The Fast and the Furious

Tonight marks the beginning of the second important day of the Jewish high holy days, Yom Kippur.  I won’t get into it too deeply, as it is based on a simple idea:  Ten days after the celebration of the Jewish new year, a day of atonement is had, where in contrast to the joy of welcoming another year you ask for forgiveness of your wrongdoings of the last year.  It’s another way to strip yourself clean of the actions and misdeeds you feel badly for.  You’re asking God for forgiveness, essentially—this is a religion, after all—but you are also asking yourself and those in your life for a sort of spiritual and emotional cleaning so that the next year may be brighter and more prosperous.

The thing about Yom Kippur that everyone knows is that you fast for 24 hours (after dinner tonight to the beginning of dinner tomorrow) as a reminder of the pain you’ve caused others.  It’s not a stretch for most young people, those who generally only eat when they’ve woken up after a night of drinking (or before going to bed after a night of drinking), or when their parents feed them for free.  I suppose you could commemorate said suffering any way you choose, however it probably makes more sense to give up something you usually depend on to get you through your day.  Anything that can remind you that as easy as it is to hurl not-nice words and commands out to those we know and love, it still causes pain and distress.

To break the day’s fast, families have a special celebratory meal after a day in temple.  It’s called, amazingly, the “break the fast.” You’ll hear people mumbling to each other as they’re saying hello at temple:  “Hi darling.  Happy new year!  How are the grandkids?  Where are you breaking the fast?” or “Well hello there sir.  Did you hear the rabbi’s sermon?  It was marvelous.  I completely agree with everything he said.  Say, where are you breaking the fast?” And more of the same.

I will be breaking the fast with close family friends with whom we’ve broken the fast for the last many years.  They always make great food, their friends bring even more great food, and we always leave with a full stomach of good eats, all ready to savor for the next 364 days until next Yom Kippur rolls around.

Photo of a “break the fast” meal, replete with bagels, lox and cream cheese (the Jewish Culinary Trifecta) courtesy this guy.

Posted by on 10/08 at 03:27 PM