✡ Nusach Ari · Chabad Tradition ✡
Yom Kippur
Services Guide
Services Guide
Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement — is the holiest day of the Jewish year. A 25-hour fast devoted entirely to prayer, repentance, and spiritual elevation, when the gates of heaven are open wide.
Erev Yom Kippur
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Before the Fast
Preparations for the Holy Day
Erev Yom Kippur is itself a mitzvah-filled day. It is a mitzvah to eat festively — the meals we eat on this day are considered as significant as the fast itself.
Kaparot
A meaningful custom where we symbolically transfer our sins, traditionally performed with a chicken or with money designated for charity. The prayer expresses our desire for atonement and a fresh start.
Candle Lighting
Women and girls light candles before sunset, reciting blessings for the holy day and Shehecheyanu. A Yahrzeit (memorial) candle is also lit to burn for 25 hours. Many light an additional “living candle” for the household.
The Five Restrictions
Eating & drinking, wearing leather shoes, bathing, applying lotions/creams, and marital relations are all abstained from for 25 hours. These elevate us beyond physical needs, like angels devoted entirely to G‑d’s service.
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Sunday Evening
Kol Nidrei
The most iconic moment of the Jewish year. Before sunset, all Torah scrolls are removed from the Ark. Two community members stand on either side of the Chazan, each holding a scroll, forming a Beit Din (court). The Chazan then chants the ancient Kol Nidrei declaration three times with increasing intensity.
“All vows, obligations, oaths… that we may vow or swear or pledge… from this Yom Kippur until the next… we publicly renounce them all.”
Kol Nidrei Declaration
This legal formula annuls future vows made inadvertently, freeing us to stand before G‑d unburdened. The haunting melody, passed down through centuries, stirs even those unfamiliar with its words. Following Kol Nidrei, the congregation recites Shehecheyanu together, and the Maariv evening service begins.
Yom Kippur Day
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Overview
Five Services, One Day
Yom Kippur is the only day of the year with five distinct prayer services, corresponding to the five levels of the soul. Each service draws us deeper into connection with G‑d.
1
Maariv
Nefesh
2
Shacharit
Ruach
3
Musaf
Neshamah
4
Mincha
Chayah
5
Neilah
Yechidah
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Morning Service
Shacharit
The morning service opens with extended Pesukei D’Zimra and the solemn High Holiday melodies. The Chazan wears a white kittel. The Amidah includes the full Viduy (confession) — Ashamnu (the alphabetical confession) and Al Chet (the detailed enumeration of sins), recited while gently tapping the chest over the heart with each item.
Torah Reading
Leviticus 16 — the service of the High Priest in the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur. Six aliyot are read, detailing the Kohen Gadol’s entry into the Holy of Holies — the only person, on the only day, in the only place where a mortal stood alone before G‑d. The Maftir reading (Numbers 29) details the Yom Kippur offerings. The Haftorah (Isaiah 57–58) delivers G‑d’s powerful message: true fasting means pursuing justice, feeding the hungry, and treating others with dignity.
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Additional Service
Musaf & the Avodah
The Musaf service features the dramatic Seder Ha’Avodah — a vivid poetic retelling of the High Priest’s service in the Holy Temple. The congregation relives each step:
1
The Kohen Gadol immersed in the mikvah five times and changed garments between each stage of the service.
2
He pronounced the ineffable Name of G‑d — the only time and place it was ever spoken. The people would prostrate upon hearing it.
3
He entered the Holy of Holies with the incense offering, emerging to announce atonement for the entire nation.
Prostration
During the Avodah, the congregation fully prostrates on the ground when the Chazan describes how the people in the Temple would fall upon hearing the Holy Name. This is one of only a few times during the year when full prostration is practiced.
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Memorial Service
Yizkor
The Yizkor memorial service is recited for departed parents, family members, and all Jewish souls. We pledge charity in their memory, connecting our good deeds to their merit. The soul, which lives on eternally, is elevated by the prayers and charitable commitments of the living. Yizkor is followed by the deeply moving Av Harachamim and Kel Malei Rachamim prayers. In Chabad tradition, Yizkor is recited from the first year after a parent’s passing.
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Afternoon Service
Mincha
The afternoon service includes a Torah reading from Leviticus 18, dealing with forbidden relationships — a reminder that holiness permeates every dimension of life. Three aliyot are read.
Haftorah — The Book of Jonah
The entire Book of Jonah is read as the Haftorah. Jonah’s story teaches that no one can flee from G‑d’s mission, and that sincere repentance is always accepted — even from the people of Nineveh, who were not Jewish. If G‑d accepted their return, how much more so ours.
The Closing
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Final Service
Neilah — The Locking of the Gates
Neilah (“locking”) is the fifth and final service, recited as the sun sets and the gates of heaven begin to close. This is the climax of the entire High Holiday season — the last moments to pour out our hearts before the decree is sealed.
The Ark remains open throughout the entire service, and the congregation stands. The wording of the prayers shifts from “inscribe us” to “seal us in the Book of Life” — signifying that the final judgment is being sealed at this very moment.
The Final Moments
As darkness falls, the congregation cries out together:
“Shema Yisrael”
Recited once
“Baruch Shem K’vod”
Recited three times
“Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim”
Recited seven times
The Shofar Blast
One final, long Tekiah Gedolah — a great blast of the shofar — pierces the silence, signaling that the fast is over and our prayers have been accepted. The congregation erupts: “L’Shanah Haba’ah B’Yerushalayim!” — Next year in Jerusalem!
Confession & Repentance
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Throughout the Day
Viduy — The Confessions
The Viduy is recited a total of ten times over the course of Yom Kippur, corresponding to the ten times the Kohen Gadol pronounced G‑d’s Name in the Temple. It consists of two parts:
Ashamnu
The short alphabetical confession — 24 words listing categories of sin from Aleph to Tav. Recited communally in the plural, because all Jews are responsible for one another.
Al Chet
The detailed confession — a comprehensive list covering sins of speech, thought, action, and character. Each line begins “For the sin we have committed before You…” We gently tap our chest as a sign of heartfelt regret.
In Chabad tradition, the confessions are recited with deep concentration but without excessive weeping — the emphasis is on joy and confidence that G‑d accepts our repentance, as the Alter Rebbe teaches: the day itself atones.
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After the Fast
Following the shofar blast, a brief Maariv is davened and Havdalah is recited over wine and candle (no spices on Yom Kippur). The community breaks the fast together with joy and confidence, having been cleansed and renewed. In Chabad custom, it is traditional to begin building the Sukkah that very night — going directly from one mitzvah to the next.
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