50 Fun Facts About Yom Kippur

What does the Hebrew name Yom Kippur literally mean?

Its formal biblical name is Yom HaKippurim, 'day of the atonements'; the singular form spread in the Middle Ages.

Yom Kippur falls on the 10th day of which Hebrew month?

That puts it in late September or early October, nine days after the first day of Rosh Hashanah.

Yom Kippur is the last of a period of how many 'Days of Repentance' that begin with Rosh Hashanah?

Together the two festivals make up the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe.

According to Jewish tradition, God writes each person's fate in the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah and does what on Yom Kippur?

The Unetanneh Tokef poem puts it as 'On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on the Yom Kippur fast it is sealed'.

The Yom Kippur fast runs from sundown until when?

A few minutes are added at each end, called tosefet Yom Kippur.

Besides fasting, Yom Kippur's five traditional prohibitions include not wearing what?

The others are no bathing, no anointing with perfumes or lotions, and no marital relations.

What instrument is blown at the end of Yom Kippur to mark the conclusion of the fast?

Some trace the custom to the biblical command to sound it on Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year.

The dramatic prayer chanted before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, releasing personal vows, is called what?

The cantor stands with two community members at his sides before the open ark; the Ashkenazic melody dates to the 16th century.

Kol Nidre is chanted in which language in most rites?

Only the Italian and Romaniote rites recite it in Hebrew, as Kol Nedarim.

Which composer wrote a famous piece for cello and orchestra based on the Kol Nidre melody?

Arnold Schoenberg also set the prayer, and John Zorn wrote a string quartet on it.

Kol Nidre plays a climactic role in which 1927 film, the first feature with synchronised dialogue, and its remakes?

Al Jolson's cantor's son must choose between Broadway and singing Kol Nidre in his dying father's place.

How many prayer services are held on Yom Kippur, more than any other day of the Jewish year?

The usual three plus Mussaf are joined by Ne'ila, the 'closing' service said as the gates of prayer shut.

The closing service of Yom Kippur, held on no other day, is called what?

Its name means 'locking', for the closing of the heavenly gates as the day ends.

Which biblical book is read in its entirety as the afternoon Haftarah on Yom Kippur?

Its theme is God's willingness to forgive those who repent, as the people of Nineveh do.

In the Book of Jonah, the prophet spends three days and nights inside what?

The Hebrew text never says whale, only 'great fish'.

The English word 'scapegoat' comes from the Yom Kippur Temple ritual in which a goat was sent into the wilderness to what entity?

Lots were drawn over two goats: one was sacrificed, the other carried the people's sins away and was thrown off a cliff.

Which English Bible translator coined '(e)scape goat' in his 1530 translation?

The rendering stuck and became the modern word for someone blamed for others' faults.

A cord of what colour was tied around the scapegoat's horns, and was said to turn white in years when the people's sins were forgiven?

It echoes Isaiah's promise: 'if their sins are like crimson, they shall become white as snow'.

Yom Kippur was the only day of the year the High Priest was permitted to enter which part of the Temple?

He entered several times, first to fill it with incense smoke, then to offer the sacrifices of atonement.

The section of the Yom Kippur Mussaf prayer that recounts the Temple service in detail is called what?

The rabbis codified the service in the Mishnah tractate Yoma, still studied on the day.

According to rabbinic tradition, which biblical event happened on the date of Yom Kippur?

Moses announced the people had been forgiven for the golden calf, so the Torah fixed the date as a permanent day of forgiveness.

The Talmud says Yom Kippur atones for sins against God but not for sins against other people until what happens?

Hence the custom of asking forgiveness from friends and family on Erev Yom Kippur.

Many married Ashkenazi men wear a white robe on Yom Kippur that is also worn on their wedding day and used as a burial shroud. What is it called?

White symbolises purity and the angels; the same robe is worn to lead the Passover seder.

In the kapparot ritual performed by some on the eve of Yom Kippur, what is waved over a person's head?

The chicken is then slaughtered and given to charity, or the money is donated.

Which filled dumplings are traditionally served at the pre-fast meal before Yom Kippur?

Halakha actually requires eating on Erev Yom Kippur; the festive meal is held before because it cannot be held on the day.

North American Ashkenazi Jews traditionally break the Yom Kippur fast with what?

Sephardic communities often start with a drink made from melon seeds, followed by coffee and biscochos.

