50 Fun Facts About Yom Kippur

What does the Hebrew name Yom Kippur literally mean?

Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day of the Jewish year, so even many Jews who keep no other holiday fast and fill the synagogues.

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.

Which Leonard Cohen song takes its litany of fates from Unetanneh Tokef, a High Holy Day prayer?

Who by Fire. Cohen wrote it after singing for Israeli soldiers in the Sinai during the 1973 war, and he added one question the prayer never asks: 'And who shall I say is calling?'

Tradition says God writes everyone's fate in the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah and does what on Yom Kippur?

Seals the verdict. The gap between writing and sealing is the point: for ten days the decree can still be softened, tradition says, by repentance, prayer and charity.

The Yom Kippur fast runs from sundown until when?

Nightfall the following day. That makes the fast about 25 hours long, not 24, because a little time is added at each end so that no part of the day is cut short.

Besides food and drink, the Yom Kippur fast traditionally forbids the wearing of what?

Leather shoes. Leather once stood for luxury, which is why so many worshippers turn up at synagogue on the fast in trainers.

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

The shofar. One long blast of the ram's horn ends the fast; some trace the custom to the biblical order to sound it on Yom Kippur of the Jubilee, the fiftieth year.

Kol Nidre, chanted as Yom Kippur begins, is a legal formula that cancels what?

Personal vows to God. Promises made to other people stay binding, a point rabbis had to repeat for centuries because hostile critics cited the chant as proof that a Jew's oath could not be trusted.

Rather than Hebrew, Kol Nidre is chanted in which language in most Jewish rites?

Aramaic. Strictly it is a legal declaration, not a prayer, and the oldest surviving wording, preserved in the prayer book of Rav Amram Gaon, was in Hebrew after all.

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

Max Bruch. He was a German Protestant who learned the tune from a Berlin cantor's family, and the piece was so convincing that many listeners assumed he was Jewish, which he denied.

Kol Nidre provides the climax of which landmark 1927 film?

The Jazz Singer. In the first feature film with spoken dialogue, Al Jolson's character walks out on his Broadway opening night to chant the prayer in place of his dying father.

Which harvest festival begins just five days after Yom Kippur?

Sukkot. Many families start building the sukkah, the festival's outdoor hut, on the very evening the fast ends, going straight from the most solemn day of the year to a week of feasting.

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

Ne'ila. The name is usually read as the gates of heaven swinging shut at sunset, so the ark is left open and worshippers traditionally stay on their feet for these last prayers while there is still time.

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

Jonah. The prophet tries to run from his mission, and the book ends with God sparing a city that repents, a pointed choice for the last hours of a day about second chances.

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

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

In the Torah, the Yom Kippur goat that gave English the word 'scapegoat' is sent into the wilderness 'for' which mysterious name?

Azazel. Nobody is sure whether the word named a desert demon, a rugged cliff or simply meant 'the goat that goes away'; the last reading is the one that produced the English word.

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

William Tyndale. He built it from 'scape', a short form of escape, to render a Latin phrase for the goat that is sent away; six years later he was strangled as a heretic for his translations.

What colour was the strip tied between the scapegoat's horns, the colour Isaiah uses for sin?

Crimson. Tradition says a strip of the same crimson turned white once the goat reached the wilderness, the sign that the people were forgiven and their sins made 'white as snow'.

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

The Holy of Holies. He went in alone, first with a pan of burning incense so that smoke filled the chamber, and only then with the blood of the sacrifices.

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

Avodah. As the cantor retells each step, from the High Priest's confessions to the sending away of the goat, worshippers are meant to picture themselves standing in the Temple as it happens.

Rabbinic tradition holds that Yom Kippur is the day Moses came down from Sinai carrying what?

The second tablets. He had smashed the first pair over the golden calf, so his return with replacements meant the people were forgiven, and the date became the yearly day of pardon.

The Talmud says Yom Kippur atones for sins against other people only once what has happened?

The wronged person has been appeased. Prayer can settle only what is owed to God, so the day before the fast is spent seeking out friends and relatives to apologise face to face.

What is the white robe that many Ashkenazi men wear on Yom Kippur, at their wedding and finally as a burial shroud?

Kittel. Wearing what will one day be your shroud is the point: the simple robe, made without pockets, tells its wearer on the day of judgment that nothing is taken to the grave.

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

A chicken or money. Either one then goes to the poor; some of the greatest medieval rabbis attacked the chicken version as too much like a pagan rite, long before anyone raised animal welfare.

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

Kreplach. The meat hidden inside the dough is read as stern justice wrapped in mercy, which is why the dumplings turn up on days when a kind verdict is hoped for.

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

Bagels, cream cheese and lox. The meal is eaten after dark, yet by custom it is a dairy spread that looks far more like breakfast or brunch than like dinner.

