What is Yom Kippur?

Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement and marks the culmination of the Jewish ‘Days of Awe’, which began with Rosh Hashanah. It is the most solemn day in the Jewish Calendar. According to Jewish tradition, G-d seals the books of Life and Death for the coming year at the end of Yom Kippur.

The Jewish community is very diverse; different Jews will mark the day slightly differently with varying levels of observance. However, it is generally a fast day where Jews abstain from eating and drinking for 25 hours and spend the day in prayer services in the synagogue or at home. The day is devoted to repenting sins for the previous year and re-dedicating yourself for the year ahead.

When is Yom Kippur?

Yom Kippur starts at sundown on Sunday 24^th September and finishes in the evening of the 25^th September 2023. Although fixed in the Jewish calendar, the festival’s exact date varies because Jewish months are based on the lunar year.

Why is there Yom Kippur?

During Biblical times, rituals existed for the ancient Israelites/Jews to atone for their sins. It wasn’t until the second temple was built in Jerusalem (now the site of the Western Wall and Al Aqsa Mosque in modern Jerusalem) that the day of Yom Kippur was established and became the central day for atoning for sins. After the destruction of the Second Temple and the expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem, Yom Kippur then became the most important day in the Jewish Calendar.

Yom Kippur is a very solemn and mournful day and many Jews will try to remove themselves as much as possible from their everyday life. This enables them to focus on prayer and devote themselves to repentance and spirituality. Many Jews will refrain from eating or drinking for 25 hours (unless there is a risk to their mental or physical health to do so) and traditionally will wear all white. They may also refrain from washing, sexual relations and the wearing of leather. Many Jews will attend services in synagogue from sundown the evening before Yom Kippur and then all day the following day until sundown. You can find out more about the different services here. Leading up to Yom Kippur, many Jews will ask for forgiveness from people they have wronged throughout the year and across both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur they will donate money to charity.

At the end of Yom Kippur, a traditional ‘Break Fast’ is served, and many families or communities will gather to break the fast together. Food varies amongst communities, from bagels and smoked fish for Ashkenazi Jews to date-filled cookies for Iraqi Jews and lamb stew for Ethiopian Jews.

From our expert:

“On the surface it may sound like Yom Kippur is a hard day considering you don’t eat or drink and spend the whole day praying but for me it is such a calm, peaceful day where I get to consider how I can continue to do good in the world. Whilst the theme of the day is ‘atonement’ it isn’t necessarily about beating yourself up but about accepting that we all make mistakes but we can always try to do better. It’s a really powerful day for me and I value the peace it instils in me.”

Ariel Chapman, Senior Inclusion & Diversity Consultant

Yom Kippur facts you should know

Here are a few quick Yom Kippur facts to know:

• Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement and is the most important date in the Jewish Calendar
• Many Jews will fast for 25 hours throughout Yom Kippur
• The day is spent in prayer, contemplation, and is solemn and mournful.
• During the afternoon of Yom Kippur, a special memorial prayer service (Yizkor) takes place honouring the dead. It is customary for congregations to read the names of all those in their community who have died in the past year.
• Yom Kippur marks the end of the ‘Day of Awe’, which began with Rosh Hashanah—this period is for contemplation and renewal.
• Jews will donate money to charity throughout the Days of Awe
• Jewish and Israeli businesses will close entirely for the duration of the festival
• Yom Kippur evening ends with a break-fast meal, often with family or friends.

How to support Jewish colleagues in the workplace

There are numerous ways to celebrate and acknowledge Jewish colleagues at work, including:

• Amplify the voices of your Jewish colleagues – this can be done by inviting Jewish colleagues to speak at events and inviting Jewish colleagues to write blogs sharing their perspectives, making it easier for everyone to speak at meetings.
• Educate yourself and your teams on antisemitism.
• Use the bitesize inclusion toolkit to facilitate conversations about race and religion inclusion.
• Contact your account manager if you’re a member and need more support. If you’re not yet a member, get in touch today to see how we can help.