Y om Kippur begins at sunset Oct. 8 and ends one hour after sunset on Oct. 9 this year. It is a day marked by meaningful rituals, including prayer, atonement for misdeeds and fasting. Fasting symbolizes the act of self denial and doing no work, which lasts for the duration of Yom Kippur — approximately 25 hours. Children under age 9, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions are excluded from this ritual of no food or water. Girls older than age 12 and boys older than age 13 should forgo food or drink for the duration of the holiday. Children between the age of 9 and the age of religiously recognized maturity should gradually learn to participate in fasting for Yom Kippur, which might entail skipping a meal. Julie Feldman, a registered dietitian with Thrive Nutrition and Wellness in West Bloomfield, says there are helpful strategies one can use to prepare for the fast. “You have to go into a fast well hydrated and you can’ t just do that the day before, ” she said. “You have to be hydrated for several days before. Watch your sodium intake, too. ” Individuals who fast should also be careful about alcohol or caffeine consumption before fasting since both substances can be dehydrating. Feldman notes there are various groups of people who shouldn’ t fast, including individuals with severe gastrointestinal disease, Crohn’ s or colitis, kidney disease or medical conditions like diabetes that require medication be taken with food. She also said people with eating disorders should not fast. “Both physically and emotionally, if someone has an eating disorder, fasting can be triggering. ” For clients with eating disorders, 34 | OCTOBER 3 • 2019 Yom Kippur Have a Meaningful Fast How to fast safely in observance of Yom Kippur — and who should forgo the ritual. ELIZABETH KATZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS ISTOCK B efore Yom Kippur, some Jews have the custom of swinging a chicken over their heads, recit- ing “This is my exchange; this is my replacement; this is my atonement. ” An expert then slaughters the chicken and the carcass, or its value in money, goes to feed a poor family. The word for “atonement” gives the custom its name: “kapores” in Yiddish, “kaparot” in Israeli Hebrew, “kaporos” in Ashkenazi Hebrew. Micki Grossman of Farmington Hills recalls that decades ago, her father would “carry live chickens on the bus to bring them home for kapores. ” Variations of the custom go back at least a thousand years. Opposition to the custom also goes back a long way — as does the practice’ s defense. Columnist Bari Weiss points out that Yom Kippur adds up to “a dress rehearsal for our deaths. ” Those who favor the custom note that kapores, like other practices of Yom Kippur, confronts us with our mortality. Some contemporary rabbis circulate petitions against the practice. They say it seems “too much like sacrifices” or “too much like pagan practices, ” and they (along with animal rights advo- cates) note that it distresses animals unnecessarily. Perhaps the real act of atonement happens when the fresh-killed chicken is donated to the poor. Instead, money Debate continues about killing chickens ritually. LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Kapores Tradition