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The holiest day of the Jewish year begins today at sundown.
Judaism calls this holiest day Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
"The 10th day of the seventh month is the day when the annual ritual is to be performed to take away the sins of the people," according to Leviticus 23:26-27.
Yom Kippur is the day Jews around the world come to the synagogues "in numbers unlike any other time of the year, to seek repentance," said Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz.
Katz is the rabbi at the Congregation Achduth Vesholom in Fort Wayne, the oldest synagogue in Indiana. The synagogue was established in 1849.
"(Yom Kippur) is a time of no luxury," said Katz. Jews fast at sundown today through Thursday at sundown. During that time they focus on their spiritual well-being and preparation for Yom Kippur services.
The focus of Yom Kippur is atonement, a cleansing of regrettable acts. Along with atonement, "teshuva" plays a role as well. "Teshuva" is a Hebrew word meaning "to turn," said Katz. Jews are urged to turn away from, and forge a new life opposite of, their previous sinful ways.
Yom Kippur's initiative is to prompt Jews to forgiveness, first between God and man but also man to man.
Sins between God and man, or in Hebrew, "tzedaka," are, for example, broken vows or a failure to carry out an obligation.
The Day of Atonement provides the opportunity for cleansing but it also reminds Jews that seeking forgiveness should be done daily.
"Any day you could die, so you need to confess each day," said Katz.
But the repentance of sins is not all personal. During synagogue services, prayers are recited using the plural "we" and "our." These recitations are community prayers done on behalf of community sins. Jews also request forgiveness for sins committed against nature, according to Katz.
Yom Kippur ends with a blowing of the shofar, a ram's horn.
"Then, on the 10th day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement, send a man to blow a trumpet throughout the whole land," according to Leviticus 25:9.
