. tirrwr,v-rirr . Yam Kippur: The Slow Fast ERICA MEYER RAUZIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS I ALL SEASON PRESCRIPTION SUNGLASSES VALUABLE COUPON! When you buy any regular pair of prescription glasses**, we'll give you a FREE PAIR OF PRESCRIPTION SUNGLASSES! It's that simple! Prior orders and other discount programs excluded. One coupon per patient. per purchase Limited time offer. Some insurance plans excluded. *Sunglasses to be chosen 'torn the $79 collection. "Includes single vision plastic lenses only r VALUABLE COUPON! 10,10.1 EYEGLASS REPAIR KIT Bring this coupon into the First Optometry location nearest you and receive a handy eyeglass repair kit, containing a specially designed screwdriver, magnifying glass and replacement screws for your glasses...and it's ABSOLUTELY FREE! No purchase necessary. One per person. L Jewish News 9/96 (OPTOMETRY r -' Valid only at these three offices. I HOT OR COLD THERMAL MUG Now, while supplies last, when you come in and make anypurchase, we'll give you our terrific22 oz. hot or cold thermal mug ABSOLUTELY FREE! While mugs last. Must have coupon. L Jewish News 9/96 WALLED LAKE (810) 626-9590 6667 Orchard Lake Dr. Eva Yavine (OPTOMETRY) eye care centers SUZZETTE WAGNER & THE STAFF OF KITTY WAGNER Wish Everyone A Happy, Healthy New Year! Cr) Lu CD LU 24 I " cae centers WEST BLOOMFIELD (810) 669-6311 w Valid only at these three offices. NEW LOCATION! 39680 14 Mile Rd. Newbury Square Shopping Ctr. Dr. Mark Cook Cr) (OPTOMETRY) 6(Y/ Facial Salon and Spa Still Located Inside Crosswinds Mall Orchard Lake at Lone Pine • West Bloomfield 810-626-1231 FARMINGTON HILLS 38487 W. 10 Mile Dr. Michael Lipson (810) 477-9300 used to long for a quick fast on Yom Kippur. I wanted that pe- riod of hunger to speed by. I didn't like it; I didn't under- stand it, and the more I fought it, the worse it got. But now I fast slowly. Fasting slowly is an approach I had to learn over time. For most of my life, I fasted impatiently, urging the clocks to hurry up, spending fast days focused on how hungry I was, how deprived, how headachy. I am still — like everyone else — hungry, deprived and headachy; but I am slower about it now, smarter, more thought- ful. I have quit resenting the fast, which is a big help. Fasting can be beneficial, even elevating, but not if you spend the whole day annoyed by it. My previous attitude, while not admirable, is not unusual ei- ther. As I began to increase my religious observance some years ago, I found it hard to understand why Yom Kippur, a holiday that is supposed to make you feel clos- er to spirituality, to help you re- new your efforts to improve your character, had to make you hun- gry to do it. I hated fasting. I was distract- ed by it. And I was forever spend- ing Yom Kippur with people who did it better than I. My husband barely seems to notice it. Even my eldest child, who has fasted proudly since her bat mitzvah, seems unbothered by it. Then again, my daughter is not much of an eater even when it isn't a fast day. She can't abide breakfast in any guise; she nib- bles at lunch; and if dinner isn't available until after dark, she re- * doesn't care. Her idea of a nu- tritious, balanced meal is an order of fries. To her, catsup is a food group. But given her efforts, my hus- band's example and some thoughtful experiences in the last few years, I have made the hard- won discovery that even for a foodie like me, fasting has gen- uine meaning. It turns out that fasting is far more than just an easy way to induce a headache. However, to derive true benefit from it you have to prepare for it. The first thing on my list the day before Yom Kippur is fixing a lovely meal for breaking the fast the next night. I prepare fresh bread, a big variety of light sal- ads, maybe some poached salmon and a soup. And then I put it all away. I have friends who can bus- tle in the kitchen and put to- gether salads and such late in the afternoon while they are fasting; I can't. My grandmother used to come home from synagogue and spend the late afternoon putting to- gether a wonderful spread for breaking the fast. It never seemed to bother her, but it would make me nuts. Once food is off the agenda, I don't want to deal with it at all until I can eat again. I try not to go into the kitchen on Yom Kippur. If I take my body through the kitchen that morn- ing, it will believe through sheer force of habit that it is entitled to hot coffee; so I stay away. The next step in fasting with an eye toward self-preservation is having a pre-Kol Nidre dinner that is guaranteed to stick to the ribs. This involves drinking buck- My daughter fasts easily even when it isn't Yom Kippur. ets of water and ingesting enough carbohydrates to sustain a heavy- weight boxer. I learned this knack from my husband. His pre- ferred pre-Yom Kippur supper is a Passover dinner in reverse: All he eats is chametz, except the baked potatoes. He eats bread and pasta with spuds on the side. Now I usually don't eat many Garbs. The high-protein diet was made for me: I'm a natural car- nivore with a predilection for fresh vegetables. But before I fast, give me starches and plenty of them. So what do I accomplish with all this preparation? Well, I hope I shape myself into a person, a wife and mother, who doesn't spend the holiest day of the year being testy, uncomfortable and distracted. I hope, in a good year, that I enable myself to have a fast that doesn't dominate my yontif, a fast that serves a real spiritual pur- pose instead. Fasting can take our minds off our bodies and make us concentrate on our in- ner selves. Fasting can give us empathy for those who are hun- gry day in and day out. It can add an edge to Yom Kippur that oth- er days don't have and can make us think more deeply, examine ourselves more carefully, pray more humbly and appreciate more completely. At least that is what I hope it does for me and for all of us. So here's wishing you an easy fast. Slowly. ❑ c-±\ C