High Holiday

Guide:

Yom Kippur

Edition

Jonas Actor

SWUSY REC 2011-2012

About Y

om

Kip

pur

Yom Kippur is the Jewish holiday

marking the day of judgment for our

actions. Here is a quick list of

information about the holiday:

Names:

Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement

Hebrew Date:

10 Tishrei

Some interesting tidbits:

• We fast on Yom Kippur

• Sandy Koufax did not pitch in the World

Series to observe this day

• We wrap up our introspection and finish the

forgiveness process

Co

mp

on

ents o

f Yo

m K

ipp

ur

Yom Kippur has a few key

components:

• The services

• The “soul torturing”

• The forgiveness

• The traditions

The

Ser

vic

es

Services are a very large part of Yom

Kippur. It seems like we sit in

synagogue all day… because for the

most part, we are!

• Yom Kippur has the most services per any

day on the Jewish calendar: Kol Nidrei,

Maariv, Shacharit, Mussaf, Mincha, and

Ne’ila.

• The longest part of the service is the

repetition of the Mussaf Amida because

we add the Temple Service section (Seder

HaAvodah) and also the Martyrology

section (Eleh Ezkerah)

• We use a Machzor and not a siddur for

services.

More A

bout th

e Serv

ices • We say Vidui, a series of confessional

statements, a total of 10 times over the

course of Yom Kippur.

• We read the entire Book of Yonah in the

afternoon for the Haftarah at Mincha.

• We blow the Shofar at the end of Yom

Kippur to announce that the holiday is over.

• We say Yizkor, the traditional memorial

service, in the morning on Yom Kippur.

• Yom Kippur is the only day of the year

where you can get away with wearing

slippers, flip flops, or crocs to shul!

A quick Yom Kippur

laugh...

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v K

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hen,

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w.d

ryb

ones

blo

g.b

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m

Kol N

idrei an

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aariv

The first two service components on

Yom Kippur, Kol Nidrei and Maariv,

are remarkably special. Here’s a little

bit about them:

• This is the only night service where we wear

a tallit

• The Chazzan says the paragraph “Kol

Nidrei” three times in a process to absolve us

from any unfulfilled oaths or promises from

the past year

• We say Vidui, or the confession section, for

the first time (of many) on Yom Kippur

• We say the line

Baruch Shem Kevod,

or “praised be the

honor” in the Shema

aloud just as the angels

say it

Ele

h E

zker

ah (

Mar

tyro

log

y)

Eleh Ezkerah is one of the

most depressing service

segments of the year, said

during mussaf on Yom Kippur:

• It graphically portrays the deaths of 10 of the

greatest Rabbis of the Mishnaic period at the

hands of the Roman empire

• Commemorates all who die in the name of

the Jewish faith

• Modern connection to those who perished in

the Holocaust

Sed

er HaA

vo

dah

(Th

e Tem

ple S

ervice)

Seder HaAvodah is another

addition to the Mussaf service:

• Describes the process of the Kohen Gadol on

Yom Kippur

• Chazzan bows all the way down three times

• Yom Kippur was the only day of the year

where the Kohen Gadol was allowed to enter

the Kodesh HaKedashim, or the Holy of

Holies, in the Temple

• Connected to the Torah reading from earlier

in the morning, where we tell about the

sacrifice process in the Temple:

⇒ Two similar goats were chosen

⇒ One was ‘for God’

⇒ The other was ‘Azazel’, a scapegoat

⇒ ‘For God’ goat was sacrificed

⇒ ‘Azazel’ goat was hurled over the edge of a

cliff and then stoned to death

“Soul

Tort

uri

ng” In describing Yom Kippur, the

Torah says we should “torture

your soul.” This ambiguous

phrase is taken to mean five

restrictions on behavior for

Yom Kippur:

• Total fast

• No wearing leather

• No bathing or washing

• No anointing,

makeup, or

perfume

• No marital

relations

Fasting makes

you grumpy...

The F

org

iven

ess Forgiveness is an integral

theme of Yom Kippur as on

Yom Kippur we have special

access to plead with God on

behalf of our actions over the

past year:

• Your last chance!

• We use the same Teshuvah process as Rosh

HaShanah, asking forgiveness from our

friends for anything that we may have

done to them, purposefully or

inadvertently, in addition to asking God for

general forgiveness

• At Ne’ilah, we lose access to this special

access with God, making Ne’ilah one of

the most powerful prayer moments in the

entire Jewish calendar

• We wish to have our sins erased as to be

sealed in the Book of Life at the close of

Yom Kippur

The

Tra

dit

ions

Of course, all Jewish holidays

in some way, shape or form

involve some traditions

concerning food. While Yom

Kippur is a fast day, we make

up for the lack of food on Yom

Kippur proper with more food:

• Heavy meal before the fast starts, called the

Seudah HaMafseket, or the Stopping Meal

• Large feast after the fast ends, the

traditional Break Fast

Israeli Histo

ry: T

he Y

om

Kip

pu

r War

In 1973 from October 6-25, Israel

fought in a war against Arab states

led by Egypt and Syria. The war is

called the Yom Kippur war because

October 6, the day when the

Egyptian and Syrian armies started

their attacks, was Yom Kippur.

After the war, Israel no longer felt

as militarily secure as it had, and

following the war Israel returned to

Egypt the Sinai Peninsula at the

Camp David Accords in 1979,

paving the way for peace with

Egypt. As a result of criticism

about the war, the Prime Minister

Golda Meir and her entire cabinet

eventually resigned.

Another Quick

Laugh...

Www.biblecartoons.blogspot.com

A L

ittle Yom

Kip

pur F

un

Have a

Meaningful

Yom Kippur

Y’all!!!