Yom Kippur + Yom Kippur Shortstop

Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish year.  This is the day when Jews make sure that they have righted any wrongs and made their apologies for any grievances they may have committed in the past year...

Falling on the tenth day of the High Holy Days, between Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot, Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement.  Jews fast from sunset to sunset, pray in the synagogue, and think of ways to help make the world a better place.  Yom Kippur in 2020 runs from September 27th (sundown) to September 28 (sundown).

Forgiveness is not only asked from those who have been wronged, but it is also asked from God, for the sins of the previous year.  According to tradition, each person's fate for the upcoming year is written by God in the Book of Life.  He writes this on Rosh Hashanah, but waits until Yom Kippur to 'seal the fate,' allowing time for the person to amend their behavior and seek forgiveness.  It is common to spend the entire day in synagogue on this day.

For this unit, we are using Yom Kippur Shortstop as our spine read.

Access the complete unit study in the Jewish Holidays in Literature Bundle!

Each of the ten unit studies in this year-long bundle centers around a book for middle school level and includes videos, cooking projects, hands-on activities, writing assignments, and more.  There are also resources for younger children in eight of the ten units (not in *).

• Introduction to Judaism
• Solomon and the Trees + Tu B’Shevat unit
• The Queen of Persia + Purim unit study (sample)
• Devil’s Arithmetic + Passover unit study
• The Secret Shofar of Barcelona + Rosh Hashana unit study
• The Yom Kippur Shortstop + Yom Kippur unit study
• The Mysterious Guests + Sukkot unit study
• All-of-a-Kind Family Hannukah + Chanukah unit study
• Broken Strings + Fiddler on the Roof + Persecution unit study*
• The Golem & the Jinni + Kabbalah unit*