An ultra-Orthodox Jew whips a fellow believer with a leather belt as a symbolic punishment for his sins, during the traditional Malkot ceremony a few hours before the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holy day of Atonement, on September 24, 2023, at a synagogue in the central Israeli town of Beit Shemesh. Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is one of the most important holidays of the Jewish year, during which Israelis observe a period of a 25-hour fasting, reflection and prayers and during which synagogues are filled with worshippers. The novel coronavirus pandemic, however, prompted the Israeli government to impose a nationwide lockdown with most of the prayer to be held outdoors and with a limited (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)