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Yom Kipper or Day of Atonement is the holiest holiday of the Jewish year. It is a day of rigorous fasting and repentance. It is a culmination of the Days of Awe or Days of Penitence, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Continual services are held in the synagogue starting the evening before and continuing throughout the day. The most devout and orthodox Jews will stand during the entire period even all night as a symbol of their devotion.
In ancient times, Yom Kipper was performed by the High Priest in the temple. The temple ceremony was preceded by seven days of preparation for the High Priest. This rehearsal time was devoted to recitations, repentance, and spiritual purity. On the morning of the Great Day, he would dress in white robes and offer a sacrificial bull on behalf of the Priesthood. He would then enter the Holy of Holies and ask the Lord for forgiveness. The High Priest would also offer goat sacrifices on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel.
After the destruction of the Second Temple, most of these discontinued in favor of the more personal practices of prayer and supplication. The remaining rituals were moved from the temple to the synagogue.
The services of Yom Kipper today are the most elaborate and sacred of Jewish liturgy. The evening service follows two practices, the first being the declaration that it is lawful to pray with sinners and the second a renunciation of personal vows between man and God. Confessions, recitations, sealings, and scripture readings conclude the remaining part of this Holy Day.
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