Yom Kippur 2024: we know at what time the fast of the great Jewish holiday begins and ends

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The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins this Friday evening, October 11, until the following evening. It corresponds to a 25-hour fast.

The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins this Friday evening. It takes place 10 days after the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah (commonly called Shana Tova), and therefore corresponds to the tenth day of the month of Tishrei, the first month of the Jewish year marked by several major holidays. It will end on Saturday evening. The dates and times of Yom Kippur change each year. Lunar months are shorter than Gregorian months, so the 10th of Tishrei varies from year to year.

As for the schedule, the fast begins this Friday, October 11 at 6:50 p.m. and ends on Saturday, October 12 at 7:54 p.m., or 25 hours of fasting. It therefore precedes sunset on the first day and ends at sunset on the following day. It is considered obligatory by religion for men over 13 years old and women over 12 years old. During this holy day, five obligatory prayers are performed one after the other. the synagogue for those who want to obtain divine forgiveness. 

► Check the Yom Kippur times by city on a specialized site

Yom Kippur, an austere holiday like Rosh Hashanah

Like Rosh Hashanah, another very important holiday in the Hebrew calendar, Yom Kippur is an austere holiday. Called the “Shabbat of Shabbats”, the holy day ends with a large family and festive meal to break the fast. It should be noted, however, that the observance of Yom Kippur can vary slightly depending on the community. For Sephardic Jews, it is the “white fast”. They dress in white to symbolize their desire for purity and freedom from sins.

In their liturgy, we find rather joyful music, in comparison with that of Ashkenazi Jews. For the latter, the attitude is more solemn. The original joy of the day is admitted but the remembrance of the martyrs and the disappeared holds an important place. 

The dates and times of the fast actually change every year. If Yom Kippur is not celebrated on the same date from one year to the next, it is because it depends on the Hebrew calendar, which refers to Genesis in the Bible. It is composed of of 12 months or 13 lunar months depending on the year, and of seven-day weeks beginning on Sunday and ending on the day of Shabbat, that is to say Saturday.

Lunar months are shorter than Gregorian months (alternatively 29 or 30 days): this is why the 10th of Tishrei is a fluctuating date if we refer to the usual calendar.

The holiday of Yom Kippur is actually celebrated shortly after Rosh Hashanah (aka Shana Tova), the holiday marking a new civil year in the Hebrew calendar and opening 10 days of penance: the Day of Atonement always takes place 10 days after the first day of Rosh Hashanah (see why here) and begins the evening before these +10 days. It is a day off but not a public holiday, seen by believers as the holiest celebration of the year.

“The Day of Atonement” is a religious holiday. It commemorates the day God forgave the Jewish people for the sin of the Golden Calf, recounted in the biblical book of Exodus. According to these writings, when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Tablets of the Law, the Hebrews created an idol in the shape of a calf from the melted jewelry of women and children. The prophet, discovering the worship of the idol, which the third Commandment forbids, is said to have broken then the Tables of the Law of wrath. Moses then spent two times 40 days on the top of the mountain to obtain forgiveness for his people from God. On the tenth day of the month of Tishrei, it was granted.

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the Ten Days of Penitence for Jews. This period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, “Teshuvah”, is dedicated to introspection and repentance. During these ten days, it is recommended to do one's best to rectify the wrongs committed against others.

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There are several ways to wish a happy Yom Kippur. You can say “Gmar Ha'atima tova” (pronouncing the Spanish “H” as “j”) or, much easier to remember, “Happy Yom Kippur”. If you want to assure a Jewish loved one of your best wishes after Yom Kippur, either after the sound of the Shofar, a musical instrument ancestral wind that is sounded to break the fast, then you can also say “Hag Samea”. This formula that the Jewish faithful also exchange among themselves designates a festival called Sukkot, and celebrated a few days later. A Hebrew term, “Sukkot" refers to a pilgrimage festival, the prescription of which appears in the Torah, the sacred book for Jews. It is during Sukkot that what believers consider to be divine support during the “Exodus of the children of Israel” is celebrated. Sukkot lasts for seven days, punctuated by commemorative rites.

Sunset at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. © Maria Dubova_123RF

Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement". During this day of fervor, Jews abstain from work and fast themselves. The deprivation of food and drink begins on the eve of Yom Kippur, half an hour before sunset (“tosefet Yom Kippur”) and ends after sunset the following day. The fast lasts a total of 25 hours, and it is obligatory for every Jew, for men from the age of 13 and for women from the age of 12. However, fasting is not permitted for people who are likely to suffer from it, such as sick people, people suffering from diabetes or women who have given birth in the last three days. More generally, there are five prohibitions: observe to detach oneself from the material world:

• the prohibition of eating and drinking
• the prohibition of having marital relations
• the prohibition of washing
• the prohibition of anointing the body with oils and lotions (which symbolize superficial pleasures)
• the prohibition of wearing leather shoes (which symbolize material goods and comfort)

Work is also forbidden, and Jews must spend a long time in the synagogue to pray and ask God for forgiveness for their sins and those of the community. Believers ask forgiveness individually from anyone they may have hurt and apologize for any offenses they have committed against them. Yom Kippur requires five obligatory prayers throughout the day. The celebration of Yom Kippur varies according to the communities. The Sephardim, for example, dress in white in order to affirm their will to free themselves from their sins.

The end of the fast is signaled in synagogues by the sounding of the shofar, a wind instrument made from a ram's horn. Believers then gather as a family or community to “break the fast.” The dishes prepared to celebrate the end of the holiday differ according to tradition: Sephardim usually eat dry cakes accompanied by lemonade, while Ashkenazim generally prefer a hot drink and cheese or smoked fish. After a light meal, a chicken dish or broth is served.

Ashura is a fast observed by many Muslims. According to the specialist website Saphir News, they are following a prophetic tradition that enjoins believers to abstain from eating and drinking during the 9th and 10th days of the lunar month of Muharram (the first month of the Muslim calendar). “Ashura” (“ten” in Arabic) is an Islamic holiday commemorating various prophetic episodes that are said to have taken place on that day, according to the hadiths referred to, says historian Kamel Meziti: “the atonement of Adam and Eve, after their “fall” to Earth, (…) the landing of Noah's Ark (Nah); the salvation of Abraham (Ibrahim) saved from the fire of Nimrod or that of Jonah (Yunus) saved from the entrails of the whale…" 

Why talk about Ashura in a page about Yom Kippur ? Because this celebration is a link between Judaism and Islam. According to the Sunna (prophetic tradition), in 622, the prophet Muhammad thus went to the meeting of the Jews of Medina on Yom Kippur, as a reminder of the feast of atonement during which they fast. Muhammad asks them why they do it and they respond that they commemorate “the day when God gave victory to Moses and the sons of Israel over Pharaoh and his men”.

Muhammad then retorts that he is, himself, bound to the ancient biblical prophets, and that it is therefore “more right” to fast on this day. From there, the Prophet will order Muslim believers to fast on this day, considering Moses as “closer” to them, and thereby incorporating Ashura into Islam.

In Islamic tradition, a hadith refers to the recommendation of fasting on Ashura: “As for fasting on the day of “Ashura”, I hope that Allah will accept it as expiation for the year before it. ” (Sahih Muslim)