Erev Yom Kippur  Numerous preparatory customs and practices are
associated with the day preceding Yom Kippur.  Print this
page Print this page   Erev Yom Kippur includes two other
unusual features that are an important part of the transition
into the harsh self-assessment of Yom Kippur. The first is the
daily afternoon prayer service, Minhah, which, on this day,
includes a special confessional, Vidui. During the Vidui we beat
ourselves on the chest for each transgression listed. This
action serves as a symbolic punishment for our hearts, which are
ultimately responsible for leading us to sins of greed, lust,
and anger.   The Meal Before  The tradition emphasizes, however,
that one must say the confessional prior to eating the meal that
precedes the Yom Kippur fast, a meal known as seudah ha-mafseket
(literally, "the meal that interrupts"). After all, as the
Talmud says, one may not feel up to confessing after eating a
large meal. Or, God forbid, if a person dies at the meal, they
will have died without having