Did you know that today is Yom Kippur? Well technically, Yom Kippur began yesterday (October 11) at sunset.
Yom Kippur is the Jewish new year festival, and is also known as the Day of Atonement. Click here to listen to festival music – found in our digital collections.
It is mainly observed by Samaritans, Jews and other Christian religious groups. Observance of the festival typically includes fasting, prayer, abstaining from physical pleasures and working is restricted. Celebrations can be done at home or any other particular place. Yom Kippur is considered to be the “Sabbath of Sabbaths”. The greeting for the Yom kippur is “G’mar chatimah Tovah”, meaning “May be sealed for the good year ahead”. (http://www.yomkippur-2016.com/2016/09/yom-kippur-2016-celebration-ideas.html)
If this festival, the tradition and other Jewish observances are of interest to you, see also this ELI Talk by Rabbi Arielle Hanien, Co-Founder of the Neshama Center. In it, she explores the resonance of Jewish ritual wisdom with cutting edge neuroscience research; arguing that the ancient psychological insight of Jewish rituals offer a unique path to mental health and wholeness through an integration of senses, memory, intellect, and emotion.
G’mar chatimah Tovah to all!
Note: We want to be respectful of this sacred festival! If anyone has better sources to cite and describe Yom Kippur, please feel free to share it in the comments. We will revise/edit the post accordingly.
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