We fast on Yom Kippur to “afflict ourselves” as the Torah commands, so we can focus on atonement, spiritual reflection, and moral change instead of physical needs. The fast is meant to help purify the spirit, sharpen our awareness of our actions, and express humility before God.

What Yom Kippur Is About

Yom Kippur is the Jewish “Day of Atonement,” a 25-hour period devoted to prayer, repentance, and seeking forgiveness from God and from other people. It comes at the climax of the High Holy Days, ten days after Rosh Hashanah, when Jews review the past year and try to reset their moral and spiritual direction.

Torah source for fasting

The Torah commands that on the tenth day of the seventh month “you shall afflict yourselves,” which Jewish tradition understands to include not eating or drinking on Yom Kippur. Classical Jewish law expands this “affliction” to include additional restrictions like no washing for pleasure, no sexual relations, and no leather shoes for those who fully observe.

Spiritual reasons for the fast

  • To rise above the physical : Many Jewish teachings say that on Yom Kippur people try to live more like angels for a day, focusing on prayer and inner work instead of bodily habits like eating and drinking.
  • To purify the spirit: By letting go of normal comforts, the fast helps people concentrate on forgiveness, self-examination, and making sincere commitments to change.
  • To show humility and discipline: Fasting is a visible way of demonstrating seriousness about repentance and willingness to control one’s desires and ego.

Ethical and emotional meaning

Some Jewish teachers emphasize that fasting is not an end in itself but should push people toward better behavior and justice. The prophetic reading for Yom Kippur (Isaiah 58) stresses that the “fast” God wants includes loosening the bonds of injustice, caring for the oppressed, and feeding the hungry. Others frame the fast as solidarity with those who experience hunger and deprivation all year, reminding participants to respond with more compassion once the day is over.

Who fasts and how it works

  • Traditional practice is a roughly 25-hour complete fast from food and drink, from sunset on the eve of Yom Kippur until nightfall the next day.
  • Jewish law and many contemporary guides stress that people who are ill, pregnant, nursing, elderly, or otherwise medically vulnerable should not put their health at risk and may be exempt or modify the fast under rabbinic and medical guidance.
  • Most of the day is spent in synagogue services, personal prayer, and reflection, so the fast supports the intense spiritual schedule rather than social or festive activities.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.