Israel comes to halt for solemn day of Yom Kippur
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A woman holds a shofar before the start of a Tashlich ceremony, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Rabbi Aharon Biderman gives cakes to his followers just before the start of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, in the city of Beit Shemesh, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year’s, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man holds a chicken during the Kaparot ritual in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one’s sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the Tashlich ceremony, at a zoo in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Kiryat Sanz Hassidic sect listen to their rabbi on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea as they participate in a Tashlich ceremony, in Netanya, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means “to cast away” in Hebrew, is the practice in which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically “throw away” their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man swings a chicken over his kids as part of the Kaparot ritual in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one’s sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray during the Tashlich ceremony, next to an aquarium at a zoo in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A woman holds a shofar before the start of a Tashlich ceremony, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A woman holds a shofar before the start of a Tashlich ceremony, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Rabbi Aharon Biderman gives cakes to his followers just before the start of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, in the city of Beit Shemesh, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Rabbi Aharon Biderman gives cakes to his followers just before the start of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, in the city of Beit Shemesh, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year’s, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man whips a member of his Hasidic dynasty with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for his sins last year’s, during the traditional Malkot (whipping in Hebrew) ceremony, ahead of Yom Kippur that begins at sunset, in the city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions and refrain from eating and drinking, attending intense prayer services in synagogues. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Women take part in a Tashlich ceremony, where they wrote down things they want to release before casting them into a fire, on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man holds a chicken during the Kaparot ritual in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one’s sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man holds a chicken during the Kaparot ritual in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one’s sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the Tashlich ceremony, at a zoo in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the Tashlich ceremony, at a zoo in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Kiryat Sanz Hassidic sect listen to their rabbi on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea as they participate in a Tashlich ceremony, in Netanya, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means “to cast away” in Hebrew, is the practice in which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically “throw away” their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Kiryat Sanz Hassidic sect listen to their rabbi on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea as they participate in a Tashlich ceremony, in Netanya, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means “to cast away” in Hebrew, is the practice in which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically “throw away” their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man swings a chicken over his kids as part of the Kaparot ritual in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one’s sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man swings a chicken over his kids as part of the Kaparot ritual in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one’s sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray during the Tashlich ceremony, next to an aquarium at a zoo in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray during the Tashlich ceremony, next to an aquarium at a zoo in the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is the practice by which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli life came to a standstill on Wednesday as Jews marked the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the most solemn point on their calendar, at sundown.
Stores, businesses, public transportation and broadcasting shuts down in Israel for this high holiday, on which the observant fast from sundown on Wednesday until after sunset on Thursday and spend the day in prayer and repentance.
For many secular Israeli Jews, it’s a day of quiet reflection and introspection spent with family. Streets and highways normally dominated by traffic empty and turn into bicycle-filled thoroughfares.
The Israeli police said in a statement that they have deployed additional forces around Jerusalem, with particular focus on the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, ahead of the holiday.
The Jewish High Holidays are taking place as Israel is in the grip of a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, with new daily cases at all-time highs since the start of the pandemic last year.
During the 2020 holidays, the country was under a full lockdown to curb infections. This year the Health Ministry recommended that prayers be held outdoors. Indoor worship is limited to 50 people unless the synagogue restricts entry to those certified as vaccinated, recovered, or those who test negative ahead of Yom Kippur.
Israel has has recorded over 1.1 million cases of coronavirus and 7,438 deaths since the start of the pandemic last year. It rolled out a COVID-19 booster shot campaign last month and already nearly 3 million Israelis have received a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.