The holiest holiday in Judaism, Yom Kippur is a day marked by prayer and fasting, which means not eating or drinking. Yom Kippur is observed on the 10th day of the Jewish calendar month Tishri, which usually occurs in September or October. Jews believe that on the 10th of Tishri, Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the second set of tablets of the Ten Commandments. This event happened 40 days after the Israelites committed the sin of worshiping a golden calf instead of praying to God. Moses told the Israelites that they were forgiven. Since this time, the day was observed as Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a day to ask for forgiveness for sins committed in the past year. There are two types of sins: sins against God and sins against other people. On Yom Kippur Jews are forgiven for their sins against God, but they must ask people they have wronged for their forgiveness. No work can be performed on this day, which is generally spent in the synagogue, or Jewish house of worship. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting, meaning that Jews do not eat or drink on this holiday. The fast begins before sunset the day before Yom Kippur and ends after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. It is customary to wear white, which symbolizes purity, on the holiday. The blowing of the shofar, which is a trumpet made of a ram's horn, occurs in the synagogue to signal the end of Yom Kippur. |