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5 Things You Didn't Know About Yom Kippur

JL;DR SUMMARY Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is rich in traditions and historical significance that extend beyond its commonly known aspects of fasting and prayer. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryYom KippurAtonementFastingJewish ResilienceScapegoatSpiritual RenewalHigh PriestTemple Rituals25 Hour Fast

Places mentioned

Israel
"Everyone knows that the 1973 Yom Kippur War erupted when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year."
Kyiv, Ukraine
"During the chaos of the Russian Civil War in 1919, Cossack bands swept into Jewish neighborhoods in Ukraine on Yom Kippur, massacring hundreds."
Warsaw, Mazovia, Poland
"In ghettos such as Vilna and Warsaw, Yom Kippur became a day not only of fasting and prayer but also of sudden loss, when families were torn apart and communities decimated."
Vilnius, Ukmergė, Lithuania
"In ghettos such as Vilna and Warsaw, Yom Kippur became a day not only of fasting and prayer but also of sudden loss, when families were torn apart and communities decimated."
Paris, Île-de-France, France
"According to legend, Napoleon Bonaparte once passed by a synagogue in Paris on Yom Kippur."
Spain
"In 1391, mobs swept through Spains Jewish quarters during the season of repentance, killing and converting by force."

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Retrieved 2025-10-02 05:31:04 UTC
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