Yom Kippur: The Holiest Day of the Year

There is one day a year when the streets of even the most secular neighborhoods in Israel go completely silent. No cars, no buses, no noise. Children ride bicycles on empty highways. The entire country — religious and secular alike — stops. That day is Yom Kippur.

For Orthodox Jews, Yom Kippur is the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance that began on Rosh Hashanah. It is the day when G-d seals the judgment for the coming year. And we spend every moment of it asking for mercy.

The Five Prohibitions

Yom Kippur is more than just a fast. There are five things we abstain from for the entire 25-hour period:

1. Eating and drinking — no food or water from before sunset until after nightfall the next day
2. Bathing or washing — only minimal washing of fingertips upon waking
3. Applying lotions or oils — no creams, makeup, or deodorant
4. Wearing leather shoes — many people wear canvas sneakers or rubber slip-ons
5. Marital relations

The idea is to remove all physical comforts and focus entirely on the spiritual. The Talmud says that on Yom Kippur, we are like angels — beings who do not eat, drink, or engage in physical pleasures. For one day, we live entirely in the realm of the soul.

Children under bar/bat mitzvah age are not required to fast, though many families start training children to fast for part of the day as they get older.

The Day Before: Erev Yom Kippur

The day before Yom Kippur is almost as significant as the day itself. There is a mitzvah to eat well on Erev Yom Kippur — the Talmud says that whoever eats on the ninth of Tishrei is considered as if they fasted on both the ninth and the tenth. So we eat two festive meals: one at midday and a final pre-fast meal (seudah hamafseket) in the late afternoon.

Before the fast begins, there are powerful customs:

Kaparot — many Orthodox Jews perform kaparot, a ritual where a chicken (or money) is waved over the head while reciting a prayer asking that the chicken serve as an atonement. The chicken is then slaughtered and the meat given to the poor.

Asking forgiveness — Yom Kippur atones for sins between a person and G-d, but it does not atone for sins between people. You must go to anyone you have wronged and ask their forgiveness directly. Phone calls fly, text messages pour in, and people knock on doors. This is not optional — the Mishnah (Yoma 8:9) is clear that Yom Kippur does not atone until you have made peace with those you hurt.

Blessing the children — parents bless their children with the priestly blessing before leaving for synagogue. This is one of the most emotional moments of the entire year. I watch my husband put his hands on each child's head, tears in his eyes, asking G-d to bless them. That image stays with me all year.

Kol Nidrei

The evening service opens with Kol Nidrei — one of the most famous and haunting prayers in Judaism. It is actually a legal declaration annulling vows, but the melody is what makes it extraordinary. Three times, in ascending volume, the chazzan (cantor) chants Kol Nidrei while the entire congregation stands wrapped in their tallitot (prayer shawls) — one of the only times a tallit is worn at night.

The synagogue is full. Even Jews who rarely attend services come for Kol Nidrei. There is something about this moment — the white-draped ark, the Torah scrolls held aloft, the ancient melody — that pulls people in.

The Five Prayer Services

Yom Kippur is the only day with five prayer services:

Maariv (evening) — begins with Kol Nidrei, followed by the evening prayers and the first of many confessional prayers (Vidui).

Shacharit (morning) — the morning service, including a Torah reading about the Yom Kippur service in the Temple.

Musaf (additional) — the longest service, which includes the Avodah — a dramatic retelling of how the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) performed the Yom Kippur service in the Holy Temple. At the moment when the Kohen Gadol pronounced G-d's ineffable Name, the entire congregation falls to the floor in prostration. It is one of only two times in the year that Orthodox Jews prostrate fully.

Mincha (afternoon) — includes the reading of the Book of Jonah, the story of a prophet who tried to run from G-d's mission and learned that you cannot escape your calling.

Neilah (closing) — the final service, recited as the sun is setting and the "gates of heaven" are about to close. Neilah is the most intense prayer of the year. The ark remains open for the entire service. People who have been fasting for 24 hours summon their last energy to pray with everything they have. The language shifts from "write us in the Book of Life" to "seal us in the Book of Life." The gates are closing. This is the last chance.

Neilah ends with one long, sustained blast of the shofar. That single note cuts through the exhaustion and emotion of the day. It is over. We made it.

After the Fast

The fast ends after nightfall. People rush home (or gather at shul) for a break-fast meal — usually something light to ease back into eating. Bagels and cream cheese, cake, coffee. The mood shifts from intensity to relief and joy.

There is a beautiful tradition to begin building the sukkah immediately after Yom Kippur — going straight from one mitzvah to another, riding the spiritual momentum of the holiest day into the next holiday.

Why Yom Kippur Matters

I am sometimes asked: if you really believe G-d forgives, why go through all of this? Why the fasting, the hours of prayer, the tears?

Because forgiveness is not automatic. Teshuvah — repentance — requires work. You have to honestly examine what you did wrong, feel genuine regret, verbally confess before G-d, and commit to doing better. The fasting strips away the distractions so you can focus on that work. The prayers give you the words. The community around you — everyone in white, everyone fasting together — gives you the strength.

And at the end of Yom Kippur, there is something extraordinary: a clean slate. Whatever happened last year, whatever mistakes you made, you walk out of that synagogue knowing that G-d has heard you. That is not a small thing. That is everything.