It is the Day of Atonement, a 24 hour period spent in fasting and prayer. Even Jews who rarely go to synagogue observe Yom Kippur, sort of like Christians who only go to church on Easter. It is a day spent asking God for forgiveness for all of one's sins in the prior year.
But it is also about the community, the nation of Israel seeking forgiveness corporately for the actions that have separated us all from God. Fasting from food and even water, wearing white, and not working and gathering as a community as intended to collectively show humility and the desire to be forgiven for the sins we have made together. Surely this is something we all need to do communally as a city, as a nation, with our friends and with those whom we disagree. So this Yom Kippur, to all my Jewish friends, may you have an easy fast, and to the rest of us, may we gather together and seek forgiveness for our foolishness. This is Dr. Scott Morris for Church Health.
