Not for nothing, about 65% of Israelis fast on Yom Kippur.
Everyone's connection to their inner Jewish point, the desire to cleanse themselves of the sins of the past and open a new, better page is shared by all and is expressed in the partnership in fasting.
This fast is the only fast we are commanded in the Torah.
The fast begins before sunset and ends the next day after the stars come out.
Fasting is postponed due to mental health or a medical condition that requires eating and drinking, but even in these situations the appropriate halachic way is to eat and drink in small amounts of up to 30 grams for eating and 40 cc for drinking and waiting 9 minutes between eating and eating and between drinking and drinking. If medically necessary, the time differences can be reduced. When in doubt, one should consult with the personal doctor and a halachic judge knowledgeable in these matters. Fasting constitutes fulfillment of the Torah's commandment 'and you shall torture your souls' and it provides the appropriate infrastructure for the prayer and soul-searching required of us on this day.
Prayer at the Western Wall, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Important points for prayer
Entering the synagogue for those who are not used to it can be complex and complicated.
Here are a few points that being familiar with can make praying in the synagogue easier and more pleasant and special/accessible.
A cycle of prayers for Yom Kippur:
It is advisable to purchase a cycle in advance that contains the prayers for Yom Kippur.
It is advisable to find out beforehand what is the version in which you pray in the synagogue you want to join and buy the cycle according to this version.
A cycle in the Ashkenazi style at a synagogue of the Mizrah denomination or vice versa - will not allow the joiner to pray together with everyone else.
There are synagogues where the worshipers use cycles that the synagogue provides them, thereby eliminating the need to buy a cycle.
Seating:
There are synagogues where the worshipers pay to buy seating before the terrible days and there are other synagogues (mainly those of the Mizrahi ethnic group) where no seating is sold at all.
In any case, it is advisable when you arrive at the synagogue to approach the person in charge/collector and ask him to show you where you can sit without taking a place reserved for another worshiper.
In any case, in most synagogues, even those who buy seats in them, leave seats available for guests and additional worshipers who did not purchase a seat in advance.
The prayers on Yom Kippur
The men usually wrap themselves in a tallit at all Yom Kippur prayers, but even those who do not have a tallit and did not find an available tallit in the synagogue, this does not prevent them from participating in the prayer.
The Yom Kippur prayer opens with a public recitation of 'All Vows', known mainly for the traditional melody used in Ashkenaz communities for hundreds of years.
The text deals with a kind of public loosening of vows to enter the day without remnants of vows from the past.
At this time, the blessing 'Shah Ha'ino' is said by the cantor and the audience together and it symbolizes the entrance to the holiness of Yom Kippur.
Every weekday there are 3 prayers: Arabic, Shacharit and Mincha.
On Saturdays and special days there are 4 prayers, since the additional prayer is also prayed.
Only on Yom Kippur we pray 5 prayers - when this day is sealed with the closing prayer said this is the only time of the year.
Jewish worshipers on Yom Kippur, photo: Getty Images
The prayers on this day are longer than usual (there are synagogues where the prayer continues from the morning hours until the stars come out without a break, and in other places there is a break that is used for study or for a few hours of rest between the morning and Mossaf prayers and the Minah and closing prayers).
The central part of each of the prayers is the standing prayer which includes a 'confession' in which each worshiper confesses his past sins and undertakes to change his ways.
The closing prayer is considered the highlight of Yom Kippur and at the end is the blowing of a shofar symbolizing the blowing of the shofar in the Jubilee calling for the release of slaves, as well as the prayer to 'blow a big shofar for our freedom'.
The World Organization of Orthodox Synagogues calls on synagogue collectors and community leaders to be alert to guests who are expected to come to prayers on this day, to assist them in finding a place to sit, and to guide them in prayer.
The writer is the director of the World Organization of Synagogues
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us