Tonight at Sundown

Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown. This is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It is the day of atonement after the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. On this day, Jews ask God for forgiveness for their sins to secure their fate. It's also known as the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

Ralph's Market gave me a new calendar for the new year! It's so informative!

Click on Photo to see rock stars included!

Commonly, Jews attend synagogue services on this day, refrain from eating, drinking, etc. At the end of the services a shofar or ram's horn is blown to signal the end of Yom Kippur. Then, we break the fast and have dinner.

The post-Yom Kippur meal is usually a comforting, easy-on-the-stomach meal featuring dishes that can be prepared ahead and either reheated or eaten at room temperature. There really are no rules about this, but it's common to serve dairy-focused dishes rather than meat-based ones. Generally, a dairy meal is easier to digest (unless, of course you're lactose intolerant)! A typical spread includes bagels with smoked fish and cream cheese, kugel, blintzes and assorted cookies and cakes. Many people will add cold chicken or sliced turkey to this spread.

Lox, bagels, cream cheese. We need KUGEL!

My maternal grandfather was a fairly religious man. Sam Katz was active in his local synagogue, Temple Beth Am. He felt so strongly about observing Yom Kippur, that he celebrated his birthday at the end of fasting, no matter what date. The Jewish holidays are on different dates every year, according to the harvest calendar. We always had a birthday party, break the fast to honor Grandpa. We still the continue the tradition of meeting to break the fast every year at the end of Yom Kippur. 

Sam and Freda Katz, 1960

I look forward to seeing my family tomorrow night for dinner! Happy birthday, Grandpa!