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

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

, a break fast is the meal eaten after

Ta'anit A ta'anit or ta'anis ( Mishnaic Hebrew: תענית) 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 sins: Fasting is not consi ...

(religious days of

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

), such as

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

. 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 ( he, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב ''Tīšʿā Bəʾāv''; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian ...

last about 25 hours, from before sundown on the previous night until after sundown on the day of the fast. Four other shorter fasts during the year begin at dawn and end after sunset. In Islam,

mostly occurs during the month of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

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.

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 The Fast of Gedalia (; he, צוֹם גְּדַלְיָה ''Tzom Gedalya''), also transliterated from the Hebrew language as Gedaliah or Gedalya(h), is a minor Jewish fast day from dawn until dusk to lament the assassination of Gedaliah, the right ...

, Tenth of Tevet,

Fast of Esther The Fast of Esther (', he, תַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר) is a fast from dawn until dusk on Purim eve. This fast, unlike other fasts is a custom. Unlike the other fasts in Judaism, it is not mentioned in the Talmud, but only in the Midrash ...

, and

Seventeenth of Tammuz , observedby = Jews , date = 17th day of Tammuz , observances = Fasting, prayer , type = Jewish religious and national , significance = Date when the walls of Jerusalem were breached , relatedto = The fasts of the Tenth of Tevet and Tisha B'Av, ...

Description

Sometimes the fast is broken with tea and

cake Cake is a flour confection 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 elaborate ...

before eating a full meal. A drink of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or 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 or seafood, such as ...

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 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 pop ...

will have tea and cake.

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

and

Iraqi Jews The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

eat round sesame crackers that look like mini-

bagel A bagel ( yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; pl, bajgiel; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into a roughly hand-sized ring from yeasted wheat dough that is fi ...

s. Turkish and

Greek Jews The history of the Jews in Greece can be traced back to at least the fourth century BCE. The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, also known as "Greek Jews." The term "Greek Jew" is pred ...

sip a sweet drink made from

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". T ...

seeds. Some people start with

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean ...

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 ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

and Tisha B'Av is observed on the 10th, though all other

Nine Days Nine Days (stylized as ''ninedays'') is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. It was formed in 1994 by John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, and released three independent albums in the 1990s before their mainstream debut album, '' The M ...

restrictions end with the fast, wine and meat are customarily still not consumed at the break fast.

References

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

Occurrence

Description

See also

References