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Yom Kippur

(Encyclopedia)Yom Kippur [Heb.,=day of atonement], in Judaism, the most sacred holy day, falling on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishri (usually late September or early October). It is a day of fasting and p...

Yom Kippur War

(Encyclopedia)Yom Kippur War: see Arab-Israeli Wars. ...

Kol Nidre

(Encyclopedia)Kol Nidre: see Yom Kippur.

Rosh ha-Shanah

(Encyclopedia)Rosh ha-Shanah hə-shäˈnə [key] [Heb.,=head of the year], the Jewish New Year, also known as the Feast of the Trumpets. It is observed on the first day of the seventh month, Tishri, occurring usual...

tallit

(Encyclopedia)tallit tälētˈ [key], in Judaism, four-cornered, fringed shawl worn by males during the morning prayers. It is donned before putting on the phylacteries, except on Yom Kippur when it is worn all thr...

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

(Encyclopedia)Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), multinational organization (est. 1960, formally constituted 1961) that coordinates petroleum policies and economic aid among oil-producing nations...

fasting

(Encyclopedia)fasting, partial or temporary abstinence from food, a widely used form of asceticism. Among the stricter Jews the principal fast is the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur; in Islam the faithful fast all ...

atonement

(Encyclopedia)atonement, the reconciliation, or “at-one-ment,” of sinful humanity with God. In Judaism both the Bible and rabbinical thought reflect the belief that God's chosen people must be pure to remain in...

Arab-Israeli Wars

(Encyclopedia)Arab-Israeli Wars, conflicts in 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973–74, and 1982 between Israel and the Arab states. Tensions between Israel and the Arabs have been complicated and heightened by the politic...

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