By: Nomi Kaltmann as seen in The Age
October 11, 2024
I think what’s most unique about Judaism is its many holidays. At work, when my colleagues tease me that I’ve got so many festivals, I like to remind them that Jewish holidays are not always fun and games because there are feasting festivals, but also fasting festivals.
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is the most solemn day in the religion’s calendar. It’s the only fast day that is mentioned in the Torah (the other five fasts were ordained by the rabbis throughout history).
On Yom Kippur – which starts the evening of October 11 – we spend 25 hours without food or drink, engaged in prayer and reflection.
Yom Kippur is a day of judgement. According to Judaism, Yom Kippur is when God decides who will live and who will die. When we spend time in the synagogue, we reflect on our mortality and think about the year that was, and what we are hoping to do with the next year of our lives if we are granted another one on Earth.
Prayers on Yom Kippur are lengthy and solemn. Usually, Jewish people pray three times a day, in the morning, afternoon and evening. However, Yom Kippur is the only day of the year when there are five prayers. It’s the only day of the year when, within prayer, Jews fully prostrate themselves before God.
An integral part of Yom Kippur is the recitation of the Vidui prayer, the confession of our sins that is usually recited when someone is dying. When we recite this prayer, we remind ourselves that life is a gift, and that we should not waste our opportunity to have a life of purpose.
When the long day of fasting ends, the shofar (the ram’s horn) is sounded. It’s a call to our hearts, to rouse us from our complacent slumber to do better for the year ahead. It’s a call to forgiveness. It’s a sign of our fervent desire to be inscribed for a good year ahead, full of blessings.
I wouldn’t say that I look forward to Yom Kippur each year, but I do have an appreciation of the opportunity for reflection it provides. I’m in my early 30s, and blessed with good health, so usually, I don’t think too much about my mortality. But when Yom Kippur comes around, I realise that life is such a gift, and I want more time on this Earth.