Sephardic communities in Turkey and Greece traditionally break the fast with a drink made from the seeds of what?

Turkish Jews call it subiye and Greek Jews pepitada.

The memorial prayer for the dead recited in most communities on Yom Kippur morning is known by what name?

Its name means 'may God remember'; those whose parents have died also light a yahrzeit candle before the day begins.

What phrase is traditionally recited at the conclusion of Ne'ila, as it is at the end of the Passover seder?

It first appears in the Yom Kippur liturgy in the Machzor Vitry of the 12th to 13th centuries.

In Israel on Yom Kippur, what happens to the country's airports, broadcasters and public transport?

There is no law against driving, but almost nobody does, and secular children take over the empty roads on bicycles.

What activity has become common among secular Israeli youths on the empty streets of Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur?

With no cars on the roads, the motorways become playgrounds for the day.

The Yom Kippur War began on 6 October 1973 with a surprise attack on Israel by which two countries?

Air raid sirens sounded on the afternoon of the fast and radio broadcasts resumed to alert the public; the date was also the 10th of Ramadan.

Which Dodgers pitcher famously refused to start Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur?

He came back to pitch two shutouts, including Game 7, then went straight to a night class at Columbia.

In 1934 which Detroit Tigers slugger sat out Yom Kippur in a pennant race and got a standing ovation when he walked into synagogue?

After consulting his rabbi he had played on Rosh Hashanah, hitting two home runs, but drew the line at the Day of Atonement.

In which year did the United Nations first officially recognise Yom Kippur, promising no official meetings on the day?

It became one of seven floating holidays staff could choose, alongside Diwali, Vesak and Orthodox Christmas, the first Jewish holiday the UN recognised.

What is the earliest Gregorian date on which Yom Kippur can fall, as it did in 2013?

The latest is 14 October, as in 1967; after 2089 the drift between calendars means it will never again fall before 15 September.

Along with Tu B'Av, Yom Kippur was historically considered one of the two what of the Jewish year?

The Mishnah describes young people meeting in the vineyards on both days to arrange marriages.

The laws of Yom Kippur are commanded in three passages of the Torah, chiefly which chapter describing Aaron's sacrificial service?

It is also the Torah reading on Yom Kippur morning, divided into six portions.

The Torah tells Jews to 'afflict themselves' on Yom Kippur. Which medieval authority said the purpose of the fast was simply to remove distractions from repentance?

Other explanations compare fasting Jews to angels, or see the fast as replacing the burnt fat and blood of Temple sacrifices.

Traditionally, fasting on Yom Kippur is required of boys from what age?

Girls fast from 12; anyone whose health is endangered is actually required to eat.

Yom Kippur is one of the only occasions on which fasting is permitted on which day?

Every other fast that lands on the Sabbath is postponed or moved forward.

Yom Kippur can never fall on which days of the week?

The Hebrew calendar is arranged so it lands only on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday.

The reading from Isaiah on Yom Kippur morning warns that God will ignore the prayers of a person who does what?

The Haftarah is Isaiah 57:14–58:14.

The dramatic Ashkenazic melody used for Kol Nidre dates back to which century?

The cantor chants it before the open ark flanked by two members of the community, and the text renounces personal vows rather than asking forgiveness.

In which rites is Kol Nidre chanted in Hebrew instead of the usual Aramaic?

The Romaniote Jews of Greece and Italy's ancient communities preserve several liturgical quirks that set them apart from both Ashkenazi and Sephardi practice.

How many times in total is the confession, or vidui, recited over Yom Kippur?

It is said once silently and once communally in each of the day's prayer services.

The short Yom Kippur confession, an alphabetical list of sins, opens with which word?

The long confession that follows, Al Cheyt, runs through 22 acrostics and is dropped from the closing Ne'ila service.

Israelis commonly wish each other 'Tsom Kal' before Yom Kippur. What does it mean?

The greeting is offered to everyone, whether or not they are known to be fasting, and 'Tsom Mo'il' (a beneficial fast) is an alternative.

Per the Mishnah, where did young men and women once meet on Yom Kippur to arrange marriages?

The story echoes the biblical episode in which Benjaminites were allowed to take wives from among women dancing in the vineyards.

What do Orthodox congregations do when the Avodah recounts the High Priest saying God's name?

Those three moments are among the only times in Jewish services when worshippers bow fully to the ground.