Yossi Rosenblum (center) with members of a rabbinical choir who are visiting from New York to sing as a part of Yom Kippur observance, St. George, Utah, Sept. 30, 2025.
Stock photo, St. George News
In a file photo, Rabbi Mendy Cohen of the Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Utah speaks about the origins and significance of Yom Kippur, St. George, Utah, Sept. 19, 2023.
Stock photo, St. George News
Yossi Rosenblum (center) with members of a rabbinical choir who are visiting from New York to sing as a part of Yom Kippur observance, St. George, Utah, Sept. 30, 2025.
Senior Reporter
Stock photo, St. George News
Stock photo, St. George News
The Jewish community in Southern Utah will gather this week for Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, with services offered through the Chabad Jewish Community Center.
Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement, is observed 10 days after Rosh Hashanah and marks the end of the Jewish High Holy Days, a time for introspection, prayer, forgiveness for sins from the past year, making amends and committing to personal renewal in the year ahead.
The day is also marked by fasting, extended synagogue services and the Yizkor memorial prayer honoring departed loved ones.
Yossi Rosenblum (center) with members of a rabbinical choir who are visiting from New York to sing as a part of Yom Kippur observance, St. George, Utah, Sept. 30, 2025.
“Yom Kippur is a very special day,” Rabbi Mendy Cohen said. “Yom Kippur is a beautiful holiday. It’s a very meaningful holiday. It’s considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It’s a day of awe, today of repentance, today to connect, today to think about ourselves.”
Cohen said the observance encourages reflection on family, relationships and a person’s connection with God. He described it as a chance to look back on the past year, consider both actions taken and opportunities missed and focus on becoming a better person. The goal, he said, is personal growth that benefits the individual and the wider community, ultimately spreading goodness and kindness throughout the world.
“In times like these, coming together for Yom Kippur takes on even deeper meaning,” Cohen said in a press release. “Our community is showing that we will not be deterred from observing our holiest day. We gather with strength, dignity and unshakable faith.”
In a file photo, Rabbi Mendy Cohen of the Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Utah speaks about the origins and significance of Yom Kippur, St. George, Utah, Sept. 19, 2023.
The holiday begins at sundown Wednesday and runs until nightfall on Thursday.
Visiting choir
A rabbinical choir will perform during the services. Choir member Yossi Rosenblum said the group came from New York at Cohen’s invitation to be part of both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur events.
“We came here to bring a little more of a Jewish atmosphere, Jewish life, visiting the Jewish people,” he said. “We’re just helping out here in the Chabad, the synagogue, with prayers, singing along and just bringing a nice Jewish atmosphere here to St. George and Southern Utah.”
Rosenblum said visiting the area has been a unique experience.
Yossi Rosenblum (center) with members of a rabbinical choir who are visiting from New York to sing as a part of Yom Kippur observance, St. George, Utah, Sept. 30, 2025.
“It was a beautiful experience being in the community and how even here down in Southern Utah, Rosh Hashanah, at the beginning of the New Year, people come all the way down from old parts,” he said. “People are driving about an hour away just to come and hear the blowing of the shofar. And we were very inspired by that. Then we told the Rabbi, we got to channel this energy and bring it over to Yom Kippur, the day of repentance.”
He added that exploring the area highlighted how the Jewish community is growing in Southern Utah.
“Another day, we were going down to Snow Canyon to go hiking a little bit, and we stopped off at a couple of stores to buy some stuff,” Rosenblum said. “And it’s incredibly, we walk into a store, we meet a Jew, and walk into another store, we meet a Jew. I’m like, where are we? Felt like we’re doing Brooklyn, New York, not down in Southern Utah.”
Event details
Services will be held at the Chabad Jewish Community Center in St. George and will begin Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. and continue Thursday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m. The Yizkor memorial service will take place Thursday at 11:15 a.m. The concluding Neilah prayers are scheduled for 6:30 p.m., followed by a community meal.
All services are open to the public with no admission charged, prayers conducted in Hebrew and English and explanations provided. RSVPs are required at Jewishsu.com/hh. Synagogue officials said their mission is to make High Holiday services accessible regardless of membership or affiliation.
For more information, visit Jewishsouthernutah.com. For more information about the High Holiday services, contact Chabad Jewish Community Center at 435-619-6630, email office@jewishsu.com or visit JewishSU.com. A service near you can also be found in the world’s largest directory of High Holidays services: JewishSU.com/HighHolidayService.
Senior Reporter
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