Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It means ‘Day of Atonement’ and it’s when Jewish people seek forgiveness from God for their sins. We meet some kids who’ve just taken part in Yom Kippur.

DANIEL: Judaism is one of the world's main religions, one of the three main in the world, it was created 5000 years ago, that's what Jewish people believe.

We have a religious book called the Torah or the Bible, and many celebrations and important dates throughout the year like Yom Kippur.

TAL: It means Day of Atonement, when we seek forgiveness from God for our sins.

So the first Yom Kippur was when the Israelites left Egypt. Their leader Moses went up a big mountain and asked God for the Commandments. He wrote the Commandments on stone tablets and gave them to Moses.

SHANI: And then he came back down the mountain and saw that the Jews were praising a different God which made him really angry and he broke the Commandments. Then he went back up the mountain and God forgave them and gave them a second set of tablets. The day God forgave them was the first Yom Kippur.

NICOLE: Every year after that, Jewish people took part in Yom Kippur and reconnected with God.
TAL: Before Yom Kippur begins, we eat two big meals to get ready.

NICOLE: You ask for honey cake so you can have a start of the new year to be very, very sweet so then you can have a sweet year.

JACKSON: During Yom Kippur, we ask God to forgive us for things we've done wrong. If we've wronged our friends, we need to ask them for forgiveness before we ask God for forgiveness.

We spend close to 26 hours fasting, which means no food and no drink.

NICOLE: You can't have anything that you pleasure so you can't wear leather things and you can't get showered and have makeup on.
We also don't turn electricity on or off. Yep, no phones, no TV, or laptops. So the hardest thing for me is when you see another person eat.

TAL: Many Jewish people go to the Synagogue and pray a lot during Yom Kippur.

NICOLE: When night falls, a special trumpet made from a ram's horn called the Shofar is sounded which marks the end of Yom Kippur.

SHANI: The shofar symbolises the closing of the sky at the end of Yom Kippur when Yom Kippur is over and we can finish fasting.

JACKSON: Then, everyone sings and dances, and knows that God has blessed them with a good year.

NICOLE: We break our fast with a big dinner. My favourite thing about Yom Kippur is eating at the end.

SHANI: My favourite thing about Yom Kippur is hanging out with my friends and how we all fast and just talk about how hard it is to fast.

JACKSON: Thanks for letting us teach you about Yom Kippur.

~ Special thanks to Rabbi Yossi Engel of Chabad South Australia ~

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