Prior to the Additional Service (Musaf) in Traditional Ashkenazi Congregations, a Special Prayer Entitled Hineni He-Ani Mi-Ma'as Is Recited by the Cantor or Reader. Many Liturgical Hymns Are Included in the Reader's Repetition of the Amidah, Notably the Solemn U-Netanneh Tokef Passage on the Day of Judgment Theme. On a Number of Occasions during the Repetition of the Amidah, Orthodox Worshipers (or, at Least, the Reader) Customarily Prostrate Themselves on the Ground. A Principal Feature of the Additional Service Is the Avodah, a Poetical Version of the High Priest's Order of Service in the Temple on the Day of Atonement.
Interpolated in the Penitential Selihot and Confessions, toward the End of Musaf, Is the Elleh Ezkerah Martyrology. Based on a Medieval Midrash of the Same Name, Elleh Ezkerah ("These Things I Remember") Purports to Be an Account of the Legendary Ten Martyrs Who Were Cruelly Tortured to Death for Defying the Roman Emperor Hadrian's Ban on the Teaching and Study of Torah. There Are Numerous Points of Anachronism and Inconsistency in This Tale, However, Which Was More Probably a Reflection of the Massacres and Martyrdoms Inflicted on Jewish Communities in Northern Europe during the Crusades. In Some Non-Orthodox Liturgies This Has Been Expanded to Include Appropriate Readings from Holocaust Literature.
Special Features of the Afternoon Service Include the Pentateuchal Reading (Lev. 18), Which Deals with Prohibited Marriages and Sexual Offenses That Would Imperil Israel's Holiness, and a Haftarah, the Book of Jonah, with Its Story of the Repentance of the Ninevites.
Prior to the Concluding Service (Ne'ilah), the Hymn El Nora Alilah Is Chanted in Sephardi Synagogues. Ne'ilah Is Recited as Twilight Approaches and Hymns Such as Petah Lanu Sha'ar ("Open the Gate for Us") Are a Reminder That the Last Opportunity for Sincere Repentance Is at Hand. In Most Jewish Communities the Doors of the Ark Remain Open and Worshipers Stand Throughout the Service. The Plea That God May "Inscribe" Each Individual for a Good Life Is Now Changed to One for Him to "Seal" a Favorable Fate, and the Greetings Exchanged at This Time Also Express That Wish. Ne'ilah Ends with the Chanting of Avinu Malkenu, Followed by the Shema Proclamation of God's Unity, a Threefold Recital of Barukh Shem Kevod Malkhuto, and a Sevenfold Acknowledgment That "the Lord, He Is God!" (I Kings 18:39).
The Shofar (Ram's Horn) Is Then Sounded to Indicate That the Fast Has Come to an End, and Congregants Recite La-Shanah Ha-Ba'ah Bi-Yerushalayim ("Next Year in Jerusalem"); in Israel, the Wording Is Changed to "Jerusalem Rebuilt." According to Some, the Blowing of the Shofar at This Point Originally Marked the Proclamation of a 50th (Jubilee) Year of Release When the Appropriate Yom Kippur Had Ended.
A Widespread Custom Is for Construction of the Sukkah to Begin at Home, Once People Have Broken Their Fast. In Second Temple Times, Young Folk Danced in the Vineyards, and This Was Also the "Courting Season" When Young Singles Were Invited to Choose Their Marriage Partners. Traces of This Custom Have Remained among Yemenite and Ethiopian Jews.
