Yom Kippur
Order of prayers

Before the beginning of Yom Kippur, many Jews recite the optional Tefillah Zakkah ('the pure prayer'), in which (among other topics) one declares that they forgive anyone who has harmed them in the past, "except for damages which can be recovered in court, and except for those who say: I will harm him and he will forgive me", asks God not to punish anyone who has been so forgiven, and asks God to show similar graciousness in forgiving their own sins.

Like all Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur begins in the evening, and the evening prayer (Maariv) is preceded by the special Kol Nidre (described below) prayer.

The next morning, the morning prayer (Shacharit) is recited. The Torah reading is from Leviticus 16, describing the Yom Kippur Temple service and the laws of the day. The Yom Kippur Torah reading is divided into six portions. The Haftarah is from Isaiah 57:14–58–14, according to which God will ignore the prayers of one who fasts while continuing to perform evil deeds. Yizkor is then recited.

Next is the added prayer (Mussaf) as on all other holidays. The highlight of this prayer is the Avodah recitation, where the prayer leader recounts the Yom Kippur Temple service by which the High Priest would once obtain atonement from God in the Temple in Jerusalem. Other notable additions to Yom Kippur Mussaf include the Unetanneh Tokef and Ten Martyrs poems.

While the Yom Kippur prayer service is long and takes up most of the day, there is generally a break of several hours after Mussaf before the next prayers, which last until the conclusion of the fast.

Next is the afternoon prayer (Mincha) and a Torah reading. The Haftarah that follows is the entire Book of Jonah, which has as its theme the story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent. The service concludes with the Ne'ila ("closing") prayer, which begins shortly before sunset, when the "gates of prayer" will be closed. After Ne'ila, Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of Shema Yisrael and the blowing of the shofar, which marks the conclusion of the fast and symbolizes freedom from sin. Finally, the brief weekday Maariv prayer is recited, before the recitation of Havdalah.
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