Easter Bunny

(disputed — see talk page). During the confessions made for each offering he pronounced the ineffable name, the only instance when this was permitted. In France, the eggs are not laid by rabbits, but dropped from the sky by "les cloches de Pâques", flying church bells coming back from Rome where they spent Easter. The kohen gadol (high priest) performed most of the service himself, including sin offerings for himself and his family, all the priests and finally the whole Jewish people. The Easter Bunny, however, remains considerably more recognized and well known than its bilby counterpart. Commentators differ as to the exact meaning of this offering; it is generally presumed that the goats are each symbols for people, modes of behavior or other subjects. This campaign has had moderate success, and Easter Bilbies are a common and unremarked sight in many Australian stores around Easter. The most distinctive ceremony was the offering of the "emissary goats", or "scapegoats" (Leviticus 16:8-10), one of which was offered on the altar and another was sent into the desert to "Azazel"; the goats were identical, and the fate of each goat was decided by lots.

In Australia, rabbits are a seriously invasive species and are therefore generally considered pests, so there has been a long-running campaign to replace the Easter Bunny with an Easter Bilby, a native marsupial. Specifically, the avodah ("service") in the mussaf prayer recounts the sacrificial ceremonies in great detail. Sometimes the expression, "The Easter Bunny has retired" is used by parents when all of their children have figured out that there is no Easter Bunny. The sacrificial service of the Temple in Jerusalem features prominently in both the liturgy and the religious thought of the holiday. This is a common practice even in non-Christian households, as Easter has started to become a more non-sectarian festival, along the lines of Halloween or Valentine's Day. It is customary for children to have public mention made in the synagogue of their departed parents, and to make charitable gifts on behalf of their souls. Sometimes children leave out carrots for the Easter Bunny, which is similar to the practice of leaving milk and cookies for Santa Claus. Even the souls of the dead are included in the community of those pardoned on the Day of Atonement.

According to American lore, the Easter Bunny leaves baskets of treats (including Easter eggs and assorted chocolates) on Easter morning for good children. Hence the custom of terminating on the eve of the fastday (or in the 10-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) all feuds and disputes. A hundred years later Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself (noting many related landmarks and customs), and traced German legends of Ostara back to at least the 7th century. "The Day of Atonement absolves from sins against God, but not from sins against a fellow man unless the pardon of the offended person be secured" (Mishnah tractate Yoma 8:9). Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them when they were not looking. Both are arranged alphabetically, probably to aid the public in memorizing it. Only good children received gifts of coloured eggs in the nests that they had made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. It consists of the short vidduy and the long vidduy (the latter is omitted in the ne'ilah service).

German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws") or Easter Bunny. On Yom Kippur, every prayer (whether silent or communal) includes the vidduy, a standardised confession. The idea of an egg-laying rabbit came to the United States in the 18th century. Penitent confession was a requisite for expiation through capital or corporal punishment. German Protestants had wanted to retain or re-introduce the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting, which was the reason for the abundant availability of eggs at Easter time (they were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, and thus eggs laid during Lent were stored until the feast). In letters written between New-Year and the Day of Atonement, the writer usually concludes by wishing the recipient that God may seal his fate for happiness. There are no known sources from the time documenting the existence of Eostre; historians disagree as to the proper weight to be given to Bede's assertion of her existence. Hence also the greeting "May you be sealed [in the Book of Life] for a happy year" ("Gemar Chatima Tovah").

According to the medieval English historian Bede, Eostre was a pre-Christian goddess and Jacob Grimm, in Deutsche Mythologie, concluded that this same goddess was called Ostara in Germany, although this conclusion has been disputed. Those that are found worthy by God are said to be entered in the Book of Life, hence the prayer: "Enter us in the Book of Life". The word "Easter" originated from Eostremonat, meaning Eostre's month. According to Maimonides, "all depends on whether a man's merits outweigh the demerits put to his account", so it is therefore desirable to multiply good deeds before the final account on the Day of Atonement (Yad, Laws of Repentance 3:4). It originates in Western European cultures. The liturgical piece Unetanneh Tokef (attributed to Rabbi Amnon of Mainz) states:. The Easter Bunny is a fantasy or mythological rabbit which leaves gifts for children at Easter. The fate of the thoroughly wicked and the thoroughly pious is determined on the spot; the destiny of the intermediate class is suspended until Yom Kippur, when the fate of everyone is sealed.

