself absolved by God. The Yom Kippur prayer service
includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer
services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services
(Ma'ariv, the evening prayer; Shacharit, the morning prayer; and
Mincha, the afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or Yom Tov, which have
four prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf, the additional
prayer; and Mincha), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (Ma'ariv;
Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha; and Ne'ilah, the closing prayer). The
prayer services also include a public confession of sins (Vidui)
and a reenactment of the special Yom Kippur avodah (service) of the
Kohen Gadol in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. (via Wikipedia)
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