The Adamah Blog

Post Fast Reflections

This week we observed Tisha B’Av, a traditional fast day that commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and the Second Temple in Jerusalem. In addition to thinking about the loss of the temple, we focused on other forms of collective loss we experience both as a Jewish people and as creatures on this planet.

The fast lasts about 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the eve of Tisha B’Av (this past Monday night) and ending at nightfall the next day. In addition to the prohibitions against eating or drinking, I also observed prohibitions against showering, applying creams or oils, wearing leather shoes, and engaging in sexual activity. Though I have never observed Tisha B’Av before, I have always found fasting on Yom Kippur to be a meaningful experience. As we are all learning at Adamah, food (and its absence) physically, emotionally, and spiritually connects us to each other and to the natural world, cultivating a profound sense of oneness and holiness.

All summer long, I have been savoring the food I have grown and eaten here, from my favorite Isabella Freedman dining hall meal (spanikopita made with our own kale!) to the Shabbat meal I cooked this past Shabbat with four other Adamahniks (yakisoba, sushi, and tempura with beets, carrots, onions, and squash from our field!). So I didn’t imagine it would be possible to appreciate the food even more after the fast, but I am.

Submitted by Rachel Ackoff, Summer 2011