Jewish Communities Gather for Yom Kippur

MYRTLE BEACH, SC — Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the year for Jews worldwide – begins at sundown today with Jews looking into themselves and looking to God for forgiveness.

This year the holiday is even more special because it is a leap year and a sabbatical year, said Rabbi Doron Aizenman of Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center in Myrtle Beach.

“It is a special year. The translation of leap means to go over the top, so we hope this year we will make up and go over the top and it will be a powerful year,” Aizenman said. “It is a sabbatical year. Every seventh year you’re supposed to let the land rest. The land of Israel is supposed to rest too. It’s for the land to gain back its minerals and strength and for the person who works … to refresh your knowledge, spirit and focus.”

There are only two high holy days in Judaism – Rosh Hashana, the New Year, which begins 10 days earlier and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which ends the New Year’s celebrations on Saturday night, according to Preston L. McKever-Floyd, Coastal Carolina University chaplain and assistant professor of philosophy and religion.

Yom Kippur “is a day of fasting and prayer done at the end of the 10 days of penitence – Rosh Hashana. There is a ban on working on this day. Many Jewish people will spend the day in the synagogue in prayer and reflection,” McKever-Floyd said.

“The primary symbol for this day is the Kol Nidre, which is taken to be a prayer of forgiveness chanted at the end of the day; however, historically the Kol Nidre is understood as a legal formula for the nullification of vows.”

Jews observe Yom Kippur through prayer, repentance and worship services. Not only are they asking for improvement for the coming year, but they also deny the body sustenance through a 24-hour fast beginning at sundown today and lasting until Yom Kippur’s end at sundown Saturday.

During this time, Jews believe God gives out blessings and writes names in the Book of Life, said Lily Ann Revitch, president of the three-year-old Temple Shalom, which will hold its first Yom Kippur with its first Torah, considered the inspired word of God in the Jewish community. The more than century-old Torah was donated in August by members of the Congregation B’Nai Israel in Columbus, Miss.

“We repent on this one day of the year, so we get one chance. The hope is we will be inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming year,” Revitch said. “We ask God to forgive us if we have sinned and approach those who have been wronged by us and seek forgiveness. That’s a very important thing; you have to really go to that person and say, ‘I am sorry I wronged you,’ and they have to give you forgiveness before you can ask God to.”

But Jews also pray for others and their communities during this time and seek God’s favor.

“When we pray, we pray for peace; we not only pray for ourselves, but for the entire world. It’s our opportunity as a community to not only pray for ourselves, but we ask over and over again for peace in our time for the entire world,” Revitch said. “This is a time we come back to the religion and we feel closer and more a part of it.”

Aizenman said Jewish traditions began 5,768 years ago with the creation of the world.

“The New Year is the day Adam was created, on the sixth day of creation. Although science will dispute the age of the world, we strongly believe it is not a contradiction,” Aizenman said.

“Spiritually, it’s a year of rejuvenation. We can’t run away from our work, but we can change the mode and be less stressed. We shouldn’t try to solve all the problems that come our way, but let God handle them.”