What do you say to someone observing Yom Kippur?

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

A common greeting on Yom Kippur is to wish others “gemar chatima tova,” or “a good final sealing.” Judaism holds that on Rosh Hashanah, God writes a person’s fate for the next year in either the book of life and or the book of death, but during the Ten Days of Repentance there is still time for God’s decision to be adjusted before it is finalized on Yom Kippur. Hence the wish for someone to have “a good final sealing.” Another greeting is “tzom kal” or “an easy fast” since required fasting during the holiday can be difficult.