Judaism

WATCH: Thousands gather at Western Wall for selichot prayers as 'Post' observes Yom Kippur

The Jerusalem Post will temporarily pause news coverage to observe Yom Kippur. We wish all our readers a gmar hatima tova and an easy and meaningful fast.

Thousands of Jews gather for selichot prayer services at the Western Wall, in Jerusalem, ahead of Yom Kippur, September 15, 2026
Three women who arrived in the morning to sit the Rabbinate exams finally do so at a four-hour delay, April 27, 2026

ITIM demands equal conditions for women in upcoming Chief Rabbinate exams

The empty streets in Tel Aviv, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and the holiest of Jewish holidays. Israel came to a standstill for 25-hours during the high holiday of Yom Kippur when observant Jews fast and Israelis are prohibited from driving, October 2, 2025.

In the shadow of October 7: How Yom Kippur has changed for some secular Israelis

 An illustrative image of a Torah scroll and a shofar for Yom Kippur.

The Jewish sin we never confess: Choosing indifference over love - opinion


Israel tore itself apart on Yom Kippur - then October 7 reminded us of our collective 'we'

On Yom Kippur of 2023, Jews were pitted against Jews across the country. Thirteen days later, October 7 would remind Israelis that beneath their deepest divisions, there was still a collective “we.”

The Orthodox Jewish group of Rosh Yehudi sets up a gender partition during a public prayer for Yom Kippur, on Dizengoff Square, Tel Aviv, September 24, 2023

A modern-day encounter with Jonah’s ‘leviathan’

Every Rosh Hodesh, and every holiday, when we recite the Barchi Nafshi, I have a different kavanah, a different intention, than I once did. I now know what a “leviathan” looks like.

SWIMMING ABOVE the baby whale that came to play with us.

The other confession: Yom Kippur as the night journey of the soul

Few images capture Yom Kippur more powerfully than a person bent over a machzor (prayer book), quietly reciting its catalogue of sins.

IN THE early morning before Yom Kippur, 2024, prayers for forgiveness are recited at the Western Wall and elsewhere in the Jewish world.

Shabbat candle lighting times for Israel and US

See Shabbat candle lighting times for your area.

Shabbat candles

'Go, eat with joy': The surprising truth about Yom Kippur

How is it that precisely on the eve of the day when a person stands before his Creator, and his judgment for the coming year is sealed, we are commanded to eat and rejoice?

One might think this should be the moment of our greatest anxiety.

For Israel, introspection is now a matter of national security - opinion

Israel cannot afford to treat every critic as an enemy. Introspection, debate, and a willingness to admit mistakes are essential.

Israeli soldiers stand next to armored personnel carriers (APCs) near the Gaza border, in Israel, September 16, 2025

To bland Mr. Miliband living in la-la land: Your antics aren’t bold. They’re bovine – opinion

Much to the thrill of anti-Zionists, this foreign secretary has engaged in what is quickly becoming the equivalent of an Olympic sport: Regurgitating propaganda to blast Israel’s image to smithereens

The UK foreign secretary has pulled a ‘Mary Poppins’ by ‘adding spoonfuls of sugar’ to make his poison go easily down liberals’ throats, the writer asserts.

Unnecessary and cruel: Using chickens for kapparot on Yom Kippur violates Jewish values – opinion

The practice has invited widespread scrutiny, even from sages, over the inhuman treatment of livestock. Trigger warning: Some readers might find the disclosed descriptions disturbing

Ultra-Orthodox men line up to partake in the kapparot tradition in Mea She’arim in 2025.

Danny, my child of the year

Who is the wide-eyed boy who stands at the window every morning at Mishpacha Ukraine in Odessa, and what is the story behind him - a story no one planned to tell.

Danny with his personal caregiver, Mushki.

Direct from TLV: Manila, Buenos Aires and Seoul

Over the next few months, three new major routes will open, providing direct access from Israel to the Philippines, Korea, and Argentina.

Direct from TLV: Manila, Buenos Aires & Seoul