Celebration of Yom Kippur Starts at Sunset Today

From sunset today through sunset Saturday, Jews across Orange County will celebrate Yom Kippur, the holiest of holidays on the Jewish calendar.

The Day of Atonement is most commonly known as the culmination of a 10-day period that begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and is a time for introspection and self-scrutiny.

The holiday also represents the end of a 40-day period, which begins with the Hebrew month of Elul, that prepares Jews for the final 10 days, said Rabbi Mark S. Miller of Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach.

“This is the time when we feel God is closest to us and most receptive to our prayers for forgiveness,” he said. “Through prayer, fasting, atonement and reconciliation, we hope to emerge from the . . . period renewed and purified and with a new sense of direction and purpose.”

The county is home to an estimated 70,000 Jews, many of whom belong to 22 Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox congregations. For many, Yom Kippur is a time for reconciliation with both neighbors and God, Miller said.

During the holiday, the faithful express regret over past actions in prayer and seek forgiveness.

“Fasting demonstrates the idea of sacrifice, emphasizes the spiritual and the soul rather than the physical and the body,” Miller said. “We’re supposed to be as angelic as possible, as the angels neither eat nor drink.”

“You are not even supposed to brush your teeth,” said Joan Kaye, executive director of the Bureau of Jewish Education. “Nothing is supposed to go past your lips.”

Pregnant women, the young and people in poor health are forbidden from fasting, however, as part of a religious tradition which holds that health takes first priority, Kaye said.