The nation of Israel will become remarkably quiet starting tonight at sundown, as the Jewish people observe their holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement.
Israel will come to a virtual stop, with public and private transportation (aircraft included) will shut down, as will restaurants, supermarkets, businesses and places of entertainment.
Apart from emergencies, people will not use their vehicles until the sunset the following day. The roads become an open playground, with the majority of the nation’s children taking over the streets after the sun goes down until the following day.
Unlike the other biblical feasts, Yom Kippur is set apart – as seen in Leviticus – and is especially full of deep, prophetic significance. Leviticus 16 and 23 and Numbers 29 clearly state that Yom Kippur is to be a day of rest and of presenting an offering by fire to the Lord, as well as a time to humble one’s soul, as atonement is being made by the high priest for collective and individual sin.
On Yom Kippur, people greet each other with the words, G’mar Hatima Tova, an abbreviation for the phrase: “May you be sealed in the Book of Life.” This expression is based on the traditional belief that God judges on Rosh Hashanah (the new year) and that judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur. It further links the upcoming holiday of Sukkot by saying the judgment is sent out on the Hoshana Rabba (Great Hoshana or Great Supplication), which is the rabbinical name for the seventh day of Sukkot. More Here
