Fasting is the act of willingly abstaining from all food and in some cases drink, for a period of time. Depending on the tradition, fasting practices may forbid sexual intercourse, (or any sexual desire), masturbation, as well as refraining from eating certain types or groups of food (e.g. meat). The word drink is primarily a verb, meaning to ingest liquids. ... The missionary position is the most common position for sexual intercourse in humans The cowgirl sex position is a position frequently combined with kissing, caressing, and embracing of the paramour. ... RYan loves to jerk off!!!! Masturbation is the manual excitation of the sexual organs, most often to the point of orgasm. ... Meat is animal tissue (mainly muscle) used as food. ...

Fasting for religious and spiritual reasons has been a part of human custom since pre-history. It is mentioned in the Qur'an, in the Mahabharata, in the Upanishads, and in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testament. The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān, literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahābhārata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material... Judaism uses the term Tanakh instead of Old Testament, because it does not recognize the New Testament as being part of the Biblical canon The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ...

Religious Fasting

The Bahá’í faith

In the Bahá'í Faith, fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset during the Bahá’í month of `Ala' (between March 2nd through March 20th). Bahá'u'lláh established the guidelines in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It is the complete abstaining from both food and drink (including abstaining from smoking). Observing the fast is an individual obligation, and is binding on all Bahá’ís who have reached the age of maturity (15 years). Seat of the Universal House of Justice, governing body of the Baháís The Baháí Faith is an emerging global religion founded by Baháulláh, a nineteenth-century Iranian exile. ... Shrine of Baháulláh Mírzá Husayn-Alí (Persian: میرزا حسینعلی) (b: 1817 - d: 1892), who later took the title of Baháulláh (بهاءالله The Glory of God in Arabic) was the... The Kitáb-i-Aqdas is the central book of the Baháí Faith, written by Baháulláh, the founder of the religion. ...

Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá'í. The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi explains "It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires." Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957) The Guardians Resting Place in London Shoghi Effendi Rabbani was the Guardian of the Baháí Faith. ...

Buddhism

Buddhist monks and nuns following the Vinaya rules commonly fast each day after the noon meal, though many orders today do not enforce this fast.

Christianity

Fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations. Other Christian denominations do not practice it because they see it as a merely external observance.

Biblical accounts of fasting

• Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights while he was on the mountain with God.
• King David fasted in petition for one of his sons who was sick.
• King Jehosaphat proclaimed a fast throughout Judah for victory over tribes who were attacking them.
• The prophet Isaiah chastised the Israelites in Isaiah 58 for the unrighteous methods and motives of their fasting. He clarified some of the best reasons for fasting and listed both physical and spiritual benefits that would result.
• The prophet Joel called for a fast to avert the judgement of God.
• The people of Nineveh in response to Jonah's prophecy, fasted to avert the judgement of God.
• The Pharisees in Jesus' time fasted regularly. Jesus rebuked them, however, for doing so to gain favor from men. He preached to them that they should fast in private, not letting others know they were fasting.
• Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights while in the wilderness, prior to the three temptations.
• The prophetess Anna fasted regularly.
• There are indications in the New Testament that members of the early Christian Church fasted regularly.

Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew Móše, Latin Moyses, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى Musa), son of Amram (Imran in Arabic) and his wife, Jochebed, a Levite. ... This page is about the Biblical king David. ... Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ... Joel (יוֹאֵל Yahweh is El, usually interpreted as meaning Yahweh is God or The LORD is God, Standard Hebrew Yoʾel, Tiberian Hebrew Yôʾēl) is the name of several people in the Bible. ... This article is about the ancient Middle Eastern city of Nineveh. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and an important prophet in Islam. ... According to the biblical Gospel of Luke, Anna was the name of an aged prophetess who prophesyed about Jesus at the time of his birth. ...

Denominations and groups

Charismatic

For Charismatic Christians fasting is undertaken at the leading of God. Fasting is done in order to seek a closer intimacy with God, as well as an act of petition. Some take up a regular fast of one or two days a week as a spiritual observance. Holiness movements, such as John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield started in the early days of Methodism, often practice such regular fasts as part of their regimen. Charismatic is an umbrella term used to describe those Christians who believe that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit seen in the first century Christian Church, such as healing, miracles and glossolalia, are available to contemporary Christians and ought to be experienced and practiced today. ... For entries on other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation). ... Charles Wesley (12 December 1707 - 29 March 1788) was a leader of the Methodist movement, the younger brother of John Wesley. ... George Whitefield was a minister in the Church of England and one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ...

