For Monica Arbetman, a senior family and consumer science major, tonight and tomorrow will be quite special.

Yom Kippur, which means “Day of Atonement,” begins tonight at sundown and lasts until sundown tomorrow. It is considered one of the most holy Jewish holidays.

Yom Kippur is the culmination of a holy period that began a month earlier, during the Hebrew month of El Al. It follows Rosh Hashanah and the New Year’s activities.

Yom Kippur is what some consider a judgment day.

Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, the executive director of the Chabad Jewish Student Center at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, said Yom Kippur is a time for reflection of oneself.

“Yom Kippur is the day to reflect the past year and make resolutions for the upcoming year,” Tiechtel said.

This makes acceptance a large part of Yom Kippur. The holiday is about accepting the fact that people do sin, focusing on one’s sins and making changes to one’s lifestyle so those sins are not committed again.

Catherina Thoma, a senior communication studies major who celebrates Yom Kippur, said that Yom Kippur allows for repentance of sins.

“We are supposed to tell our sins to God but the nice thing is, in Judaism we don’t really dwell on sin. We think and act more in the way of accepting the fact that we are human and we have faults and we sin,” Thoma said.

Yom Kippur is not only about repentance.

“Many Jews practice repentance, say prayers and give charity to obtain God’s forgiveness for any sins made in the past year,” Arbetman said.

Thoma feels that Yom Kippur is a day to do charitable acts.

“What we try to do is be more God-like, meaning doing things for others without getting credit or praise,” she said.

Yom Kippur also includes a fast that lasts around 25 hours. Before the fast starts there is one last meal.

“The final meal before is a somewhat festive occasion, including soup, chicken, and challah, traditional Jewish bread,” Arbetman said.

Bathing, using creams and oils, wearing leather shoes and sexual relations during Yom Kippur are also prohibited.

Exceptions are made for children who have not yet had their bar or bat mitzvah, pregnant women and people who are sick.

The entire family can experience other traditions, including the candle lighting.

Usually at a synagogue service, two holiday candles are blessed then lit. This signifies the start of Yom Kippur.

Tiechtel said one candle represents ushering in the holiday, and a second candle can represent the soul or souls of the departed.

People who have died in the past year are remembered during this time.

“Another part of Yom Kippur is doing prayers for those who have died near to us. Such as in my family three grandparents have passed away, so we take part in the prayer services,” said Arbetman.

This Yom Kippur will be especially hard for Arbetman since she will remember her late grandmother.

“It means a lot to us because our grandparents were a major part of our family. This year will be tough on my family because my grandmother passed away recently and she was the matriarch of the family,” she said.

Being away from home during such an important holiday can be tough.

Thoma said keeping in touch with family members while away at school makes Yom Kippur more meaningful.

“I recognize it (Yom Kippur), but because I’m away from my family, I don’t really do much other than recognize it and think of my family. My family usually calls me from home and puts the phone on speaker and puts the phone in the middle of the table so it’s like I’m there which is nice,” Thoma said.

Yom Kippur acknowledges that people are human and make mistakes.

“As humans we stray off the way at times and therefore our job is to ‘return’ and that is what Yom Kippur is about – returning to our roots – our inner self that wants to do good,” Tiechtel said.