Day of Atonement

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Day of Atonement (Heb., Yom Kippur). The most important day in the Jewish liturgical year. (Leviticus 16. 30). After the destruction of the temple, it was believed that the day itself rather than the temple ritual atoned for Israel's sin. The Day of Atonement liturgy begins in the evening of 9 Tishri (see CALENDAR) with the Kol Nidrei (all the vows) service in the synagogue. Services continue through the next day until sunset, when it is customary to blow the shofar to indicate the end of the fast.

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