Yom Kippur 2010 News Roundup

(Sept. 17) -- This evening marks the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday also known as the Day of Atonement and widely considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. For 25 hours, Jews around the world will fast as well as engage in intensive prayer and reflection.

Although Yom Kippur certainly takes on a more somber tone than its high holiday counterpart Rosh Hashanah, in the spirit of holiday media coverage, the Day of Atonement still generates a comparable and varied news feed:

President Barack Obama was called out by the New York Post for pressuring -- through a conference call -- 600 rabbis to sermonize his Middle East peace plan to their congregations. According to the editorial, the president attempted a similar strategy last year when he encouraged more than 1,000 rabbis to push ObamaCare from the pulpit. The message from the Post to the president: Stop bullying the rabbis. Read more at the New York Post.

A committee of conservative rabbis is issuing a new edition of the mahzor, the Jewish high holidays prayer book, that does not include the word "awesome" in the text. "If you say God is awesome, you are immediately in street language, rather than inspiring language," committee head Rabbi Edward Feld told The New York Times. The committee decided on "awe-inspiring" as an appropriate replacement. Read more at The New York Times.

Two New York City businessmen are engaged in a national advertising campaign encouraging Jews and non-Jews to turn off their cell phones on Yom Kippur. Eric Yaverbaum and Mark DiMassimo -- founders of the company Offlining -- are communicating their message through ads with celebrities such as Tiger Woods that read, "You don't have to be Jewish to atone for your texts on Yom Kippur." Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times.

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West Ham manager Avram Grant will be missing his squad's Premier League match on Saturday in observance of Yom Kippur. The Daily Star reports that the Hammers will also play the match without Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim for the same reason. Read more at Fanhouse.

New York Mets rookie first baseman Ike Davis decided to leave the decision of whether to play on Yom Kippur up to his Jewish mother. According to ESPN, she leaned toward sitting out, but left the choice up to her son. Read more at ESPN.

The folks at Jerry's Deli went on damage control when an outside advertising company released a Yom Kippur meal special -- not exactly appropriate, considering that Jewish people are required to fast for 25 hours over the holiday. "Our marketing company unfortunately sent an e-mail blast without our input," said Executive Vice President Ami Saffron in an apology e-mail. "The marketing company meant to serve us. However, they simply did not know what the holiday really represents and how it can offend those observing Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement." Read more at Blogging.LA.