2. Hall - 4. view

Kitli and belt buckle

The first communal prayer service of Yom Kippur starts immediately prior to sunset on the evening of Yom Kippur. This service is called Kol Nidrei (“All Vows”). Men wear a white burial garment, called kitli, in the synagogue. It is traditional not to wear leather shoes on this evening but canvas or rubber shoes. Yom Kippur is often called in Hungarian the “Long Day”, referring to the observant Jews spending the whole day with praying, without eating or drinking at all. It is an Eastern European tradition to wear a belt buckle over the white burial robe. The inscriptions and symbols on the buckles all refer to content of the holiday.