Fasting for Yom Kippur 2025 begins at sundown on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 , and continues for about 25 hours until nightfall on Thursday, October 2, 2025.

Key timing in simple terms

  • Yom Kippur in 2025 is from the evening of October 1 to the evening of October 2.
  • The fast starts at local sunset on October 1 (Erev Yom Kippur) and ends after nightfall (when three stars are visible) on October 2.
  • Practically, many communities begin fasting a few minutes before the listed sunset time as a stringency.

Example local times (illustrative)

Different cities have different clock times because sunset varies by location.

  • In Israel, sample start times for the fast on October 1, 2025, include around 5:48 p.m. in Jerusalem and 6:05 p.m. in Tel Aviv.
  • Some U.S. examples for Yom Kippur 2025 list fast start times in the early evening (around 6–7 p.m., depending on the city).

Because you did not specify a city, the best way to be precise is to check a Jewish calendar site or local synagogue schedule for “Yom Kippur 2025 candle lighting” or “fast begins” for your location; that time is when fasting starts.

How observant communities define the start

  • The fast is tied to the biblical idea of afflicting oneself from evening to evening, so halachic practice is to start at sunset on the 9th of Tishrei (Erev Yom Kippur) and extend slightly on both ends.
  • Many observe a pre-fast meal (seudah hamafseket) that finishes before candle lighting; once candles are lit and the Yom Kippur eve service (Kol Nidrei) begins, eating and drinking cease.

If you share your city or country, the start time can be narrowed down to a more exact clock time using a local Jewish calendar.