Yom Kippur begins at sundown Friday, bringing Jews to temples worldwide while Israel steps up security to try to contain any holiday threats.

Also known as the Day of Atonement, and taking place on the Jewish Sabbath this year, 5775 in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur marks the end of ten days of atonement that began on Rosh Hashanah. 

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Jewish people examine their lives and practice tzedakah, or charity, for those ten days, believing the end of the period marks a time during which God renders decisions on who will live or die during the upcoming year.

The entire nation of Israel shuts down in observance of the holiest of Jewish days. With that shutdown comes unique dangers. While Jews are supposed to forget worldly cares and focus on prayer and contemplation, they also are allowed to defend themselves if their lives are threatened.

In fact, the Yom Kippur War was fought in 1973 when Arab armies led by Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, starting a 19-day war. It also paved the path to the 1978 Camp David Accords, by most accounts.

This Yom Kippur, more than 2,000 officers from the Israeli Border Police and other special police forces will be on high alert across the nation. Their mission is to ward off any confrontations, especially in cities with large numbers of Jews and Arabs living nearby.

Israeli Police say they have no specific threats on the table, but believe the overlap of Yom Kippur with Ramadan presents the possibility of emotions running high. Police have met with Jewish and Arabs leaders in so-called mixed cities to try to calm feelings and reach a consensus on celebrating peacefully.

Authorities don't want another incident like the Yom Kippur riots in Acre in 2008 that began when an Arab man drove his vehicle through a devout Jewish neighborhood at the height of the holy day when all such traffic is forbidden by observant Jews.

Police officials said they would respond to any incidents promptly while also maintaining a large presence of stand-by units on call.

Tagsyom kippur, Israel, Ramadan, day of atonement, Jews, Jewish, arabs, yom kippur war, sabbath, 5775, Rosh Hashanah