Week 4, Dori Baron - My 2020 Yom Kippur Experience

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a meaningful Yom Kippur and easy fast. This year was definitely interesting and unlike any other due to the pandemic. Beginning the fast, I ate a large meal of typical Jewish foods, including chicken, matzah ball soup, challah, and mushroom barley. I was worried that I hadn’t been preparing well enough for the fast since, earlier that day, I was busy trying to get lots of schoolwork done before the holiday began and didn’t focus on eating and drinking as much as I wanted to. Luckily, it ended up alright because I felt hydrated and full, and (spoiler alert) I was able to successfully fast! 

At first, I found that the fast wasn’t too difficult for me. After all, my morning and early afternoon were mainly comprised of services, praying, and sleeping. It was also the first time I’ve had to attend Yom Kippur services online through Zoom. My family and I did our best to not use technology on this holy day, but the only services we had access to were online from our synagogue, so we ended up having to use the computer a bit. Then, in the afternoon, I was spending time with my family, playing games, and reading. I was feeling hungrier at this point, but I was still able to handle the fast well since I was distracting myself from thoughts about food. 

During mincha and the concluding services is when it got hard. I felt tired and desperate to eat. Lately, I’ve noticed that I tend to generally feel the most hungry later in the day for some reason, so I wasn’t surprised that the late afternoon/evening was when I had the most trouble. When I was finally allowed to break the fast, though, I felt so happy. We made pizza bagels and had prepared homemade noodle kugel and apple cake. It was all so delicious! I made sure to hydrate a lot as well with various beverages, and I realized how grateful I was for even having food and drinks. 

Even though Yom Kippur was not the most fun holiday, I felt thankful that I was given the opportunity to communicate with God, be with my family, reflect, and ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoings I have done. I was unsure of how this holiday would unfold since my family and I have been trying to refrain from going out, have not been able to see relatives or friends often, and were unable to go to synagogues in person. However, I still found this year’s Yom Kippur special and will always remember it. Once again, I hope that everyone had a thoughtful Yom Kippur and fast, and let me know in the comments how your experience was and what part/time of the fast was hardest for you!