The attack at Manchester’s Heaton Park synagogue happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – and just five days before October 7.
Known as the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur is a solemn day of fasting, prayer, and reflection for Jews around the world.
This year, it started on Wednesday evening and ends at sundown on Thursday.
Heaton Park was packed with worshippers taking part in a series of long and solemn services.
To add to the significance, Tuesday will mark the second anniversary of attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists, in which 1,195 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK, said: ‘Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year.
‘It’s a very solemn day and synagogues across the country will be full throughout the day.
‘There’s always a significant security operation in place between police and CST across the Jewish community on all major Jewish festivals.’
In terms of importance in the religious year he said it is similar to Christmas Day for Christians, but is a day of solemnity and fasting rather than celebration.
It marks the culmination of the Ten Days of Awe – the period that begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year – during which Jews take stock of their actions, seek forgiveness from others and resolve to make amends.
For observant Jews, the day is spent almost entirely in synagogue, from the haunting opening service of Kol Nidre on the eve of the fast to the final Ne’ilah prayers as the sun sets the following day.
For 25 hours, worshippers abstain from food and drink, as well as other comforts such as bathing, perfume, or wearing leather shoes – an act of self-denial designed to focus the mind on spiritual matters rather than physical needs.
Yet the significance of Yom Kippur goes far beyond religious ritual. It is a collective pause in the busy rhythm of modern life, when Jewish communities come together to reflect on morality, responsibility and renewal.
In Israel, roads fall silent, television and radio stations stop broadcasting, and even airports shut down.
In Britain, around 270,000 Jews mark the occasion, with synagogues reporting their largest attendances of the year.
Families gather together to share a hearty meal before the fast begins, and then again at nightfall the following day, often breaking it with traditional dishes such as bagels, smoked fish or sweet kugel.
As night falls and the blast of the shofar – the ram’s horn – rings out to mark the end of Yom Kippur, it signals more than the close of a fast. It is a call to start the year anew, lighter in spirit, with old grudges put aside and new resolutions ready to be lived.
