Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur ( or ), also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. This day marks the end of ten days of penitence. At the time of the first and second Temples was the only day that the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies and a goat was sent to Azazel in the wilderness. It is a "Shabat Shabaton", a day of complete abstention of mundane work. Rabbinic tradition states that each Jew must focus on his personal avodah, the service to the L ORD.

Biblical description
God establishes this holy day on the 10th of the 7th month, the Hebrew month of Tishri, as the day of atonement for sins. As it can be read in Leviticus:

God also established that this day is a day of rest:

Observance after the destruction of the Temple
After the destruction of the Temple, Gamaliel III and his sucessors revolutionized the religious pratice by transferring to the sinagogue the rites once practiced in the Temple. The Day of Atonement would become a fast day for individual repentence, replacing the act of atonement carried by the High Priest. Presently the day of atonement is a day of fasting and mourning on which the Jew accounts for his deeds. On this day, in accordance with Judaism, the man´s fate is determined by the balance between his good and evil actions.

Traditions
The traditions, according to Talmud, are as follows (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b.) :


 * It is forbidden to eating and drinking
 * It is forbidden to bathing or washing
 * It is forbidden to put on sandals or to wear leather shoes
 * It is forbidden to anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
 * It is forbidden to have marital intercourse