It is now 1:45 PM and the last morsel of food I put in my mouth went in last night at approximately 8:43 PM. The Jewish religion asks that I use this most serious holiday (Yom Kippur, for those not in the know) to reflect on the past year and to seek redemption for my sins by not eating food for a whole day. It is now 1:47 PM and my stomach let out a small growl. Perhaps if I itemized my sins I could figure out precisely how much time needs to be devoted to fasting in order to properly atone.
SIN: Gluttony. Specifically: late night churros and many many multi-course meals.
SEVERITY: Well it’s one of the 7 deadlys, but I did go to the gym at least a few times this year.
ATONEMENT TIME: 3 hours.
SIN:Sloppiness. Specifically: leaving messes in the sink to clean up several days later.
SEVERITY: Not very severe. Plus I’ve gotten better: I cleaned my churro mess up right away and also the chicken I made last night pre-fasting.
ATONEMENT TIME: 1 hour.
SIN:Breaking the fast early. Specifically: I am going to break the fast early.
SEVERITY: Well considering my other sins only add up to 4 hours and it’s been 17 hours since I last ate, surely breaking the fast early doesn’t amount to more than 13 hours!
ATONEMENT TIME: 13 hours and 30 minutes.
Nooooo! Well if I walk in this rainy weather to my intended lunch destination it may take 30 minutes. Therefore I will have atoned. Thank you for helping me rationalize breaking my fast early.
one of the beauties of judaism is it’s openness to interpretation!
I made it until just 1:45 PM before breaking down and having a small VEGAN lunch.
I figure if there’s no meat or animal products/by-products in my meal, that is atonement enough. Talk about your trials and tribulations, geez.
it is the great jewish trait that we can rationalize ourselves out of everything! and then argue are point to death :-)