The Religious Effect: A fast lesson about Yom Kippur

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“On Yom Kippur I focus on three things: Teshuva, Tefillah and Tzedakah. Teshuva is turning or repentance. I think back over the past year, I think about past mistakes and I think about how I can avoid making the same mistakes again,” said Rabbi Melissa B. Simon.

Ten days after the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, for the Jewish new year, the holiday Yom Kippur is celebrated. The holiday is the conclusion of Yamim Noraim, or Days of Awe. Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement” and it is the holiday when Jews ask God for forgiveness for the mistakes they have made over the past year. It is said to be the most solemn holiday in the Jewish calendar. This year the Jewish calendar began the year of 5777.

Yom Kippur begins at sunset and lasts for twenty-five hours until sunset of the following day. This Yom Kippur began the evening of October 11th and ended the evening of Oct. 12.

“Judaism is an incredible religion because it believes that everyone has the power to change. So often we feel stuck in broken systems, but Judaism believes that we can make positive changes in our lives,” said Rabbi Simon.

On the first evening it is a tradition for families to go to their synagogues for the prayer of Kol Nidre, the asking for forgiveness, so they can start the new year fresh without the weight of past mistakes. This prayer is repeated three times. While there is the prayer for forgiveness as a whole, Al Cheit is a prayer also said in regards towards the sins of the past year.

On Yom Kippur morning, a torah portion from Leviticus called “The Scapegoat Ritual” is read. It is a tradition for some to spend the entirety of the day in the synagogue. Along with those services, there are others, such as: Viddui, Musaf, Mincha, and Neilah.

At the conclusion of some services, it is a tradition to have a Tekiah Gedolah or a great blast of the Shofar. A Shofar is a trumpet-like instrument made from a ram’s horn that is used to call people to worship. It is blown during both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Different people choose how they wish to celebrate Yom Kippur and there are different services that depend on whether you are a reform, orthodox, reconstruction, or conservative Jew.

“Tefillah is prayer. I spend much of Yom Kippur in prayer space, either in a synagogue or in nature. Tzedakah can be translated as charity, but it can also be understood as justice. We give acts of justice in preparation for and during Yom Kippur. Each of the ten days leading up to Yom Kippur I give a donation to an organization I am passionate about and on Yom Kippur I participate in a food drive at the synagogue,” said Rabbi Simon.

A thing that most Jews do not like about Yom Kippur is that you are not allowed to eat for twenty-five hours, starting from the beginning of the holiday at sunset after the Erev Yom Kippur meal (which is dinner) to the sunset of the following day (which is also dinner). The purpose of fasting is to fulfill the biblical commandment to “practice self-denial.” This allows the Jewish people to focus on their spiritual needs by concentrating on praying, repenting and self-improving, instead of their physical desires. Although fasting is a custom, Judaism does not condone endangering your life in order to fast, even on Yom Kippur.

Typically, Jews are not required to start fasting until after their Bar/Bat Mitzvah, at age twelve or thirteen. Children under the age of nine are not allowed to fast. If you have any health problems, such as pregnancy, nursing, or diabetes, you are not required to fast. Fast- ing includes not drinking water, but if doing so poses a health risk, then you are allowed to do so.

“While we may fast on Yom Kippur, others are not able to choose to abstain from eating, they are forced to do so by food insecurity. I end Yom Kippur at Muhlenberg College Hillel with a big community break fast, after 25 hours of prayer and penitence,” said Rabbi Simon.