From the moment Yom Kippur begins, and until the moment it ends, there is something special in the air.

The last cars on the road are hastily parked, and their drivers rush into their homes. The stores and businesses are all closed early, in preparation for something more important and sublime. Even the media, that is never silent for a minute, tones down and eventually disconnects – if only for those sacred and wonderful 25 hours.

The Land grows quiet, and becomes holy, for an entire night and day!

A study by the Guttman Institute found that nearly 90% of the Israeli population fasts on Yom Kippur!!

Even during the rule of the ruthless Stalin in Russia, there were those who observed Yom Kippur, according to testimony by R' Yitzchak Zilber, z"l (from his book, "To Remain A Jew"):

"For a number of years I served as chazzan for the Yom Kippur prayers in Tashkent. We had a minyan that met in secret in the homes of one of the families. I would spend the entire day in their house, never setting foot outside. During the short breaks in the prayer service, I studied Torah with the others. We called our minyan "Our Comsomoli Party". It only existed on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, for it would have been extremely dangerous for any of the members of the group to be caught."

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On Yom Kippur in the prison work camp, just as on Rosh Hashana, I made a great effort to find more and more Jews to join me in prayer. We organized everything ahead of time, so that we could start work later than usual on that day (our Tefillah lasted no more than half and hour to an hour. It was impossible to devote an entire day to prayer in the camp!). We waited until everyone else left the barracks, and only then did we dare to slightly raise our voices in prayer. If anyone entered the barracks, we would stop praying until he left.

I convinced all the Jewish prisoners that on Yom Kippur they were obligated to fast, and could not perform any labor. Even if a person was forced to work against his will, he had to make a conscious effort to leave as many tasks as possible unfinished, for the following day. On Erev Yom Kippur I even managed to perform the custom of "kaparos" (with the small amount of money we possessed) for everyone in turn – everybody was able to find two minutes of free time for that activity.

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Another amazing story about a spark that was kindled:

During a certain period of time, life in prison was good for my father. He worked in the boiler room, and it was his job to heat up the boiler at night, in order for there to be hot water for the prisoners each morning. Working at that job meant that he did not sleep in the common barracks, and could daven Shacharit in total privacy. But there was one particular criminal who regularly made my father's life miserable. Before Yom Kippur, my father approached him and said, "Tomorrow is a special day for us, and I beg of you, just this once, not to torment me. I will pay you whatever I can."

The criminal asked, "What day is it?"
"Yom Hakippurim. I will pray, and you – don't bother me."
"When does that day begin?"
"Tomorrow night."

The next evening, the criminal suddenly appeared, and my father did not know what to expect. He simply stood in his corner and continued to pray, without paying any attention to the man. Whatever happens, happens! (Until the end of his life, my father never sat down on Yom Kippur. He recited all of the prayers standing up!) The criminal stood in the corner, opposite my father, for the entire time my father spent in prayer. Perhaps he also prayed, or perhaps he was silent, in order not to disturb my father…but from that day on, he never tormented my father again. And every year on Yom Kippur, until the day my father was released from prison, the man continued to show up and stand at my father's side.

Why? What for?

"For on this day He will atone for you, to purify you from all your sins, before Hashem you will be purified."

The spiritual purity and cleanliness that washes over us all from above on that day, penetrates the hearts of every member of our nation, as we humble ourselves before Hashem. For some, it is impossible to understand or explain the sensation, but it is very strong, and even the air is "charged" with a powerful energy that is felt everywhere in the Land.

We are one People, faithful to one G-d.

G'mar Chasima Tova!