![YKK_Zichron_Moshe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/YKK_Zichron_Moshe.jpg)
Yom Kippur Katan ( translation from
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: "Minor Day of Atonement"), is a practice observed by some
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
on the day preceding each
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor ...
. The observance consists of
fasting
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
and supplication, but is much less rigorous than that of
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
proper.
Origin
The custom is of comparatively recent origin and is not mentioned in the
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...
. It appears to have been inaugurated in the sixteenth century at
Safed by the kabbalist
Moses Cordovero
Moses Cordovero was a physician who lived at Leghorn (Livorno), Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship ...
, who called the fast ''Yom Kippur Katan''; and it was included by
Isaac Luria
Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534 Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mea ...
in his ''Seder ha-Tefillah''. R.
Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah or Yeshayahu ben Avraham Ha-Levi Horowitz ( he, ישעיה בן אברהם הלוי הורוויץ), (c. 1555 – March 24, 1630), also known as the ''Shelah HaKaddosh'' ( "the holy ''Shelah''") after the title of his best-known work, was ...
refers to it by that name, and says it should be observed by fasting and repentance: "Following the custom of the very pious, one must repent of his ways and make restitutions both in money and in personal acts, in order that he may enter the new month as pure as a new-born infant". When
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor ...
occurs on
Shabbat or Sunday, Yom Kippur Katan is observed on the preceding Thursday.
The custom has roots in scripture () where a
sin offering
A sin offering ( he, קָרְבַּן חַטָּאת, ''korban ḥatat'', , lit: "purification offering") is a sacrificial offering described and commanded in the Torah (Lev. 4.1-35); it could be fine flour or a proper animal.Leviticus 5:11 A sin ...
is sacrificed on Rosh Hodesh, indicating judgement and atonement is provided by God on that day. Therefore the idea of fasting would seem obvious. However, fasting is prohibited on Rosh Hodesh, so the fast is observed on the day prior to Rosh Hodesh.
Practices
Fasting is not obligatory and is only performed by the very pious.
The liturgy of the day, which consists of
selichot
Selichot ( he, סְלִיחוֹת, səlīḥōt, singular: , ''səlīḥā'') are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy ar ...
, is recited at the
Mincha
Mincha ( he, מִנחַה, pronounced as ; sometimes spelled ''Minchah'' or ''Minḥa'') is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism.
Etymology
The name ''Mincha'', meaning "present", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacri ...
prayer in the afternoon. In many communities,
Tallit
A tallit ''talit'' in Modern Hebrew; ''tālēt'' in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino; ''tallis'' in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish. Mish. pl. טליות ''telayot''; Heb. pl. טליתות ''tallitot'' , Yidd. pl. טליתים ''talleisim''. is a f ...
and
tefillin
Tefillin (; Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews durin ...
are worn, especially by those who are fasting. If there are among the congregation ten persons who have fasted, they read the
Torah reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the a ...
''Vayechal'' (, ) as on other fast days.
[Although there are two opinions in Shulchan Aruch (562:2) if the special Torah Reading should be read, and the Mishnah Berurah rules that if there is no established custom, it is better not to read the Torah, the common practice is to read the Torah if there are 10 men fasting.] The selichot are taken partly from the selichos of mincha from Yom Kippur, with the ''
Viddui ha-Gadol'' (the great confession of sin by
Rabbenu Nissim) and ''Ashamnu'', and also a beautiful poem written for the occasion by
Leon of Modena
Leon de Modena or in Hebrew name Yehudah Aryeh Mi-Modena (1571–1648) was a Jewish scholar born in Venice to a family whose ancestors migrated to Italy after an expulsion of Jews from France.
Life
He was a precocious child and grew up to be a re ...
and beginning with ''Yom zeh''. Some congregations add ''
Avinu Malkenu''. For the text of the Selichot see Baer, '' Avodat Yisrael'', pp. 317–319; Emden's Siddur ''Beit Ya'aḳov'', ed. Warsaw, pp. 212a–216b.
