The Laws and Practices of the Eve of Yom Kippur

1. Some are accustomed to visit cemeteries before Yom Kippur (Rama, OC 605).
2. Others participate in kapparot (ibid.) by swinging a live chicken which is then given to the poor to eat, or a small sack of money above their heads. This Minhag was originated by some of the Geonim. Ben Ish Chai states to slaughter a white rooster on behalf of each male and a white hen for a female. The Shulhan Aruch adds that there are those that reject this minhag, most likely because there is a strong similarity between this practice and those of the pagans (Mishnah Berurahסימן תר”ה ס”ק א ). In its place many Jews do Kapparot using money and donating it to Tzedakah.
3. Some are accustomed to receive symbolic malkot (lashes) in order to motivate themselves to repent.
4. It is customary to ask forgiveness from one’s fellow before Yom Kippur.   This practice is based upon the following mishna: For sins between man and God Yom Kippur atones, but for sins between man and his fellow Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow.
5. Men should immerse in a Mikva on Erev Yom Kippur. R. Akiva (Yoma 85b) draws a comparison between teshuva and mikva. R. Akiva said: Fortunate are you, Israel! Before Whom do you cleanse yourself? And who cleanses you? Your Father in Heaven!… And it also says: “The mikva ofIsrael is God.” Just as a mikva cleanses the contaminated, so does the Holy One, blessed be He, cleanses Israel.
6. Viduy and other Prayers of Erev Yom Kippur. The Talmud (Yoma 87b) teaches that one should recite the viduy BEFORE the meal on Erev Yom Kippur. The Sages said: One should confess before he eats and drinks, lest he lose his mind at the meal.  And although he confessed before he ate and drank, he should confess again after he eats and drinks, for perhaps something unseemly happened at the meal. Rashi (s.v. shema) explains that the Sages were concerned lest one become intoxicated, while the Rambam (Hilkhot Teshuva 2:7) writes that they were concerned lest a person choke and die before repenting.
7. The Mitzva to Eat on Erev Yom Kippur. The Talmud (Yoma 81b) teaches that there is a mitzva to eat on the day before Yom Kippur, and that eating on Erev Yom Kippur and then fasting on Yom Kippur is somehow tantamount to fasting for two days. Rashi understands that one should eat on the ninth in order to prepare for Yom Kippur.  For this extra preparation, one receives “credit” as if one fasted on both days. The Rosh understands the mitzva, like Rashi, as a preparation for the fast, but he adds that it demonstrates God’s affection for the Jewish People and His will that they should not suffer. Conversely, the Shibbolei Ha-Leket (307) suggests that one should eats “well” on the day before Yom Kippur to experience MORE discomfort on Yom Kippur itself. Rabbeinu Yona (Sha’arei Teshuva 4:8-10), writes: If a person transgressed a negative commandment and repented, he should be concerned with his sin, and long and wait for the arrival of Yom Kippur in order that God will be appeased… And this is what they meant (Rosh Hashana 9a), that one who eats a special meal on the eve of Yom Kippur it is as if he was commanded to fast on the ninth and tenth and did so, as he demonstrated his joy that the time for atonement has come, and this will be a testimony for his concern for his guilt and his anguish for his sins. Second, on other festive days we eat a meal for the joy of the mitzva… and since the fast is on Yom Kippur, we were commanded to designate a meal for the joy of the mitzva on the day before Yom Kippur.
8. Tzedaka  It is also customary of all Jews to give charity during the Ten Days of Repentance, especially on Erev Yom Kippur.
9. One is obligated to light candles before Yom Kippur just as one would on Shabbat, to ensure there is peace in the home, Shalom Bayit.