Fasting on Yom Kippur

Typically, my previous blog posts have included a delicious recipe. Last week, I posted about Rosh Hashana dinner and my family's traditional Kugel. This week, however, I write this post at 6pm, not having eaten all day in observance of Yom Kippur. Technically, I'm not even supposed to be writing this post or doing any sort of work. On Yom Kippur, the day is spent reflecting on the previous year and atoning for one's sins.

After a Jewish child is bar/bat-mitzvahed, he/she is supposed to observe Yom Kippur by fasting for the whole day and attending services. Fasting in the Jewish tradition is supposed to remind us that God provides all the food we eat and the water we drink and reminds us to uphold our adherence to Judaism, "The goal of the day is to bring ourselves down enough to sincerely ask for forgiveness, increase our awareness of God in our life and our commitment to hands-on Judaism, the religion of action"(http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/10/03/why-do-we-fast-on-yom-kippur-and-who-shouldn’t).

I find fasting incredibly difficult. I've attempted to fast on Yom Kippur for several years now, but seem to have broken the fast earlier than I am supposed to. This year was different, however, because I kept the fast from 9pm the night before to after 6pm today when we "broke the fast." The break-fast meal is typically a lighter meal that can consist of bagels, lox, and some sort of kugel. Although I had tons of homework, I was hardly able to do anything all day because I was so hungry. I slept for part of it so that the time would go by faster and I could forget about my hunger. But, I was able to persevere because I felt it was the right thing to do, but not only for religious reasons; I wanted to take the time and remind myself how lucky I am to have food on my table every night when there are so many others in this world who do not. In keeping with this mentality, my temple asks every family to bring a bag filled with non-perishable goods to donate to the local food pantry. If people can live their whole lives in starvation, than I can certainly last 24 hours.