Eastern Orthodox Church

For Orthodox Christians, fasting at various times refers to abstention from animal products, olive oil (or all oils, according to some Orthodox traditions), wine and spirits -- see Eastern Orthodoxy (Fasting). Fasting can take up a significant portion of the calendar year. The idea is not to suffer, but to use the experience to come closer to God, to realize one's excesses and for alms giving. Fasting without prayer and almsgiving (donating the money saved to a local charity, or directly to the poor, depending on circumstances) is considered useless or even spiritually harmful by many Orthodox Christians. ... ...

Latter-day Saints

Latter-day Saints are encouraged to fast for twenty-four hours once a month (leaving out two meals), and the first Sunday of the month is usually designated a Fast Sunday; many Latter-day Saints who observe the monthly fast begin the Saturday before this day by not partaking of the Saturday evening meal. The money saved by not having to purchase and prepare meals is to be donated to the church as a fast offering, which is to be used to help people in need. Sunday worship meetings on Fast Sunday include opportunities for church members to publicly express thanks and to bear their testimony of faith. A Latter-day Saint is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ... In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Fast Sunday is a Sunday (usually the first Sunday of every month) set aside for fasting. ... Fast offering is the term used in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to denote money donated to the church in order to help the needy. ... In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Fast Sunday is a Sunday (usually the first Sunday of every month) set aside for fasting. ... In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ...

Since fasting involves exercising control of the physical body, subjugating it to the mind, many Latter-day Saints consider fasting a way to focus on the spiritual, and use it in connection with prayer to make it more intense.

Protestant churches

In Protestantism, the continental Reformers criticized fasting as a purely external observance that can never gain a person salvation. The Swiss Reformation of the "Third Reformer" Huldrych Zwingli began with an ostentatious public sausage-eating during Lent. Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing a split from within the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europe —a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... Salvation refers to deliverance from an undesirable state or condition. ... Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (January 1, 1484 – October 11, 1531) was the leader of the Swiss Reformation, and founder of the Swiss Reformed Churches. ... A sausage consists of ground meat and other animal parts, herbs and spices, and possibly other ingredients, generally packed in a casing (traditionally the intestines of the animal), and preserved in some way. ...

On the other hand, churches of the Anglican Communion and some American Protestant denominations, such as the United Methodist Church, affected by liturgical renewal movements encourage fasting as part of both Lent and Advent, two penitential seasons of the Liturgical Year. The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist, the largest mainline, and, after the Southern Baptist Convention, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States. ... Look up Lent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In Western Christianity, Lent is the period before the Christian holy day of Easter. ... For the computer game, see Colossal Cave Adventure Advent (from the Latin Adventus, sc. ... The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in some Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. ...

Other Protestants consider fasting, usually accompanied by prayer, to be an important part of their personal spiritual experience, apart from any liturgical tradition. Prayer is an effort to communicate with God, or to some deity or deities, or another form of spiritual entity, or otherwise, either to offer praise, to make a request, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions. ...

Roman Catholicism

For Roman Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food to one full meal (which may contain meat) and two small meals (known liturgically as collations, taken in the morning and the evening). Eating solid food between meals is not permitted. Fasting is required of the faithful on specified days. Complete abstinence is the avoidance of meat for the entire day. Partial abstinence prescribes that meat be taken only once during the course of the day. This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ... In the Roman Catholic Church, the term collation is used to describe each of the two small meals allowed on days of fasting (with or without abstinence). ... Abstinence is the act or habit of refraining from some tempting activity, usually sex, but also other activities such as alcohol or food consumption. ... Meat is animal tissue (mainly muscle) used as food. ... Abstinence is the act or habit of refraining from some tempting activity, usually sex, but also other activities such as alcohol or food consumption. ... Meat is animal tissue (mainly muscle) used as food. ...

Traditional days of fasting and abstinence

Fast

• Every day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday through Good Friday
• Holy Saturday until noon
• The twelve Ember Days
• The vigil of Pentecost
• October 31, the vigil of All Saints. If this be a Sunday, the fast is transferred to Saturday, October 30.
• December 24, the vigil of Christmas, unless this be a Sunday - no longer practiced in the Western World.
• December 7, the vigil of the Immaculate Conception. If this be a Sunday, the fast is transferred to Saturday, December 6.

