Do I get a medal for finishing a Yom Kippur fast?
It was an interesting experience to fast for the first time and especially interesting doing it in Israel.
At first I was confused about the time it started when I wrote my previous post about Yom Kippur. I guess I assumed it would start at midnight and end at midnight. You know, a full and exact 24 hours.
So of course I was stuffing my face in preparation of the fast the day before sundown assuming that it started the night before. I was wrong. It didn’t start until the follow day at 4:55 PM until 5:52 PM the next day. It’s based on the Jewish (Lunar) calendar. NOT the Gregorian (Solar) calendar.
A few thoughts/observations on the last 25 hours:
- I became thirsty in a surprisingly short amount of time. After only three hours I started to get a scratchy throat and dry lips. I used a little chap stick and it helped.
- I theorized that if I slept until at least 10 AM, then I would only have to endure an 8 hour “shift” of hunger. Of course, my body wouldn’t let me sleep past 8:30. Jerk.
- It really sucks waking up with stinky cotton dry mouth and not being able to take a drink of water.
- NO. COFFEE. MIGRAINE. ’nuff said.
- None of the television channels work on Yom Kippur in Israel. The key to surviving was an inordinate amount of downloaded shows and movies. I now have the complete third season of Kathy Griffin’s “My Life on the D List” under my belt.
- With no where to go (no cars allowed) and nothing on television, it seemed like the perfect day to get a million things done on the computer. But after hour 16 of fasting, I couldn’t sit upright for more than 15 minutes at a time. Low blood sugar does that to a person, I guess.
- In the end, all I could think about was pizza and beer. Atonement be damned.
The picture at the top of this post shows everyone walking in the middle of the road last night. (The normally busy intersection of Dizengoff and Gordon.) Not everyone here fasts but everyone follows the “no driving” rule of Yom Kippur. It was actually really strange walking around a major city like Tel Aviv without seeing a single car.
The follow day, all the children of Tel Aviv rode their bikes through the city without fear of motor vehicles. It was pretty amazing that a big major city which normally rumbles with traffic and honking horns transformed into a childrens playground. Literally. The only noises I heard all day were that of children playing.
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The number one reason I will never be experiencing a fast: migraine headaches. If I skip breakfast, I end up with a migraine. I can skip lunch or dinner, but not breakfast. I’ve been this way since I was very young, and John takes after me in that respect.
I can relate to your coffee comment too. I have one cup every morning. It’s the only caffeine I have all day so it’s not as if I am a person who has a constant stream of caffeine running through my body. But if I don’t have that one cup, I feel sluggish by 10 am. I am not a morning person, so I think I need it to get me jump started.
Congrats for completing this! I wouldn’t be able to do it, especially without water. I think that would bother me more than anything else.
And at least you got to catch up on Kathy Griffin’s show. I tend to watch that when nothing else is on. (Especially since it usually airs in the summer when everything else in in reruns.) She is a uniquely amusing person. And she is a Chicago area native, so that’s a plus.