El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-09-27
WILL CELEBRATE
Y0M KIPPUR IN
Ell PA50
Local Jews VIII Observe
Hottest Day in Church
Calendar

Special services for Yom Kippur viii
be held at Temple Mt. Sinai on Sunday
evening at Z O'Clock and Monday morn
ing at 10 o'clock. Memorial services
will be held on Monday afternoon at
4 o'clock.
The subject Of the evening address
Of rabbi ZielOnka will be Let Us Rea-
son Iogether,- while the subjects for
the services Monday viii be Our
Problem" and Deserving ImmOrtalfty."
Feast OF TOm Kippur
when the first stars appear in the
heavens sunday evening October I, they
viii usher in the day hottest to the
Jew in his entire religious calendar.
From that hour until the evening of
the following day, October 2. the de
VOut Israelite will give himself en-
tirely to God, and to the purifying
OF his soul by repentance. It will be
day spent by him in meditation and
prayer, with no thought Of the world,
its profits or pleasures. It IS the great
White Fast when abstaining from all
food, from sundOWn TO sundOWn, the
people of Israel "afflict their souls"
for the sins Of the past year.
Many Mentions Of Feast.
The holy day is mentioned IN the
Blble In a number OF Places LeTiticus
XVI describes the elaborate prfestly
ceremonial Of abOnement; Ibid xiii. e.
80 It appears in the list of festivals
where the "afflictiOn Of the sOuP'
(fasting) IS ordained; IBID XIV, 9, an
nOunces that on the day OF atOnement
each Doth year, the trumpet sound shall
usher in the jubilee year; while num-
bers xxx, I'll, describes the sacrifices
Of this sacred day. From these refer
ences and later accounts in the Tai
mud we can get a picture Of this day
Of awe as it was celebrated In biblical
times.
The holy day on the 10th day Of
Tishri was observed by abstention from
food and drink, and by an elaborate
ceremonial IN which the high priest
Hse- -1ra
forgiveness for his own sins and those
Of his household, then for those Of the
wider household OF priests, then for all
the people. OF two goats, he Slaugh-
tered one as a sacrifice for the Lord, q"
and set the other aside "for Azazel"
The blood Of the sacrifices he sprinkled
upon the curtain of the holy Of holes
to purify it from the sins Of the peO-
pie.
Ceremony Changed.
From this biblical ceremonial which
throughout seeks for forgiveness Of the
community as whole, the day Of
atonement has I n somewhat changed
IN RabDin1c Judaism and In the mod
ern service and emphasizes also re-
pentance and personal prayer for the
forgiveness Of each individual shining
soul It completes the penitential pc
Rod Of 10 days that had begun with
the New Years day.
The celebration Of the day Of atone
ment begins in the synagog with the
evening service, called hOl mare from
its opening formula, which refers TO
vows concerning the individual and his
conscience. With its strongly marked
melodies and songs, this service as
sumed in the course Of time a very i'm
pressive character.
Continuous Service.
Throughout the following day a con-
tinuous series of services is held, which
toward the middle of the afternoon is
heightened in impressiveness by a most
solemn commemorative service for the
dead This Is followed by the Neilah
or closing service, in which the main
ideas Of the day are especially empha-
sized; repentance conditioning forgive
ness and Gods sealing the decree Of
man for the ensuing year.
The ShOfar.
The service ends with a solemn in
vocation Of Gods name, the Shema and
the seven fold exclamation. THE Lord,
He is God" AS a signal Of the close
of the sacred day, the trumpet (shofar)
is blown once, and the devoUt wor-
shipper turns homeward from Gods
house with the assurance that IN re-
ward for his true and sincere repent
ance the sins Of the past have been for
given.