Enjoy that Shabbat meal this Friday/Saturday because you’re going to mighty hungry from Sunday night to Monday night when Yom Kippur kicks in.
One of the most serious (if not, the most serious) Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur has five big prohibitions that will leave you hungry, dirty, horny, possibly smelly and wearing Crocs outside the privacy of your own home. On Yom Kippur, there’s nothing to stand between you and G-d, not a stitch of leather, not even a comforting hamburger. On Yom Kippur, you will be quaking in your flipflops before the Almighty. (UPDATE: Check out Allison Hoffman’s “Shoes You Can Use: What to Wear on Yom Kippur, When Leather is Banned”.)
But if you’re ill and you can’t fast in the strictest sense without experience excrutiating levels of mindnumbing pain or troubling declines, the rabbis have got a Yom Kippur dieting option that will have you doing shots and scarfing down Animal Crackers every couple of minutes. Talk to your local Orthodox rabbi if you find yourself in that boat but remember, fasting on Yom Kippur is serious business even when you’re faint of heart.
Want a refresher or a quick crash course about Yom Kippur? Check out the following websites.
Yom Kippur at MyJewishLearning.com
And so as they say, “Have an easy fast.” (If there is such a thing.)
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