Fast Times at Yom Kippur

It's that time of year again, the beginning of Fall and this week also marks the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Last week was the start of the High Holy Days with the holiday of Rosh Hashanah ushering in the New Year (5772) for Jews all over he world. Wednesday, September, 25th at sundown, Yom Kippur begins.

For religiously observant Jews, this is a time for pious reflection, atonement for sins, going to Temple, the blowing of the shofar, and for the most devout...this is a time to fast. As I understand it, this time of fasting is a very subjective and personal matter. Some take it quite seriously, depriving the body of ingesting anything by mouth, including water. Others simply limit their intake, cut out junk food, caffeine and sugar or otherwise modify this 25 hour period to best suite their purpose.

I am not Jewish, so why do I care about all of this? I have established my own reasons and traditions that surround this special time of year. First of all, I am a Christian and somewhat of a self-proclaimed biblical scholar. Being a Bible scholar means that one must have a good grasp of both Old ans New Testament texts. This knowledge must also include many of the ancient Hebrew traditions that are celebrated today. Christianity itself began as an early Jewish sect during the first century. In fact, during that time, to become a Christian, one must first have had to convert to Judaism. I could go on and on... suffice it to say that I hold a very special place in my heart for the customs, traditions and culture of the Jewish people.

Back to what this time of year means for me. I resolved to fast twice a year, and have done so quite faithfully  for nearly 20 years, as closely as I can reckon. I fast for both spiritual and healthful benefits. I choose the Christian holy week preceding Easter Sunday in the Spring and I use Yom Kippur as the target date for my fast in the Fall. The duration of my fast is about 5 days. I first introduced this ritual with fresh vegetable and fruit juice. Now I can get through these days on water, tea and occasionally vegetable broth.

I will begin tomorrow. Monday the 24th. I will attempt to go through Friday. I've never had much trouble getting through this before, so I don't feel like this time will be any different. It's always a rough go the first couple days, this generally means headaches, weakness, and concentration problems. I always thought that being away from my office, with so many demands and omnipresent food that are a regular part of the day, would be so much easier.

Though I must say that I now have a small group from the office who faithfully join me in this bi-annual regimen. Each with their own personal reasons, goals and slight modifications.  For me it's the same all the time, I begin tentatively, with some doubt as to my tenacity and resolve to keep the course. Mid-week always brings renewed hope and relief of many of the uncomfortable detoxification cleansing-crisis symptoms. And by Friday when I introduce a small healthy meal, I have a whole new appreciation for food, I find my clothes fit a little looser, and I feel renewed energy, sharper mind, smoother skin and deeper faith in my Lord and King.

Yet, there's still something that the Jews have that I don't yet possess. I always wanted my own shofar. If you are unfamiliar with the term, a shofar is an ancient trumpet, fashioned from a ram's horn. I always thought it would be so cool to blow it from my backyard as I usher in my fast times...