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Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.

According to tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the day when God inscribes people in either the Book of Life or Death, but Yom Kippur is the day on which God seals our fate for the coming year. As such, the day is devoted to communal repentance for sins committed over the course of the previous year and is thus the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.

We observe Yom Kippur ten days after Rosh Hashanah, a period which is known as the Days of Awe. Throughout the month of Elul and especially during the ten days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we are instructed to ask for forgiveness from our fellow human beings. However, Yom Kippur is the day to pray for God's forgiveness.

Yom Kippur Services and Prayers
The Torah calls this day Shabbat Shabbaton, the Sabbath of Sabbaths, indicating its immense holiness. While Jews typically pray three times daily throughout the regular calendar year, we are commanded to pray fives time on Yom Kippur, further establishing the gravity of the day. The five prayer services of Yom Kippur are as follows: Kol Nidre, Shacharit, Musaf, Mincha, and Neilah.

We add special sections of the Temple service and martyrology service to Musaf and Mincha respectively. Along those lines, Yom Kippur's Mincha services mark the only time all year that we read from the Book of Jonah. We also recite the vidui (confession) prayer multiple times throughout the day, as well as Avinu Malkeinu.

Traditionally, we recite several piyyutim (medieval liturgical poems) throughout the day on Yom Kippur. We chant Ki Hineh Kachomer (“As Clay in the Hands of the Potter”), the first of the piyyutim, during Kol Nidre. This piyyut likens God to an artisan, potter, mason, blacksmith, sailor, glazier, draper, and smelter. Along these lines, Ki Hineh Kachomer compares human beings to the materials used by those artisans including clay, stone, iron, the helm, glass, cloth, and silver. Therefore, Ki Hineh Kachomer suggests that human beings are fragile creatures and its recitation conveys our hope that God will use us creatively and not destructively.

V'chol Ma'aminim (“All Who Believe”), is a piyyut sung during the Musaf service on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. V'chol Ma'aminim is a double acrostic, meaning it describes God with an attribute in the first line, and then uses the same letter to show the human viewpoint.

The Neilah service features one of the most beautiful piyyutim, El Nora Alilah (“Awe-Inspiring God on High”). Written by the sage Moshe Ibn Ezra, El Nora Alilah comes from the Sephardic tradition and is the last plea for forgiveness as the gates of heaven close during the final moments of Yom Kippur.

Fasting on Yom Kippur and Other Prohibitions
Fasting is an opportunity for each of us to observe Yom Kippur in a personal way. Yom Kippur is a day of intense self-reflection and earnest communication with God. Accordingly, fasting slows down our biological rhythm creating an internal calming effect. In many ways, fasting on Yom Kippur provides the key to our inner awakening. Fasting is so integral to the observance of the holiday that Yom Kippur is the only fast day that can be observed on Shabbat.

In addition to abstaining from eating and drinking, there are several prohibitions for Yom Kippur. We are not permitted to wear leather shoes as they represent wealth, and on Yom Kippur, we want to appear humbly before God. We do not bathe or wash, and along those lines, we refrain from wearing cologne, perfumes or makeup. Finally, we withhold ourselves from marital relations. According to the Mishna, these five prohibitions - abstaining from eating and drinking, wearing leather, bathing, using perfumes or makeup, and marital relations - correspond to the five times that the word soul is mentioned in the Torah relating to Yom Kippur.

Neilah and breaking fast

The Neilah service is one of the most beautiful and moving services in the entire corpus of Jewish liturgy. We chant lovely poems and stunning melodies as the sun sets. In the last moments of the most solemn day of the Jewish year, we beg God to hear and accept our prayers of repentance. During the final, climactic moment of Yom Kippur, we open the ark and recite the shema, our declaration of faith, then say aloud the line we normally recite quietly: Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto Le'Olam va-ed (“Blessed is the Name of the Glory of His Kingship, forever!”). We blast the shofar one last time, and the fast is concluded. Many people prepare a breakfast meal after services. These are often bagels and other dairy foods as one should not eat too heavy after the long fast.     

We hope you will join us for High Holy Day services. You can access Beth El's full schedule of High Holy Day services by clicking this link. We've included a complete schedule of youth and family services below:

High Holy Day Youth And Family Services
Services Schedule For Rosh Hashanah Day 1 - Monday, September 10 And Yom Kippur - Wednesday, September 19
10:00 a.m.: Babysitting (Preschool classrooms 12&13)
10:00 a.m.: Early Childhood Family Service* (Myers Auditorium)
10:45 a.m.: Preschool Activities (Preschool classrooms 12&13)
10:00 a.m.: Family Service (2nd graders and above) Option #1* (Gorn Chapel)
11:00 a.m.: Teen Service (Rooms 213-214)
11:30 a.m.: Family Service (2nd graders and above) Option #2* (Gorn Chapel)

For children of parents who attend adult services:
10:00 a.m.: Before Care (Schapiro Auditorium)
11:00 a.m.: 1st-3rd Grade Service (Kolker Room); 4th-6th Grade Service (Schapiro Auditorium)
12:00 p.m.: After Care (Schapiro Auditorium)

Services Schedule For Rosh Hashanah Day 2 - Tuesday, September 11
10:00 a.m.: Special program with Becky Gordon in Babysitting (Preschool classrooms 12&13)
10:00 a.m.: Family Service (Gorn Chapel)

Downtown Services: Salem Lutheran Church @ 1530 Battery Ave
Rosh Hashanah Family Service - Led by Cantor Melanie Blatt
Monday, September 10 at 4:00 p.m.

Yom Kippur Family Service - Led by Cantor Melanie Blatt
Wednesday, September 19 at 4:00 p.m.

*Reservations required for all family services due to limited seating. For questions, contact Fran Davis at 410-484-4543.