Texas A&M’s Jewish community began Yom Kippur on Tuesday, the most solemn and holiest day in the Jewish Year. Starting with a 25-hour fast that will end Wednesday evening, the community prepared to spiritually refocus for the Jewish new year.

Texas A&M’s Jewish Hillel Institute will hold events for the Jewish community throughout Yom Kippur, a holiday known as the Jewish “Day of Atonement.” Tuesday night kicked off the events with a pre-fast meal, and events will continue through Wednesday night.

“On Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock and 5:30 p.m. we will hold other services,” said Matt Rosenberg, Head Rabbi at Hillel. “On Wednesday night, we will break the fast and rush into the dining room to eat the calories they missed.”

Five days after Yom Kippur is a more celebratory Jewish holiday, Sukkot, Rosenberg said. This is a time when members of the Jewish community celebrate the Israelite Exodus out of Egypt. Rosenberg said Hillel will celebrate Sukkot by making a temporary shelter structure called a Sukkah. Several people are invited to camp out in the Sukkah during the week, and Hillel holds events including a dinner and a Torah reading from inside the Sukkah.