Jewish High Holy Days

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was celebrated by the Jewish tradition last week, ringing in the Hebrew year 5777.  On the heels of Rosh Hashanah, Jews will move into honoring Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, the holiest of all Jewish days.  Together these two celebrations comprise the Jewish High Holy Days, a ten-day period of soul searching.  These ten days are a time for reflecting on the past year, making amends and celebrating hope for the future.

Yom Kippur requires healthy adults to refrain from eating and drinking from sunset to sunset to remind of the frailty of the human body and the many ways humans are tempted.  Similar to practices in other religions (Christianity’s Lent and Islam’s Ramadan), the restrictions of Yom Kippur help individuals to focus on their senses and to realize their ability to resist temptation.

To all our Jewish friends, as you enter into Yom Kippur, “G’mar Hatimah Tovah!”