Some 1,200 Jewish people in Ireland ended their observation yesterday evening of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
"Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year," said Mr Boaz Rodkin, counsellor at the Israeli embassy in Dublin. "It is the day on which everyone makes an effort to get to a synagogue."
The services yesterday continued throughout the day. They included readings from the Torah and the recitation of penitential prayers.
It is a day for individual and collective purification, through forgiving the sins of others and sincere repentance for one's own transgressions.
The day is marked by abstention from food, drink and sex. Among extreme orthodox Jews it is forbidden to wear leather shoes or anoint oneself with oil. This year Yom Kippur began on Sunday evening and ended at 7.30 p.m. last night. The melodious prayer, Kol Nidre, is recited in the synagogues on the eve of Yom Kippur.
In effect, it is a statement of intent, through which all vows made during the course of the year are annulled - except for obligations towards others.
On the eve of Yom Kippur friends ask for forgiveness from each other. The sins of those who sincerely repent are said to be forgiven by God.
Most of Ireland's Jews live and work in Dublin, but between 300 and 400 live in Belfast, and there are smaller communities in Cork and Limerick.