Yom Kippur eve is the only night of the year when worshippers wear which item, normally put on only in daylight?

A prayer shawl. The tallit is otherwise a daytime garment, but on this one night it is put on for the opening service and kept on through the next day as a mark of special reverence.

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

Yizkor. The name is its first word, 'may God remember'; worshippers traditionally pledge charity in memory of their dead, and the service draws many Jews who rarely attend synagogue otherwise.

Which phrase, also sung at the end of the Passover seder, closes Yom Kippur in many Ashkenazi synagogues?

'Next Year in Jerusalem'. The same words end the two great set pieces of the Jewish year, and commentators read them as a reminder of life in exile and of the hope of return.

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

They all shut down. No law stops people driving either, yet almost nobody does, and in 1973 those empty roads are thought to have helped Israel rush its reservists to the front when war broke out on the fast.

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

Bicycle riding. With no cars moving, riders of all ages take over even the main highways, and some pedal the whole way from Tel Aviv up to Jerusalem and back.

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

Egypt and Syria. Their planners picked the date partly because Israel would be fasting; it also fell in Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, which is why the conflict is also known as the Ramadan War.

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

Sandy Koufax. Don Drysdale started instead, was hit hard and told his manager, 'I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too'; Koufax came back to pitch shutouts in Games 5 and 7.

Which Detroit Tigers slugger sat out Yom Kippur during the 1934 pennant race and got a standing ovation at synagogue?

Hank Greenberg. He had played on Rosh Hashanah days earlier and won the game with two home runs; when he then stayed away for the fast, a Detroit newspaper poet saluted him in verse.

Which world body first officially recognised Yom Kippur in 2016, barring meetings that day?

The United Nations. It was the first Jewish holiday the organisation had ever recognised, and it meant Jewish staff could take the day off as a holiday instead of using up their leave.

What does Jewish law require of someone whose health would be endangered by fasting on Yom Kippur?

They must eat. Protecting life outranks the fast, so for a person in danger eating becomes the religious duty of the day, ideally a little at a time.

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.

Which book of the Torah sets out the Yom Kippur ritual of the High Priest and the two goats?

Leviticus. Chapter 16 gives the ritual as God's instruction after two of Aaron's sons died for approaching the sanctuary wrongly, and it is still read aloud on the morning of the fast.

For the heart of the Yom Kippur Temple service, the High Priest took off his golden vestments and put on what?

Plain white linen. The simple robes, worn on no other day, are read as a sign of humility, and they are one reason worshippers still dress in white for the fast.

Boys must fast on Yom Kippur from the age of which ceremony?

Bar mitzvah. The fast is a commandment, and commandments bind only from religious adulthood, which arrives at 13 for boys and at 12 for girls.

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

Shabbat. When the two fall together the fast simply wins, because the Torah itself calls Yom Kippur a 'Sabbath of Sabbaths', the most complete day of rest in the year.

On the eve of Yom Kippur many observant Jews immerse themselves in which ritual bath?

A mikveh. The dip echoes the Temple service, in which the High Priest immersed five times in a single day, once at every change of his vestments.

Isaiah's words, read on Yom Kippur morning, say God ignores the prayers of someone who does what?

Fasts while continuing to do evil. Isaiah mocks those who bow their heads like reeds while quarrelling and squeezing their workers; the fast God wants, he says, is to free the oppressed and feed the hungry.

Who was Israel's prime minister when war broke out on Yom Kippur in 1973?

Golda Meir. Warned that morning, she ruled out striking first so that Israel could not be blamed for starting the war and lose American help; she resigned the following April.

In the book read on Yom Kippur afternoon, which great city repents and is spared?

Nineveh. Its people fast in sackcloth and are forgiven, and the story ends with the prophet sulking that God has shown mercy to his enemies.

The confession of sins recited ten times over Yom Kippur is known by which Hebrew name?

Vidui. It is said twice in every one of the day's services, once silently and once aloud with the congregation, so that nobody gets through the fast without owning up again and again.

The Yom Kippur confession says 'we have sinned' on whose behalf?

The whole Jewish people. The lists run through the Hebrew alphabet in the plural on the view that every sin named has been committed by somebody, so each worshipper answers for all.

What does 'Tsom Kal', the greeting Israelis exchange before Yom Kippur, mean?

An easy fast. Israelis say it to everyone beforehand, whether or not they expect the other person to fast at all, and a second version wishes a 'beneficial' fast instead.

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

The vineyards. The young women danced there in borrowed white dresses, so that none was shamed for lacking one, and called on the men to choose for family, not looks.

What do Orthodox worshippers do on Yom Kippur each time the cantor recounts the High Priest pronouncing God's name?

Prostrate fully. They kneel and put their faces to the floor as the crowd in the Temple courtyard once did, one of the very few moments in the year when Jewish worshippers bow to the ground.