Yom Kippur begins with sundown service

The holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, will begin Friday at sundown. Services will mark the beginning of a period of praying for forgiveness for individuals and the community as a whole. At 7 p.m. Friday evening, St. Paul Catholic Center, 1413 E. 17th St., will hold a Yom Kippur service.\nYom Kippur, the “day of atonement,” marks a day when Jews will pass before the creator like sheep awaiting their fate to be sealed in the book of life or the book of death according to their deeds, said Rabbi Sue Shifron of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center. Shifron said the imagery which is established in many prayers makes for a solemn day.\n“It’s as if your fate is sealed on Yom Kippur,” Shifron said. “It’s the closest time to simulating death. We wear white and we don’t eat. We become very aware of our own mortality.” \nJewish law requires that Yom Kippur be a day of fasting, including no drinking of water. Other stipulations for the holiday include no washing, no wearing leather and no sexual relations. These rules are established to deny the physical body in order to focus on spiritual needs, Shifron said. \n“It’s a time to be focusing on God and our relationship with him; not the physical,” Shifron said. “It’s a very solemn day, but if you understand the liturgy, it’s very spiritual with the potential for a new birth.” \nShifron is expecting between 500 and 750 students at Yom Kippur services, but many students will be going home for the holiday. Inna Kolesnikova, a junior at IU, said she will take the time to work on relationships with family members and to spend it with the ones she loves the most. \n“I feel like I need this holiday, especially this year because I have been going through things, as a way to repair relationships with family and friends,” Kolesnikova said. \nRepairing relationships and starting over with a clean slate is a goal Kolesnikova and other Jews work towards between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. \n“It’s one of the most important holidays, if not the most important,” she said. “It’s one of those holidays where you feel the most close to God.” \nSophomore Eric Goode said he will focus on his spiritual needs, but also on other things that are important to him as a Jew. Goode feels that Yom Kippur is a rare moment in the Jewish year and he is happy to be a part of such a time. \n“I like to look at is a more than a day of repentance, but thanking God for what we have,” he said. “On very few occasions do Jews get together just to pray. It helps me to keep in check where I am, who I am and the choices I’ve made.”