All About Yom Kippur

Curious about Yom Kippur? Here’s the lowdown.

Holiday Name: Yom Kippur

Means: Day of Atonement

Pronounce it: YOME-key-POOR

What It’s About: A day to ask for forgiveness of those you have wronged and wipe the slate clean.

Dates: Starts Sunday, September 24, and concludes Monday, September 25, at nightfall.

Special Foods: It is a 25-hour fast day that begins with a meal to prepare for the fast and ends with a “break-fast,” which family and friends share together.

Greetings: Gmar chatimah tova. May your fate be sealed for a good year. This works off of the metaphor of God writing our names in a Book of Life.

Activities: Yom Kippur is about trying to repair relationships and make apologies for bad behavior in the previous year. Jewish people take stock of the ways their lives have gone off the path important to them and make a plan to steer it back.

People start fasting (both food and drink) after they become bar/bat mitzvah (ages 12 or 13) and can understand the significance of fasting. It is also customary to refrain from indulgent behavior like wearing leather shoes or elaborate bathing.

Download your cheat sheet here.