For Jews, Yom Kippur is the last of ten days of repentance, a ‘Sabbath of Sabbaths’. It is the holiest day of the Jewish year and is marked by ‘afflicting the soul’ – expressed through a 25 hour long fast. Jews spend the eve and most of the day in prayer, asking for forgiveness for past wrongs and resolving to improve in the future.

Just months after the people of Israel left Egypt in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), they went to Mount Sinai. Moses climbed to the top of the mountain and God gave him two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments on them. However, when Moses went down the mountain, he found the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. Moses was so angry that he threw the sacred tablets on the floor, and they shattered. The Israelites then atoned for their wrongdoing. Moses ascended Mount Sinai and prayed to God to forgive them. After two 40-day stints on the mountain, full Divine favour was obtained. The day Moses came down the mountain (the 10th of Tishrei) was to be known forevermore as the Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, Jews believe that they are closest to God and to the essence of their souls, as the verse states, “For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God.” (cf. Leviticus 16.30)

(cf. Chabad, 2022 What is Yom Kippur? available at: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/177886/jewish/What-Is-Yom-Kippur.htm#footnote1a177886 & BBC Bitesize, 2022 What is Yom Kippur? Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/znwhfg8/articles/z4vvjhv)

Paul Bryant
School Lay Chaplain & Head of Theology, Philosophy and Religion
Co-ordinator of SMSC