Yom Kippur greetings: What to say to commemorate Yom Kippur
THE holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, began on Tuesday at sundown. Here is what to say to commemorate the holy day.
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Known as the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur occurs on the tenth day of the seventh month in Judaism.
Jews around the world are preparing to observe the holiest day in the Jewish calendar when it began at sundown on September 18.
The holy day is marked by fasting and intensive prayer, with majority of the day spent in the synagogue.
Translated to English from Hebrew Yom Kippur means “day to atone”.
On this holy day, Jews believe themselves to be closest to God and to the “essence” of their souls.
One verse to describe Yom Kippur from the Hebrew Bible, Leviticus verse 30 is: “For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God.”
Forgiveness is asked from God, as the holy day centres on atonement for sins.
According to Jewish tradition, God writes each person’s fate for the next year into a book known as the Book of Life.
This takes place on Rosh Hashanah, with God waiting until Yom Kippur to ‘seal’ the outcome.
Rosh Hashanah takes place on the first day of the seventh month, Tishrei, whilst Yom Kippur is on the tenth day of Tishrei.
What to say to commemorate Yom Kippur
As Yom Kippur is a day based around the reflection of one’s sins, wishing someone a “Happy Yom Kippur” isn’t typically said.
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However, one greeting for Yom Kippur is “G’mar Hatima Tova” which translates to “may you be sealed in the Book of Life.”
Another way of saying this is “G’mar Tov” which means “a good seal”.
An alternate greeting is to bid someone a “meaningful fast” or “have an easy fast” before the holiday begins.
For anyone not fasting but still commemorating the holy day, one phase to say is “Good Yuntif” or “Yom Tov” which are Yiddish and Hebrew for “Have a good holy day”.
How is the holy day observed?
The Jewish or Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which means that the moon’s phases determine the dates for Jewish holidays.
Also known as the “Sabbath of Sabbaths”, Yom Kippur takes place on the tenth day of the month of Tishrei.
The holiest day lasts for 25, nearly 26 hours, during which there are five synagogue services that take place.
These are: Kol Nidrei, Shachrit, Musaf, Mincha and Ne’ilah.
Services include Jews asking for forgiveness by reciting Vidui (confessions).
Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of Shema Yisrael and the blowing of the shofar.
This commemorates the end of the fast.A shofar is an ancient musical horn, typically crafted from a ram’s horn, used during Jewish religious services.