Yom Kippur Katan is not observed on the day before
Rosh Hashanah. It is not observed prior to Rosh Chodesh
Cheshvan because Yom Kippur has just passed. It is not observed before Rosh Chodesh
Tevet
Tevet ( he, טֵבֵת, ''Ṭevet''; ; from Akkadian ) is the fourth month of the civil year and the tenth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It follows Kislev and precedes Shevat. It is a month of 29 days. Tevet usually occ ...
, because that day is
Hanukkah
or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem)
, nickname =
, observedby = Jews
, begins = 25 Kislev
, ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet
, celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...
. It is not observed prior to Rosh Chodesh
Iyar
Iyar ( he, אִייָר or , Standard ''ʾĪyyar'' Tiberian ''ʾĪyyār''; from akk, 𒌗 𒄞 itiayari " rosette; blossom") is the eighth month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the second month of the Jewish religious year ...
, because one may not fast during
Nisan.
As stated above, if the 29th of the month falls on a Friday or a Sabbath, Yom Kippur Katan is observed on the Thursday prior.
See also
*
Isru chag
English translation: 'Bind the Festival'
, observedby = Jews in Judaism
, begins = The night immediately following the Three Pilgrimage Festivals
, ends = At nightfall of the day following the Three Pilgrimage Festivals
, observances = Minor: Most ...
refers to the day after each of the
Three Pilgrimage Festivals
The Three Pilgrimage Festivals, in Hebrew ''Shalosh Regalim'' (שלוש רגלים), are three major festivals in Judaism—Pesach (''Passover''), Shavuot (''Weeks'' or ''Pentecost''), and Sukkot (''Tabernacles'', ''Tents'' or ''Booths'')—when ...
.
*
Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot.
*
Mimouna
Mimouna ( he, מימונה, ar, ميمونة, Berber: Mimuna, ⵎⵉⵎⵓⵏⴰ) is a traditional Maghrebi Jewish celebration dinner, that currently takes place in Morocco, Israel, France, Canada, and other places around the world where Jews of ...
, a traditional North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover.
*
Pesach Sheni
, nickname = Translation: "Second Passover"
, observedby = Jews
, type = Jewish
, date = 14th day of Iyar
, date =
, date =
, date =
, date =
, celebrations = Some Chasidic Jews conduct a seder resembling a Passover seder
, signif ...
, is exactly one month ''after'' 14 Nisan.
*
Purim Katan is when during a Jewish leap year Purim is celebrated during Adar II so that the 14th of Adar I is then called Purim Katan.
*
Shushan Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the ...
falls on Adar 15 and is the day on which Jews in Jerusalem celebrate Purim.
*
Yom tov sheni shel galuyot
''Yom tov sheni shel galuyot'' ( he, יום טוב שני של גלויות), also called in short ''yom tov sheni'', means "the second festival day in the Diaspora", and is an important concept in halakha (Jewish law). The concept refers to th ...
refers to the observance of an extra day of Jewish holidays outside of the land of Israel.
References
*
Further reading
*
Gershom Scholem
Gershom Scholem () (5 December 1897 – 21 February 1982), was a German-born Israeli philosopher and historian. Widely regarded as the founder of modern academic study of the Kaballah, Scholem was appointed the first professor of Jewish Myst ...
(1972)
Yom Kippur Katan ''
Encyclopedia Judaica
The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, lang ...
''
*
Louis Jacobs (1995)
Yom Kippur Katan from ''The Jewish Religion: A Companion'', Oxford: Oxford University Press {{ISBN, 0-19-826463-1
*
Shefa Gold
Shefa Gold (born 1954 or 1955) is an American rabbi, scholar, and director of C-DEEP, The Center for Devotional, Energy and Ecstatic Practice in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Gold is a teacher of chant, Jewish mysticism, Jewish prayer and spirituali ...
(1989)
The Dark Rays of the Moon: Yom Kippur Katan as Preparation for Rosh Chodesh
Hebrew names of Jewish holy days
Yom Kippur
Jewish fast days