A break-fast is a meal eaten after fasting. In

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, a break fast is the meal eaten after

Ta'anit A ta'anit or taynis (Biblical Hebrew ''taʿaniṯ'' or צוֹם ''ṣom'') is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water. Purposes A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including: * Atonement for si ...

(religious days of

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

), such as

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

. During a Jewish fast, no food or drink is consumed, including bread and water. The two major fasts of

and

Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...

last about 25 hours, from before sundown on the previous night until after sundown on the day of the fast. Other shorter fasts during the year begin at dawn and end after sunset - this includes four almost universally observed fasts, as well fasts practiced by some such as

Fast of Behav The Fast of Behav (תענית בה"ב) refers to a tradition of Ashkenazic Jews to fast on the Monday, Thursday, and then following Monday after the holidays of Sukkot and Pesach. While today very few people fast, many Ashkenazic communities r ...

, Yom Kippur Katan, Shovevim, and fasts declared by a local community.

Occurrence

A break-fast follows each of the major Jewish fast days of Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av, as well as the four minor fast days of Fast of Gedalia, Tenth of Tevet, Fast of Esther, and Seventeenth of Tammuz. It also occurs following fasts practiced by some such as

, Yom Kippur Katan, Shovevim, and fasts declared by a local community.

Description

Sometimes the fast is broken with

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

and

cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

before eating a full meal. A drink of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

before the post-fast meal helps the body to readjust and diminishes the urge to eat too much or too rapidly. Customs for the first food eaten after the Yom Kippur fast differ.

Iranian Jews Iranian Jews, (; ) also Persian Jews ( ) or Parsim, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the History of ancient Israel and Judah, biblical era, they originate from the Jews who relocated to Iran (his ...

often eat a mixture of shredded apples mixed with rose water called "faloodeh seeb." Polish and

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

will have tea and cake.

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

and

Iraqi Jews The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...

eat round sesame crackers that look like mini-

bagel A bagel (; ; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. ...

s. Turkish and Greek Jews sip a sweet drink made from

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

seeds. Some people start with

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

to replace the salt lost during fasting. North African Jews prepare butter cookies known as ghribi/ qurabiya ("ribo" among Moroccan Jews) for the meal after the Yom Kippur fast. Among North American Ashkenazi Jews, the custom is to break the Yom Kippur fast with bagels, cream cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes, and lox or whitefish, often followed by coffee and ''smetene kuchen'' (trans. "coffee cake"). Orthodox Jews generally do not eat meat or drink wine at the break-fast after Tisha B'Av because the burning of the Temple on the 9th of Av is said to have continued until noon on the 10th of Av. Even when the 9th of Av falls on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

and Tisha B'Av is observed on the 10th, wine and meat are customarily still not consumed at the break fast, although in such a case all other

Nine Days Nine Days (stylized as ''ninedays'') is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. It was formed in the hamlet of St. James, Suffolk County, New York in 1994 by John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, and released three independent albums in ...

restrictions end with the fast.

In Islam

In Islam,

mostly occurs during the month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

where Muslims fast for the whole duration of the month for around 30 continuous days. The fasting starts at dawn and ends by sunset where the first meal "break fast" is eaten. During the time of fasting no form of food or drink is consumed.

In Mormonism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, members fast for two meals on the first Sunday of every month. A "break the fast" is a common cultural event, especially among single adult congregations, where a congregation will hold a large potluck or meal at the end of the day.

References

{{High Holidays Jewish fast days Yom Kippur Jewish festive meals Tisha B'Av

Occurrence

Description

In Islam

In Mormonism

See also

References