Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most important holiday in Judaism. It is a day of fasting and prayer that is celebrated on the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
Yom Kippur marks the end of the “Ten Days of Repentance,” or the “High Holidays,” and grants Jews a last opportunity to obtain forgiveness and absolution for their sins in the previous year. According to Jewish belief, on Yom Kippur judgment is passed on each person for the coming year. In order to be worthy of forgiveness from sins, this day is devoted to spiritual repentance and a commitment to start the New Year with a clean conscience, secure in the knowledge that God forgives every person who truly regrets his misdeeds.
The idea of purification is fulfilled by fasting: on Yom Kippur observant Jews fast from the evening of the holy day until the following night. Unlike all the other Jewish fast days, Yom Kippur is observed in full, even when it coincides with Shabbat. Yom Kippur is the only day on the Jewish calendar during which there are five prayer services.
Yom Kippur is not directly connected with any specific historical event, although some believe that on this day Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the second set of tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments and God forgave the Israelites for the sin of the Golden Calf. This is a holiday ordained in the Torah, where it is called a Shabbat of Solemn Rest, a day on which no productive work can be done, just like on Shabbat.
Even though most of the Jewish population in Israel is not religiously observant, Yom Kippur has and remains a special day for all and has retained its unique character. Many Jews who define themselves as secular and do not visit the synagogue all year long, go to prayer services on the special day, and many also observe the fast, completely or partially.
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War, or October War (Arabic: حرب أكتوبر Ḥarb ʾUktōbar, or حرب تشرين Ḥarb Tišrīn; Hebrew: מלחמת יום הכיפורים Milẖemet Yom HaKipurim or מלחמת יום כיפור Milẖemet Yom Kipur), also known as the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, was a war fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel from October 6 to 25, 1973.
Following the Six-Day War, Israel hoped that it could convert its military success into permanent peace with its Arab neighbors, based on UN Security Council Resolution 242. Israel's diplomatic overtures, however, were rebuffed.
Shortly after the conclusion of the Six-Day War, Egypt initiated the War of Attrition against Israel, with sporadic actions along the Suez Canal that escalated into intense, localized clashes that caused many casualties on both sides between 1967 and 1970. In 1970, a renewed cease-fire was reached between Israel and Egypt.
On October 6, 1973, which was Yom Kippur (the holiest day of the Jewish year), Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack against Israel, with Egyptian forces crossing the Suez Canal and Syrian forces entering the Golan Heights. Over three weeks of heavy battles, the IDF overcame initial Egyptian and Syrian gains and advanced to the western side of the Suez Canal and to the vicinity of the Syrian capital of Damascus. Negotiations in the following years led to disengagement agreements under the terms of which Israel withdrew from parts of the territories captured by the IDF during the Yom Kippur War.
