JEWS TO MARK THEIR HOLIEST DAY.

Byline: Holly J. Andres Daily News Staff Writer

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, will begin at sundown today as the climax of a 10-day period in which Jews reflect on their actions toward others and make a commitment toward positive and moral conduct in the coming year.

On Yom Kippur, the holiest of days in their religion, Jews focus on their relationship with God and pray for forgiveness.

``We ask God to forgive us for any of the promises that we weren't able to uphold because we're human,'' said Rabbi Stewart Vogel, of Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills. ``We strive on this day for a stronger relationship with God.''

Rosh Hashana, first of the 10 days, and Yom Kippur are the High Holy Days in the Jewish calendar, the most important religious days of the year.

In his Yom Kippur message, Vogel will talk about the challenge of living in a time of what he calls demoralized morality.

``On Rosh Hashana, I spoke about back-to-basics issues, specifically the Ten Commandments. For Yom Kippur, I'll be talking about doing the right thing and ways to accomplish doing the right thing in our everyday life and also how we can help build and rebuild a society that's experiencing moral dilemmas,'' said Vogel, also an author. He and radio personality Laura Schlessinger co-wrote ``The Ten Commandments, the Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life.''

At evening services today, Jews will recite the prayer Kol Nidre, which means All Our Vows. Services are scheduled Wednesday at area synagogues.

The shofar, trumpeted on Rosh Hashana as a symbolic call for people to wake up to the need to change their ways, will be blown again at the end of Yom Kippur services Wednesday night.

Religious Jews older than 13 will refrain from food or drink from sundown tonight to sundown Wednesday. Refraining from work or school is another religious obligation of Yom Kippur.