The shofar or keren ( horn ) is the only temple instrument still being used today in the synagogue, and it is only used from Rosh Chodesh Elul through the end of Yom Kippur.

In Judaism it is the Haftarah for the afternoon of Yom Kippur due to its story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent.

Not only does the ensuing crisis rank with the Berlin Blockade, the Suez Crisis and the Yom Kippur War as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, it is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict, or possibly World War III, where it is estimated that 100 million Americans and over 100 million Russians would have perished.

This annual judgment process begins on Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur.

Jews have two holiday seasons: the Spring Feasts of Pesach ( Passover ) and Shavuot ( Weeks, called Pentecost in Greek ); and the Fall Feasts of Rosh Hashanah ( Head of the Year ), Yom Kippur ( Day of Atonement ), Sukkot ( Tabernacles ), and Shemini Atzeret ( Eighth Day of Assembly ).

He attracted national attention in 1934 when he refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, even though the Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race and he was not in practice a religious Jew.

Late in the 1934 season, he announced that he would not play on September 10, which was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, or on September 19, the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

" Greenberg did considerable soul-searching, and discussed the matter with his rabbi ; finally he relented and agreed to play on Rosh Hashanah, but stuck with his decision not to play on Yom Kippur.

The Detroit press was not so kind regarding the Yom Kippur decision, nor were many fans, but Greenberg in his autobiography recalled that he received a standing ovation from congregants at the Shaarey Zedek synagogue when he arrived.

This is to ensure that Yom Kippur does not directly precede or follow Shabbat, which would create practical difficulties, and that Hoshana Rabbah is not on a Shabbat, in which case certain ceremonies would be lost for a year.

Hasidic Jews praying in the synagogue on Yom Kippur, by Maurycy Gottlieb

* When on an extended fast ( such as Ramadan, Lent, or Yom Kippur ) when basal requirements may be lower.

The first incident occurred on 21 February 1973, during a period of tension led to the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War in October that year, when Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 was shot down by Israeli F-4 jets over the Sinai Peninsula.

* The connection between the lack of an Islamic spirit and the lack of victory was underscored by the disastrous defeat of Arab nationalist-led armies fighting under the slogan " Land, Sea and Air " in the 1967 Six Day War, compared to the ( perceived ) near-victory of the Yom Kippur War six years later.

* Along with the Yom Kippur War came the Arab oil embargo where the ( Muslim ) Persian Gulf oil-producing states ' dramatic decision to cut back on production and quadruple the price of oil, made the terms oil, Arabs and Islam synonymous – with power – in the world, and especially in the Muslim world's public imagination.

Jews praying in a synagogue on Yom Kippur, from an 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the 10-day period of atonement leading up to Yom Kippur, during which Jews are commanded to search their souls and make amends for sins committed, intentionally or not, throughout the year.

* Yom Kippur, (" Day of Atonement ") is the holiest day of the Jewish year.

Many non-religious Jews make a point of attending synagogue services and fasting on Yom Kippur.

On the eve of Yom Kippur, before candles are lit, a prefast meal, the " seuda mafseket ", is eaten.

Synagogue services on the eve of Yom Kippur begin with the Kol Nidre prayer.

It is customary to wear white on Yom Kippur, especially for Kol Nidre, and leather shoes are not worn.

( Yom Kippur, however, is referred to as yom tov – but has identical restrictions to Shabbat.

These terms are generally used to describe the rabbinic fasts, although tzom is used liturgically to refer to Yom Kippur as well.

* The English-language term High Holy Days ( or High holidays ) refers to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur collectively.

It assumes that text literally translated " the preparation of the passover " in refers to Nisan 14 ( Preparation Day for the Passover ) and not necessarily to Yom Shishi ( Friday, Preparation Day for Sabbath ) and that the priests ' desire to be ritually pure in order to " eat the passover " refers to eating the Passover lamb, not to the public offerings made during the days of Unleavened Bread.

In Hebrew, these names may be abbreviated using the numerical value of the Hebrew letters, for example ( Day 1, or Yom Rishon ()):

* Rosh Hashanah, ( also Yom Ha-Zikkaron or " Day of Remembrance ", and Yom Teruah, or " Day of the Sounding of the Shofar ").

The modern holidays of Yom Ha-shoah ( Holocaust Remembrance Day ) and Yom Ha ' atzmaut ( Israeli Independence Day ) commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust and the achievement of Israel independence, respectively.

It is also used to describe Hanukkah and Purim, as well as Yom Ha ' atzma ' ut ( Israeli Independence Day ) and Yom Yerushalayim ( Jerusalem Day ).

According to oral tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Memorial or Remembrance ( יום הזכרון, Yom HaZikaron ), and the day of judgment ( יום הדין, Yom HaDin ).

* Yom Hazikaron — Memorial Day

* Yom Ha ' atzmaut — Israel Independence Day

Yom HaShoah is also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, and takes place on the 27th day of Nisan.

* A fifth prayer service, Ne ' ilah ( נ ְ ע ִ יל ָ ה, " closing "), is recited only on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

The book of Jonah is read every year, in its original Hebrew and in its entirety, on Yom Kippur-the Day of Atonement, as the Haftarah at the afternoon mincha prayer.

In the Jewish religious practice of Kapparos, a rooster as a religious vessel is swung around the head and then sacrificed on the afternoon before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

It follows the solemn holiday of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.

Yom Kippur (,, or ), also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people.

* Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement

Kol Nidre ( also known as Kol Nidrei and Kal Nidre and Col Nidre ) ( Aramaic: ) is an Aramaic declaration recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Before sunset on the eve of Yom Kippur (" Day of Atonement "), the congregation gathers in the synagogue.

On Yom Kippur ( Day of Atonement ), a fifth public recitation, Ne ' ilah, is added to replace a special sacrifice offered on that day.

Jews observe a Day of Atonement Yom Kippur on the day before God makes decisions regarding what will happen during the coming year.

Elul is seen as a time to search one's heart and draw close to God in preparation for the coming Day of Judgement, Rosh Hashanah, and Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

A discussion of symbolism inherent in Rosh Hashanah ( The New Year ) and Yom Kippur ( the Day of Atonement ) is found in the entries on those subjects.

An old anecdote was repeated in the land of Israel concerning a splendid feast which the exilarch once gave to the tanna Judah ben Bathyra at Nisibis on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement iii.

During Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur ( the Day of Atonement ), one is to reflect upon one's wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness.

During Yom Kippur ( the Day of Atonement ) Rabbi Salanter ordered that Jews that year must not abide by the traditional fast, but instead must eat in order to maintain their health ; again for emergency health reasons.

# Yoma: ( יומא ) (" The Day "); called also " Kippurim " or " Yom ha-Kippurim " (" Day of Atonement "); deals with the prescriptions Yom Kippur, especially the ceremony by the Kohen Gadol.

Yom Kippur ( the Day of Atonement ) is a day of fasting during which judgment for the year is sealed.

Yoma contains a detailed discussion of the offerings and Temple ritual on Yom Kippur ( Day of Atonement ), and there are sections in seder Moed ( Festivals ) for the special offerings and Temple ritual for other major Jewish holidays.

# strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah (" Jewish New Year ") and Yom Kippur (" Day of Atonement ");

Yom Kippur ( יום כפור yom kippūr, " Day of Atonement ") is the Jewish festival of the Day of Atonement.