Some Thoughts On A Fast Day

Last night, I asked my husband to wake me up at 4:30 am so I could eat breakfast before the fast. Today is Aseres B' Teves, and right now, Jerusalem is under siege. Historically and literally. We still are not in complete possession of our holy city.

So it's 4:15 am and my husband asks me what time I want to get up. Can you guess? 4:30 am, I reply, which translates into 15 minutes.

Finally, my husband wakes me up by telling me, "hey Nana, it's 5:00 am." I leap out of bed, all the while complaining that I asked him to wake me up at 4:30 and now it's 5:00 and the fast beings in 30 minutes. So I blindly make my way into the kitchen, put on the hot water, pour cereal into a bowl and sit down to eat.

I wonder if it's easier to just fast 24 hours, versus getting up and breaking the fast to begin the fast. Because right now, barely four hours later, I'm starving - like I haven't eaten in 12 hours.

Oy, it's gonna be a long day.