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Central
Prayers :- |
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TheYom Kippur service consists of
the following prayers: Kol Nidrei and Maariv, recited the night
before; and Shaharit; Musaf; Minchah; and Neilah, all recited
the day of Yom Kippur. |
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Kol Nidrei
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Written in Aramaic, this prayer
makes null and void all vows and promises we make to G-d and may
not keep in the coming year. It is the first prayer of Yom
Kippur and should be recited before sunset. (Kol Nidrei does not
effect promises made to other people.)
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Maariv
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Similar to other evening services,
it is chanted in a special melody reserved for the High
Holiday. This service also includes the vidui, or confession,
followed by a selection of Selichot, penitentional prayers. |
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Shaharit
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The morning service is not that
different from other festivals with the exception of a number of
extra piyutim, or poems. The morning Torah reading deals with
the service in the temple and contains six aliya's, the special
blessings said by men when called up to the Torah. This is
one more aliah than regular holidays and one less than Shabbat.
This is followed by the haftorah, which is from Isaiah
(57:14-58:16), which is critical of those who fast out of
"duty", rather than a true understanding of the day. |
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Yizkor
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This is a special memorial prayer
for those who have lost parents. It is usually recited during
the shaharit service just following the Torah reading. Anyone
whose parents are still alive should exit the main sanctuary
until the prayer is finished. |
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Musaf
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The longest service of the year,
musaf is divided into two parts: The Avodah, which recounts the
temple service; and the Eleh Ezkerah, the martyrology, which
describes the murders of ten talmudic sages who were tortured by
the Romans during the Hadrianic period, 115-138 C.E. |
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Minhah
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If musaf is the longest service of
Yom Kippur, minhah, the traditonal afternoon service, is the
shortest. Most synagogues take a break after musaf so families
can go home and rest for a couple of hours. During this service
the Book of Jonah is read. |
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Neilah |
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This is the final, or concluding
service of Yom Kippur. The Hebrew word, neilah, means locked,
and is meant to symbolize the closing gates of heaven. During
neilah, the ark is left open for maximum communication between
the congregation and G-d. As a result, it is custom for the
congregation to remain standing. At the conclusion of the
service, the shofar is blown again. |
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Break-The-Fast |
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When the fast is over, families
return home and eat a light, dairy meal, usually prepared in
advance. It may include bagels and lox, or noodle kugel. Juice
and coffee are almost always present. |
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