Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgment, is the culmination of 10 days of repentance. To the Rabbis, Yom Kippur marked the climax of the trial of the people; it was when God sealed names in the book of life, or in the book of death. Yom Kippur is so important to the Jews that it is sometimes referred to as “the Sabbath of Sabbaths” and is the only fast day that can fall on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath). The day is spent in Synagogue praying and supplicating to God to be sealed in the book of Life. Yom Kippur is not a sad day; it is a day of reflection and atonement. Fasting is used not as a punishment, but as a cleansing of the body as well as the spirit.
Oh Lord, what sinful creatures we are! Bring to our minds those unconfessed sins You wish us to give to You. Remember that we are dust and remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. Amen.
Psalm 103:12-14
