Yom Kippur (1) - Customs and Laws

Here is a quick summary of some of the laws and customs of Yom Kippur. I hope this is a good refresher or adds to your knowledge repetoire and answers some of the questions that people have asked.


See here for more details:
The picture is from here.

1. On Yom Kippur, there is no eating/drinking, pleasure washing/bathing (other than for hygenic reasons), annointing with lotions, wearing leather shoes or marital relations. If your doctor tells you that you need to eat/drink, please speak to Rabbi Shlomo or to me via the Shul office for advice on how best to do this on Yom Kippur.



2. Yom Kippur has the same rules as Shabbat, other than eating! Therefore, please bring everything that you need for Shul/Britannia before the fast starts when you arrive for Kol Nidrei (which starts at 6.47pm). There is no need to bring your 'ticket' card. You can leave your belongings in the Shul or in the relevant rooms in the Britannia.


3. Men who wear a Talis should don their Talis before Kol Nidrei. Please make sure that anything you bring with you is marked with your name.


4. On the day before Yom Kippur, erev Yom Kippur (this year, erev Yom Kippur is Thursday night and Friday day prior to the start of Yom Kippur), try and have a somewhat festive meal as your last meal before the fast with special foods. The chazan's tip for the pre-fast meal is: brown pasta and grapes. Try it, you might like it!


5. If you do kaparot, follow the instructions in the Machzor and use money (email me if you want to know what this is).


6. If you are one of those men who has the custom of going to the Mikva on Erev Yom Kippur but cannot get there due to work pressures, email me for advice.


7. Mincha on Erev Yom Kippur has the special Vidu'i prayers. It is at 2.30pm in the Shul as it is preferable to daven Mincha before the pre-Yom Kippur meal. If you cannot make that, there is a second chance at 6.30pm at both the Shul and the Britannia.


8. Dont forget that Yom Kippur is a great time for mending fences with people who may deserve an apology from us or for warming up things which have cooled. It is a time to make amends and trying to move on. It is a time where we may wish to consider treating others in the way that we would like to be treated ourselves.

This is also why it is a particularly auspicious time for good deeds and acts of tzedaka, charity.

If you have any further Yom Kippur questions, please email me

May we all make the most of Yom Kippur, a day which gives an unparalleled opportunity for self-appraisal, feeling part of a community, setting our ambitions for the year and moving on from aspects of the past. As one Chasidic rebbe said (paraphrasing), 'Yom Kippur for me is the happiest day of the year as it presents these opportunities and the chance for me to feel closer to my heritage and G-d. So how could I think of eating!'

Whilst we may not all attain such an attitude (!), this Rebbe should challenges us all to get more out of Yom Kippur than we may be happy to settle for.

May you all have a tzom kal ve'moil, a safe and meaningful fast and a gemar chatima tova (see the pre-Rosh Hashana post for what that means!)