Jews celebrate sacred day with soul searching

Unrest in the Middle East and the devastation from recent natural disasters are likely to weigh on the minds of Jews as they prepare to seek God's forgiveness and the forgiveness of others during Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown today.

"It certainly has been a difficult year and a year of contemplation," said Susan Cohen, a member of the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center who also suffered her own loss when her and her husband's house burned earlier this year.

"All of the events that have happened do seem unprecedented," she said. "So many events seem to be calling us to wake up and acknowledge the fact there is one God and that everything emanates from him."

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is considered to be one of the holiest days of the Jewish New Year. It is a day Jews mark with repentance, deep prayer and good deeds.

"On a personal level, a lot of people are hoping and praying for their own benefit and are thinking about what has happened around the world," said Rabbi Avi Perets with the Temple Emanu-El. "We'll have that definitely in our minds. ... For many, this is the time of year for soul searching, for thinking about family and the future. We'll be praying for our personal fate for the coming year, as well as for the fate of the world. We'll be praying to God we have a good year."

Area temples will celebrate daylong services Thursday as congregations gather.

The holy day begins at sundown today, when members begin a 25-hour fast after the evening meal as a sign of contrition and self-sacrifice.

"We fast also because this act of self-discipline helps us to focus on what is spiritual in us ... on the soul, instead of the body, and prepares us to face God in prayer and repentance as we seek his forgiveness and blessing," Perets said.

Members then gather at the synagogue for the Kol Nidre service, in which they pray for forgiveness and light candles for those who have died.

"There's a beautiful piece of music and prayer made that night," said Lilly Ann Revitch of Temple Shalom. "We ask for forgiveness from God and from anyone we may have sinned against."

Although the prayers recited are the same each year, life's situations give them new meaning, Revitch said.

"The situations we live in change year to year," she said. "The prayers take on a little different meaning every year."

Throughout the day Thursday, congregations participate in the confession of sins, listen to Torah readings, recite prayers, sing together and conclude with the blowing of the Shofar, or ram's horn.

"This is when the gates of Heaven close and we hope we're inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming year," Revitch said.