It starts like all holidays the evening before at sunset. Yom Kippur ends the 10 days of repentance that started with Rosh haShanah (New Year). Observant Jews do not eat nor drink nor use cosmetics until after sunset the next day.
Here in Tel Aviv, where most AM:PM shops are open 24 hours even on Shabat, everything was closed, and for 25 hours there was no car in the street, no taxi, no bus.
The evening of Yom Kippur i walked through Dizengoff Blvd and was amazed to see the usually so busy street filled with people, most dressed in white, cheerfully singing, smiling, children playing, youths on roller blades, songs could be heard from the synagogues.
Nobody dared to smoke.
The only traffic were ambulances and occasional police cars, without horns and very slow...
I never before experienced such a general feeling of spirituality, joy and peacefulness.
I also was fasting and not smoking cigarettes for the whole period, meditating most of the time in my bunk bed.
After sunset i went to my favorite Showarma place on Allenby Street and overate of course ...
Everybody probably did so as i was not the only one with a broad smile holding my belly and joyfully smoking one after the other on the street...
Reading of the riots in Akko today really makes me sad and leaves a bitter taste after this beautiful experience of this Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv ...
