Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Parents of the 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue PTO sent an email today apologizing to Jewish families about scheduling the Decatur Bike Derby on Oct. 4, which is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.

Today is also the first day day of another Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year.

Both are considered High Holidays on the Jewish calendar.

The F.AVE PTO said it wasn’t aware that the Derby fell on Yom Kippur when it scheduled the Derby fundraising event.

“When the PTO board realized that, this year, the Derby fell on Yom Kippur, we were all very sorry to know that some of our F.AVE families would be unable to participate,” the note from F.AVE says. “Generally, as we schedule events, we are able to avoid such regrettable conflicts. The Derby is more challenging to schedule due to its special requirements. Because of road closures and the police involvement required, we must compete with other fall festivals and school activities around the city. We are on DPD’s annual calendar for the first Saturday in October.”

The PTO says it has reviewed the Jewish calendar and determined that this is “an extremely rare conflict that will not happen again in the foreseeable future.

“Regrettably, we weren’t able to move the date this year because of these specific complications and requirements of this event and the full City calendar,” the note says. “We very much regret that this means some families will not be able to participate in the Derby this year. Please know that we are sensitive to the different faiths and practices of Decatur’s families and will be mindful in future planning.”

For a detailed explanation about the significance of these holidays to the Jewish community, click here.

Correction: An earlier version of this story provided incorrect information about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Today is the first day of the Jewish holiday. Yom Kippur begins on the evening of Oct. 3 and ends after sunset on Oct. 4.