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There is nothing more quintessential to a Jewish celebration than food. It is a religion and culture with eating and drinking baked in — there are even specific prayers, recited weekly on Shabbat, individually for wine and bread.

So it would have to be the most solemn of holidays to take food away — and that dichotomy is the essence of Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur is known as the Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day of the year for Jews because it is believed that this is the day when God decides whether each individual will be written into the Book of Life for the following year. It comes 10 days after the new year celebrations of Rosh Hashana — this year, it starts the evening of Oct. 11 and ends in the evening of Oct. 12 — and it is typically spent in prayer atoning for that year’s sins at synagogue in the hope of wiping the slate clean. And in order to truly repent, the whole day is spent fasting. No food or drink is permitted — even water.

But, true to form, when Yom Kippur ends at sundown, there is something to look forward to. The break fast is different across Jewish cultures, but it is a chance to come together, eat together and enjoy the end of the year’s most emotional and difficult day.