For health tips and recipes, go online to break the fast

Friday, September 21, 2001 | by

Mark Mietkiewicz

After all, Yom Kippur is the day that we refrain from food and drink so that we can focus on repentance and prayer. But there are plenty of mitzvot, customs and even recipes that tie the fast of Yom Kippur to food. Today, a look at Yom Kippur and food on the Internet, along with tips to make the fast go as easily as possible.

The final meal before Yom Kippur is called Seudat Mafseket "the final meal." According to the Talmud, eating the day before Yom Kippur is a mitzvah equal to the mitzvah of fasting on the day of Yom Kippur. For more information, visit judaism.about.com/ library/holidays/higholidays/bl_yk_fast.htm

As for the meal itself, "it is traditional to eat soup, but important to put as little salt and seasoning in the soup as possible. The boiled turkey or chicken from the soup can be served as a healthy pre-fast entree. It is also traditional to serve the soup with kreplach, dough filled with potato, because we hope any strict judgment from God will be covered with kindness." For more recipes, go to judaism.about.com/library/food/bl_recipes_yomkippur.htm

If you are looking for some other ideas for the pre-fast meal, there are plenty of Web sites with suggestions on everything from Sautéed Porcini Chicken and Arugula Salad—see http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/ 00/sept21-00/food/food1.htm—to Moroccan Chicken Soup with Tomatoes and Rice along with Potato and Leek Kugel—see http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/ 10/02/Food/Recipes.13062.html

Your preparation for the fast should start well before that final meal. Several sites have tips to help you ease through those 25 hours of fasting. Celebrate with JOI presents these tips:

*Drink lots of water, about two quarts on the afternoon before the fast. People are far more reliant on water than food. Diluted orange juice is also good, but alcoholic beverages will dehydrate you. See http://www.joi.org/celebrate/yomkipp/fastpig.htm

*Don't stuff yourself. Eat a normal meal that emphasizes carbohydrates and some protein.

*Taper off caffeine in the days preceding the fast. According to dietician Judy Baumann, "The nausea and headaches many people report while fasting have nothing to do either with food or fluid. They are usually the result of caffeine withdrawal." For more information, visit http://www.jflmail.com/articles/1380.html

*Another site suggests that if you are extremely regular about your mealtimes, then you should vary your meal schedule in the week before the fast so that your body won't expect to be fed at precisely 12:30 and 6 p.m. And on Yom Kippur itself, don't hang around people who are talking endlessly about food and hunger. Go to http://www.jewfaq.org/fasttips.htm

Although most people can tolerate fasting for a day quite well, pregnant women, nursing mothers and people with diabetes should get medical and rabbinical advice. I also came across several Web sites that warn people with eating disorders about fasting. "These women do not have to be put at risk," says Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser of Congregation Bais Yitzchak in Brooklyn, N.Y. "God's most important commandment to the Jewish people is to respect their bodies." For more information, go to http://www.riskworld.com/Pres Rel/ 1999/PR99aa77.htm

After the sun has set and the final blast of the shofar has been sounded, it is time to break the fast. The fast is often ended with something sweet to represent the sweet year ahead—apples or challah dipped in honey. Check out food.homearts.com/food/cookings/bringhom/90kipp11.htm

Dr. Elliot Berry, head of clinical nutrition at Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School suggests that you should break your fast with a non-carbonated drink and a slice of bread or dry cake one hour before eating a full meal. Read more at http://www.jewishsf.com/ bk971010/ustips.htm

Once that hour is over, you may want to dig your teeth into something a bit more substantial than dry cake. At Joan Nathan's American Break-the-Fast Buffet—http://www.epicurious.com/e_eating/e06_jewish_cooking/recipes/yomkippur.html—you'll find recipes for Challah, Lick-Your-Fingers Kugel, Whitefish Salad and Cheesecake.