Yom Kippur is one the the most important Jewish holidays.
It is a holy day focusing completely on Repentance to God about One’s actions in that year.
Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25 hours-long fast and intensive prayer, as many are spending most of the day in synagogue, praying for repentance.
As the fast is long (25 hours) and it’s entire purpose is avoiding any sort of physical pleasures- therefore Jews avoid eating or drinking, wearing leather, lighting fire (or even using electricity), they also abstain from sexual relations, don’t apply any creams or lotions and just spend the day in synagoge praying and begging for God’s forgiveness.
Yom Kippur also means “Day of Atonement,” it is the holiest day of the year, in this day God inscribes every single person’s name into one for two books: the book of life and the book of death. As each one of those books will be a person’s destiny for the upcoming year.
History of Yom Kippur:
Only months after the people of Israel left Egypt they sinned – they started worshipping a Golden Calf. As Moses saw the people of Israel sin, he angrily broke the Tablets of Stone he had just received and went back to mount Sinai to pray for God’s forgiveness.
The day Moses returned and came down was the day of Atonement -Yom Kippur.
Later on that year the people of Israel built a center for prayers and sacrificial offerings (Tabernacle) it’s service’s climax was on Yom Kippur, when the High Priest performed a specially prescribed service that included sacrificing 2 goats.
