Yom Kippur for Hebrew Year 5784 begins tonight (Sunday, 24 September 2023) at sundown and ends at nightfall on Monday, 25 September 2023.
Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) is the day of repentance, the most holy day on the Jewish calendar. Described as a Shabbat shabbaton (Shabbat of solemn rest) in the Torah, Yom Kippur is the culmination of a period of time during the month of Elul in which Jews are required to take stock of their lives, to ask forgiveness from friends and family, and to take steps toward self-improvement for the year to come.
Yom Kippur is observed for a 25-hour period, beginning at sundown, by refraining from work that is prohibited on Shabbat, plus five additional prohibitions — eating or drinking, bathing, anointing the body with oil, wearing leather shoes and sexual relations.
Traditionally, Jews believe that after judging a person for their deeds over the past year, God decides who will be sealed in the Book of Life (to live for another year) and who will die. Others simply use the day as a time to reflect on what they want to do differently this year, and some people wear white on Yom Kippur to symbolize the purity of the day.
To all our Jewish friends, G’mar Hatima Tova — may you be sealed in the Book of Life.
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