32 | JULY 20 • 2023 

M

y brothers and I were raised 
as Reform Jews. We attended 
religious school through high 
school. Our education culminated with a 
six-week teen mission to Israel, an experi-
ence of a lifetime. 
From what I understood as a kid, we 
were observing most of the important 
Jewish holidays. The High Holidays always 
dominated our fall schedules, complete 
with services, family gatherings, apples and 
honey. 
After Rosh Hashanah, the countdown 
would begin for Yom Kippur. On the holi-
est day of the year, we were expected to 
fast, which is a real challenge for a kid. I 
was always grateful that this occurred only 
once a year for us. 
But as an adult who has experienced 
loss, I can better understand the deeper 
meaning behind many observation rituals, 
especially as Tisha b’
Av approaches. 
Learning more about Jewish culture 
researching our culinary anthropology, I’ve 
become aware that the Yom Kippur is not 
the only fast for all sectors of the Jewish 
community. 
There are six required public fasts in the 
Jewish faith, two major and four minor. 

The two major fasts are Yom Kippur and 
Tisha b’
Av. The minor days include the 
Fast of Esther, the Fast of Gedaliah, The 
Tenth of Tevet (Asara b’Tevet) and the 
Seventeenth of Tammuz. 
Minor fasts last from sunrise to sunset 
on the same day, while major fasts extend 
from the sundown before the holiday 
through sundown on the following day. 
Fasting occurs in many major religions 
around the world, including Buddhism, 
Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Jainism and 
Hinduism. In Judaism, fasting is our com-
munity response to a tragedy or used for 
personal repentance. 
On Tisha b’
Av, Reform, Reconstruc-
tionist and Conservative Jews usually 
incorporate only certain practices of this 
holiday. As Reformists, this is probably 
why fasting didn’t come up for us in the 
middle of our summer vacations.

A HOLIDAY OF MOURNING
Tisha b’
Av, or the Ninth of Av, is a day 
where we collectively memorialize the 
destruction of the first and second tem-
ples. We also include the other Jewish 
catastrophes we’ve endured throughout 
our history. 

On Tisha B’
Av, we fast and mourn for 
the community losses of the Bar Kochba 
Revolt, massacres by Crusaders, medie-
val expulsions from Spain, England and 
France, and the Holocaust. This year, it 
begins at sundown on Wednesday, July 26, 
and ends at nightfall on Thursday, July 27. 
On Tisha b’
Av, there is also room to 
reflect on more personal losses, which for 
the first time for me includes a parent. I 
see now that Tisha b’
Av sets aside an addi-
tional opportunity for me to acknowledge 
this sense of loss and displacement I feel 
from my father’s absence. He passed away 
in July 2022. 
This last year was a difficult adjustment 
for us because Dad was such a strong fam-
ily patriarch. It sounded odd to hear the 
rabbi read “Edward Haenick” in temple on 
his first yahrzeit, the Jewish anniversary 
ritual for mourners to remember, honor 
and commemorate a loved one. I couldn’t 
believe a year had already passed. I strug-
gle to believe it’s even real at times.
His shivah was difficult, but with the 
help of friends and family, we got through 
it. Every need we had was met by the peo-
ple who love and support us. Without ever 
having to ask, we would have a drink, and 

Comfort foods for before and after the Tisha b’Av fast.

Moving 
Full Circle …

MICHELLE KOBERNICK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

FOOD

