Yom Kippur: A Guide to Reflection, Forgiveness & Renewal

What’s Yom Kippur?

Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, begins at sundown Sunday, September 20, and ends an hour after sundown Monday, September 21. It’s a day of deep reflection, prayer and atonement,  an opportunity to reflect, make amends, and begin anew.

But before we turn to G-d for forgiveness, we must first seek it from those we’ve wronged. This personal accountability is at the heart of the Ten Days of Awe, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The Book of Life

Jewish tradition teaches that on Rosh Hashanah our names are written in the Book of Life, and on Yom Kippur they are sealed. Through teshuva (repentance), tefillah (prayer), and tzedakah (charity), we can influence how our story unfolds in the year ahead.

Key Traditions

• Pre-Fast Meal & Candles – Eat a filling meal and light candles before sundown.
• Fasting – Refrain from food and drink for 25 hours (unless health requires otherwise).
• Prayer & Services – Much of the day is spent in synagogue, focusing on the spiritual.
• Attire – Wear white and avoid leather shoes as symbols of humility, purity, and equality.
• Customary Greetings –  
  
  • “L'shanah Tovah Tikatevu v'Techatemu” (May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year) or
  • “G’mar Chatima Tova” (May you be sealed for a good year).

Making Yom Kippur Meaningful

1. Family Reflection (Mikkud) – Just like we set time at camp each Shabbat for Mikkud where campers and counselors reflect on their past week and our Shabbat theme, you can set aside time with your family to share hopes and goals for the year. You may find this resource helpful in guiding your conversations.
2. Story with a Lesson – At camp, Ruchel comes from the “old country” each Shabbat to tell us a story with a moral. Share this Pillow with Feathers Story with your family. It reminds us that words, once spoken, can’t be taken back. Apologies matter, but our actions carry lasting weight.
3. Future Letters – Write notes to your future selves about what you hope to achieve this year. Open them next Yom Kippur. Save them each year and create a scrapbook for each family member.
4. Tzedakah (righteousness) – Giving to charity is an act of tzedakah. It is customary to give additional money to charity during the Ten Days of Awe, especially on the day before Yom Kippur. Just as we ask G-d to judge us with charity and kindness, we should also give charity and act with kindness toward others.
5. Practice Forgiveness – Seek out those you may have hurt and model sincere apologies for your children. Forgiveness can be healing, even if it doesn’t erase the past. This article from Psychology Today identifies several steps to making a successful apology.

Carrying Camp Into Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur invites us to look honestly at the year behind us, to recognize where we grew, where we could have done better, and how we can move forward. At Beber this summer, we practiced many of these same ideas every day: learning from our mistakes, having hard conversations, supporting one another, and growing together as a community. As we reflect this Yom Kippur, we can think back to the people and moments that shaped Summer 2026 and ask:

• Who helped me become a better version of myself?
• Is there someone I need to thank or apologize to?
• And what can I do differently in the year ahead?

As you gather with family and friends this Yom Kippur, we hope you carry a little bit of Beber with you - the feeling of sitting around a campfire, singing and praying together on Shabbat, laughing with friends, or knowing that you belong to a community that believes in you. While the summer may be over, the relationships we built, the lessons we learned, and the person we became at Beber came home with us. May those memories inspire us to continue growing, caring for one another, and building the kind of community we want to be part of all year long.

G’mar Chatima Tova from our Beber family to yours. May you and your loved ones be sealed in the Book of Life for a year of peace, health, prosperity, and sweetness.

The Beber Camp Team

Michael, Debbie, Stacy, Julia, Trudy, Harrell, Morgan and Nancy