Yom Kippur (Yome Key-pour) was yesterday, marking the end of Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish "Day of Atonement". Ahh, atonement. How do we atone? Well, the Talmud says that we atone by abstaining from sex, bathing, moisturizing, eating, and wearing leather shoes. Now, this brings me around to a piece I've been working on about how outdated I feel most organized religious practices to be, but I'll save that for another time. I believe the shoes I wore yesterday were not leather, but they were suede. Sorry, God.
All besides the point. Why do we abstain? Because it is about denying ourselves pleasure on a day that we should not think about ourselves, but others and how we've wronged.. the world. So, we fast. Now, I'll save my rant for another day (and, probably my other blog), but come on now. When we now know what food does for the body and how much we need it, we still give it up for a day because we're sorry? And for what?
No, it is not required that you fast. In fact, it is even forbidden for young children or those who would be put at some sort of *AHEM* medical risk by doing so (i.e. my whole family). But, can't we atone while still nourishing ourselves? It's not just a pleasure; it's how we live. Should I sit and think about what I've done (which I shouldn't atone for only one day a year, if it was that awful) and deny myself oxygen? ..Isn't denying ourselves food for 25 hours (yes, 25) really putting anyone at some sort of medical risk, healthy or not?
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