Tel Aviv - Ariyeh Alexander said he intended spending Wednesday night in synagogue, fasting, and asking God to release him from vows made during the year.

On Thursday, he will remain at home mostly, still fasting, and "focusing on what is really important."

Alexander is one of 13.3 million Jews around the world who, in one way or another, mark Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, the 25-hour fast-day which is the holiest and most solemn holiday in the Jewish year.

Verses in chapter 23 of the Book of Leviticus command Jews to mark a day of atonement, "in which ye shall afflict your souls" "to make an atonement for you before the Lord."

The vast majority of Jews, even those who, like Alexander, do not observe all, or even many, of the tenets of their religion, observe those commandments in some way, either by fasting and taking part in synagogue prayers, or by engaging in some form of introspection.

Israel grinds to an almost complete halt during the holiday, with even the stores and places of entertainment that remain open on the Sabbath shut.

Public transportation, radio and television broadcasts, all shut down several hours before the fast begins, and, with the exception of ambulances and other emergency vehicles, cars are absent from the roads, making the byways and highways a paradise for children - and adults - on bicycles.

Israel also becomes the only country in the world where there are no flights, at least for one day. Police increase their deployment, while the army bars Palestinians from leaving the occupied territories and entering Israel.

Attendance in Israel's synagogues is also higher than average, although many who fast prefer to remain at home, introspecting in solitude.

"I fast, but for me it's a day for reading - I even dip into the Bible - or surfing the internet," says Yoav Shmuelevich.

The Day of Atonement, in which man atones for his sins against God, caps a 10-day period, which begins with the Jewish New Year, known as the "Days of Awe".

According to tradition, God judges each person on the Jewish New Year and decides their ultimate fate on the Day of Atonement, leaving one 10 days in which to repent.

As a result, these days take on an extra significance for Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews and many flock to the Western Wall in Jerusalem (Judaism's holiest shrine) to pray before the holiday.

The traditional benediction for the fast day, is "may you be inscribed in the book of life," abbreviated - in Israel at least to the greeting "a good inscription."

The holy day begins in the evening, with a prayer in which God is asked to annul all personal vows made to the deity during the year, and ends the following evening with a prayer regarded as the last chance to atone before one's fate is sealed.

In the intervening time, special prayers are recited - one of which provided the inspiration for the Leonard Cohen song Who by Fire.

For many above a certain age in Israel, the holiday also brings back stark memories of the Middle East War, which broke out on the Day of Atonement - October 6, 1973 and became known also as the Yom Kippur War.

The war took Israelis by surprise and many can still remember how the solemnity of the day was shattered by an air raid siren at 2 pm, or how young men left the synagogues as special army emissaries came to call them to join their regular or reserve military units.

According to one poll published on the eve of the holiday, 63 per cent of Israeli Jews say they fast. Some do it out of genuine belief, others to observe a tradition, and one Tel Aviv resident, who gave his name only as Yakov, "because I'm scared of what will happen to me if I don't." (dpa)