According to the Talmud, God opens three books on the first day of the year; one for the thoroughly wicked, another for the thoroughly pious, and the third for the large intermediate class. Every prayer includes the vidduy (confession); see below for more information. Depending on the nusach (version) of the prayers, some communities pray continuously from morning until nightfall, while some include a short break. The Torah is read during the morning and afternoon prayers (Leviticus 16 and 18, respectively); the book of Jonah is read as the haftarah in the afternoon.

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. The morning prayers are followed by an added prayer (mussaf) as on all other holidays, followed by mincha (the afternoon prayer) and the added ne'ilah prayer specific for Yom Kippur. The morning prayer service is preceded by litanies and petitions of forgiveness called selichot; on Yom Kippur, many selichot are woven into the liturgy. Prayer services begin with the prayer known as "Kol Nidre", which must be recited before sunset, and follows with the regular evening prayers (ma'ariv or arvith).

Men don a Tallit (four-cornered prayer garment) for evening prayers, the only evening service of the year in which this is done, and many married men also wear a kittel, or white shroud. Also, all Orthodox men immerse themselves in a mikvah close to mincha. Many others also have a custom to eat another meal before that, consuming fish. Traditional foods consumed during that meal include kreplach and rice.

There is a commandment to eat a large and festive meal before Yom Kippur starts after the mincha prayer. There is no commerce of any kind in the Jewish areas. In Israel on Yom Kippur there is no broadcast television, no public transportation and the airports are closed. Yom Kippur there has the nickname "Festival of Bicycles," referring to children's practice of freely riding their bicycles in the streets without motor vehicles presenting danger.

In Israel, public non-observance (such as eating or driving a motor vehicle) is taboo. Many secular Jews will fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, and attendance on Yom Kippur can be double, triple or even more than the normal number of worshippers. Yom Kippur is considered the most holy of Jewish holidays and its observance is held even among the majority of secular Jews who may not strictly observe other holidays. Consequently, many Jews have the custom of wearing only white clothing on this day, to symbolize their "white" purity from sin, akin to angels.

Sephardic Jews (Jews of Spanish, Portuguese and North African descent) refer to this holiday as "the White Fast". Contrary to popular belief, Yom Kippur is not a sad day. Fasting - total abstention from all food and drink - usually begins a half an hour before sundown (called "tosefet Yom Kippur", the "addition" of fasting a bit of the previous day is required by Jewish law), and ends after nightfall the following day. Eating, drinking, washing, cosmetics, wearing leather shoes, and conjugal relations are prohibited (Mishnah tractate Yoma 8:1).

Its central theme is atonement and reconciliation. Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of repentance, considered to be the holiest and most solemn day of the year. Sacrifices were offered in the Temple in Jerusalem. It is described as a solemn fast, on which no food or drink could be consumed, and on which all work is forbidden.

Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 23:27-31, 25:9; Numbers 29:7-11). The rites for Yom Kippur are set forth in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus (cf. Yom Kippur begins at sundown on the night before the following dates in the next few years:. It is always observed as a one day holiday, both inside and outside the boundaries of the land of Israel, in contrast with many other holidays, which are observed for two days in the Diaspora.

In the Hebrew calendar Yom Kippur begins at nightfall starting the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri (which falls in September/October), and continues until the next nightfall. . It is considered the holiest day of the Jewish year. The day is commemorated with a 25-hour fast and intensive prayer.

It is one of the Yamim Noraim (Hebrew, "Days of Awe"). The Bible calls the day Yom Hakippurim (Hebrew, "Day of the Atonements"). It falls on the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri. Yom Kippur (יום כיפור yom kippūr) is the Jewish holiday of the Day of Atonement.

2010: September 18. 2009: September 28. 2008: October 9. 2007: September 22.

2006: October 2.