Yom Kippor

Yom Kippor is the Jewish holiday called the day of the atonement. It dates back to the time of Moses. Pretty much all jews, no matter how religious, recognize this holiday. They spend the day fasting and praying in a synagogue, trying to repent of all of their sins for the year. Last Friday on the eve of Yom Kippor I went to the western Wall. We thought that would be a pretty popular place at the time given that it’s an open synagogue and considered the most holy place in the world to the jews. Normally there are always a lot of people at the western Wall, but when we got there at about 4pm last Friday afternoon it was really quiet and almost empty. We talked to a few of the people there and found out that everyone was at home eating. At sunset Yom Kippor would officially begin and they would have to fast until sunset on Saturday so everyone was eating away. On Saturday I went back to the city to visit some of the synagogues. The streets were empty and quiet, but outside of there were children all over dressed in their Sunday clothes and eating bags of chips and candy. Inside, the synagogues were packed! The women and men looked so solemn as they stood praying in their separate areas. It was a sea of people rocking back and forth and muttering prayers. Apparently they spend just about the entire day in the synagogue doing exactly that. It was cool to get a glimpse of their devotion to what they believe in.

Jews aren't allowed to take any pictures on Shabbat or on Yom Kippor, so since Yom Kippor was on Shabbat this year it was a double no. While we were in the Jewish Quarter of the city one of the girls I was was with took a picture of the really cute kids playing in the street. It looked like they weren't paying any attention to us, but all of the sudden one of the boys looked right at her and yelled "no!" The parents here teach their children well.