Yom Kippur begins tonight.

Today is Friday, the 13th.  Not sure that means anything, but I thought it was interesting to note.

It also means Yom Kippur begins tonight.  It's a solemn, holy day on the Jewish calendar.  It means a very long fast, no food, no water, for about 26 hours.  It means many long hours in the synagogue praying, atoning, asking for forgiveness from people we know and from God, asking for forgiveness from ourselves (always hard for some folks), and hoping we are all inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for another year.

This year Mark and I are continuing our new Yom Kippur tradition of checking into the WDW Resort.  Last year it was All Star Music, and this year it will be All Star Sports.  It's a nice cheap time because the resorts offer good discounts to Florida residents in the slow season!  We do it because the resorts are MUCH closer to the synagogue than our house.  This way we get to have a lovely day using the pool and enjoying the facilities at the resort this afternoon, a big dinner out at Landry's (a fantastic fish house near the synagogue), a short drive to shul, an easy place to go nap between 2 and 4 tomorrow when there is a break in the services and we have a pounding headache already from no caffeine, and a fun place to break the fast in the food court around 8 tomorrow night.  On Sunday we will check out and head over to a theme park for the day.  Not too shabby.

I'm packing my computer, but I will not be writing another blog until Yom Kippur is over.

As for my calories today, they are somewhat problematic.  There is a conundrum with eating around a big faast.  Since I'll be skipping breakfast and lunch tomorrow (and dinner won't be until 8 p.m.), I usually eat a very large dinner the night before.  On the other hand, my calories at breakfast and lunch aren't all that big, maybe 400-500 total for any normal day.  That's all I'm skipping.  I should NOT add them to tonight's dinner because I'm not skipping those meals today.  Tomorrow I could add them to the break-the-fast dinner, but typically after a long day of fasting, it's better to eat light.  So I guess between the two days, the calories average out.  I'm sure it's going to go over today and way under tomorrow.  We'll see.

To anyone reading this blog who is fasting tonight and tomorrow, I hope you have a meaningful fast and are inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for another wonderful year.


PS  I have decided not to take the computer with me to the resort.  I am going to go cold turkey on caffeine AND computers this weekend.  Well, caffeine will come back faster than the computer.  There WILL be coffee Sunday morning!