Yom Kippur
YOM KIPPUR (Day of Atonement) 5783 (2022) [notice…the Jewish people have been observing the High Holy Days for over 5700 years!]
This year the Jewish High Holy Day of Yom Kippur begins at sundown on October 4 with Kol Nidrei (all vows) and continues for 24 hours until sundown on October 5 when the "gates are closed" for another year.
Yom means "day" in Hebrew and Kippur is translated to "atonement." The common English translation of Yom Kippur is Day of Atonement. The name Yom Kippur is based on the Torah verse "...but on the 10th day of the seventh month it is the day of kippurim unto you..." The literal translation of kippurim is cleansing. Yom Kippur is a Jewish High Holy Day to atone for misdeeds and become cleansed and purified from them.
Leviticus 16:29 mandates establishment of this holy day on the tenth day of the seventh month as the day of atonement for sins. It calls it the Sabbath of Sabbaths and a day upon which one must examine one's soul. Leviticus 23:27 decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest.
Five prohibitions are traditionally observed, as detailed in the Jewish oral tradition. The prohibitions are the following:
No eating and drinking
No wearing of leather shoes
No bathing or washing
No anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
No marital relations
By refraining from these activities, the body is uncomfortable but can still survive. The soul is considered to be the life force in a body. Therefore, by making one’s body uncomfortable, one’s soul is uncomfortable. By GIVING UP food for the period, one feels how others may feel when they go without and we empathize with other humans. This is ONE REASON for the prohibitions.
Many consider Yom Kippur to be the most important holy day is the Jewish year. Attendance at synagogue increases on that day as does the number of prayer services.
Some notable athletes have observed Yom Kippur, even when it conflicted with playing their sport.
In baseball, Sandy Koufax, the Hall of Fame pitcher, decided not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. Koufax garnered national attention for his decision, as an example of the conflict between social pressures and personal beliefs. (Twins fans wish he would have taken a few more days off.)