Q: Why can’t you catch a Jew on Yom Kippur?
A: ‘Cause they fast.
Two important reminders for those who are fasting on Yom Kippur:
1. Hydrate! Drinking a lot of water on Sunday afternoon right before the fast is a good idea, but not sufficient. It’s best to start hydrating a day or two earlier. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to drink a liter of water RIGHT NOW. This can make a big difference in being able to have a meaningful day me-erev ad arev (from evening to evening), and having the strength at the end of the day to appreciate Neilah rather than count the minutes until dusk.
2. Fasting isn’t always a choice. MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger encourages everyone to take the amount they would have spent on food and donate it to feed those whose fast is involuntary.
Add your own physical and spiritual reminders in the comment thread.
To those who depend on coffee to get going, this is the time to de-caffeinate. That awful headache mid-afternoon on YK may well be caffeine withdrawal. So cut back or go cold turkey NOW, so you won't feel it on Monday.
ReplyDeleteG'mar hatimah tovah, and as they say in England, "Well over the fast."
and if you fasted Monday also, donate twice as much
ReplyDelete