for 18 SEP 10: Stop, Fast

(LAUGHLINE FLASHBACK: As we pause this weekend to mark the Biblical Day of Atonement, we share what we wrote about day for LaughLine subscribers 16 Sep 02. May it be a meaningful day for all who keep it.)

Today is what Jews call "Yom Kippur," or the Day of Atonement. Believers fasted [last] night and fast all day today - then at sundown look at fish and say, "Yum! Kipper!"

For many Jews, Yom Kippur ends a ten-day period of personal reflection and repentance. For instance, Israeli army soldiers are asking themselves if they could have torn down more Palestinian houses....

Israel has been on a high security alert during the "high holy day" season. After all, a "Yom Kippur war" erupted during the 1970s. Back then, Arabs took the phrase about an "army running on its stomach" a bit too seriously.

Yom Kippur is such an important holiday in Israel that all the television stations go off the air. Sometimes we think some U.S. stations should do this on weekends, instead of showing the same old infomercials.

Excerpt from our autobiography: We attended a Day of Atonement service several years ago - and in the middle of the sermon, a woman sitting next to us asked if we wanted a mint. She quickly realized what she'd done. When you're fasting, it's really a day of "not-one-mint."

For those of you who don't mark Yom Kippur, we passed a pawn shop in town Sunday already offering a "Christmas Special." Have they canceled Halloween this year?

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BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: Suspended for vacation

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