Yom Kippur

I wasn't planning to observe Yom Kippur as a college student abroad. That changed when I got to Munich.

I was ushered up the steps to the women’s section and handed a mahzor. I took a seat with them, ate a pretzel, drank my beer. The night before with my friends, as we walked through Oktoberfest, I didn’t tell them that the men banging on the tables, the loud singing, scared me. In the vestibule, I realized how out of place I was: a 19-year-old American student in leggings and a jean jacket, knapsack in tow. Opening that book to see Hebrew letters, my stomach dropped down, as if I were on a roller coaster. In English, I told them that I wanted to go in for services. I gasped audibly, and an older woman next to me reached out and put her hand on mine. I found a seat toward the back. I had been a kid who loved Hebrew school, but as I got closer to college, I felt the call to separate from the traditions of my childhood. I belong inside, I wanted to say. I grabbed for my water bottle, dehydrated from the night before. My best friend slept soundly in the bunk above me; the room was filled with other friends from our semester abroad in the Netherlands.

Chief rabbis, Jerusalem mayor preside over late-night prayers ahead of Day of Atonement, which begins Tuesday night; site sees more than 1 million visits ...

I'm proud to cover Israeli arts and culture for The Times of Israel. Roads will largely clear of cars by early Tuesday evening as is the national tradition — to be replaced with multitudes of people on bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles. The “selichot” service, a litany of penitential and supplicant prayers, is held nightly in the period before the Day of Atonement. Sign in to stop seeing this](//crm.timesofisrael.com/sign-in) Beginning Tuesday afternoon, all flights in and out of Ben Gurion Airport will be halted and Israel’s air space will close to flights passing through as Jewish Israelis mark Yom Kippur. Monday night’s service, which was held at the main plaza of the Western Wall, was led by a professional cantor.

Yom Kippur, a day of atonement and repentance, is the holiest Jewish holiday. In 2022, it starts on October 4.

A reminder of their "former, normal lives," the Kol Nidre passage recited on Yom Kippur "was an opportunity to cry and remember together."

For Jewish communities across the United States and around the world, Yom Kippur is a sacred and solemn occasion. During this holiest of days, ...

This year, Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Tuesday 4 October and ends at nightfall on Wednesday 5 October. Ultra-orthodox Jews returning from Yom Kippur ...

As celebs like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber popularize this 'wellness' treatment, Orthodox social media influencers tout the benefits of using the drips ...

By Adam B. Cohen. The Jewish High Holidays — Rosh Hashana (which already has passed) and Yom Kippur — are upon us. While the first really commemorates the ...