Complete abstinence In the Western Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. ... Good Friday is a holy day celebrated by Christians on the Friday before Easter or Pascha. ... Orthodox pilgrims bathing with the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Saturday. ... Ember days are four separate sets of three days within the same week - specifically, the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, formerly set aside for fasting and prayer in the liturgical calendar of the Western Churches, but significantly not in the Eastern Orthodox Church... The name of the Jewish holiday Shavuot is commonly translated as Pentecost. Pentecost is the Christian festival that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus at Easter, and ten days after the Ascension. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... All Saints in Poland The festival of All Saints, also sometimes known as All Hallows, or Hallowmas, is a feast celebrated in their honour. ... Saturday is the seventh day of the week, between Friday and Sunday. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... December 7 is the 341rd day (342th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic doctrine which asserts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved by God from the stain of original sin at the time of her own conception. ... Sunday is considered either the first or the seventh day of the week, between Saturday and Monday, and the second day of the weekend in some cultures. ... Saturday is the seventh day of the week, between Friday and Sunday. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Every Friday, unless it be a holy day of obligation
• Ash Wednesday
• Holy Saturday until noon
• December 24 (vigil of Christmas)
• December 7 (vigil of Immaculate Conception; transferred to December 6 if the 7th should be a Sunday

Partial abstinence Friday is the fifth day of the week, falling between Thursday and Saturday. ... In the Catholic Church, the Holy Days of Obligation are the days, other than Sundays, on which the faithful are required to attend Mass. ... In the Western Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. ... Orthodox pilgrims bathing with the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Saturday. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... December 7 is the 341rd day (342th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays
• The vigil of Pentecost
• The vigil of All Saints October 31; transferred to October 30 if the 31st should be a Sunday

October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ...

Modern days of fast and abstinence

• Ash Wednesday (fast & abstinence)
• Every Friday of Lent (abstinence)
• Good Friday (fast & abstinence)
• Holy Saturday (fast & abstinence until noon)
• December 24 (Christmas Eve) (abstinence)

The current regulations concerning Lenten fasting and abstinence for Catholics in the United States generally are as follows: December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ...

• Abstinence is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years old and older on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays of Lent.
• Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59.

For Catholics whose health or ability to work would be negatively affected by fasting and/or abstinence, the regulations above don't apply.

At one time Ash Wednesday and all the subsequent Fridays and Saturdays of Lent were days of "Fasting and Abstinence" whereas all the other weekdays of Lent were days of "Fasting without Abstinence". An exception to this rule was granted to the Bishops of Ireland (see Irish calendar) by the Vatican in 1918, when the obligation of fasting and abstaining on the Lenten Saturdays was transferred to the Wednesdays of Lent instead. The Irish calendar does not observe the typical astronomical seasons (beginning, in the Northern Hemisphere, on the equinoxes and solstices), or the meteorological seasons (beginning on March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1), but rather centers the seasons around the solstices and equinoxes (so that, for instance, midsummer... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

The fast is waived on March 17, St. Patrick's Day. If it should be a Friday, however, abstinence still applies. The Friday abstinence is waived in the United States on the day after Thanksgiving. March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ...

• The Bridegroom Fast - This fast was initiated by the leaders of the International House of Prayer, and is observed on the first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of each month. Based on Matthew 9:15, its focus is intimacy with Christ, who is described in the Bible as the bridegroom of the Church. The fast is accompanied by services in Kansas City, which are freely accessibly by webcast. It is observed largely in charismatic circles.

The International House of Prayer - Kansas City, is one of the most visible Christian organizations of the 24-7 Prayer Movement. ... Charismatic is an umbrella term used to describe those Christians who believe that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit seen in the first century Christian Church, such as healing, miracles and glossolalia, are available to contemporary Christians and ought to be experienced and practiced today. ...

Hinduism

Fasting is a very integral part of the Hindu religion. Individuals observe different kinds of fasts based on personal beliefs and local customs. Some are listed below- A Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural systems of Bharat (India) and Nepal. ...

• Some Hindus fast on certain days of the month such as Ekadasi (the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight) or Purnima (full moon).
• Certain days of the week are also set aside for fasting depending on personal belief and favorite deity.
• Fasting during religious festivals is also very common. Common examples are Shivaratri or the 9 days of Navratri (which occurs twice a year in the months of April and Oct/Nov during Dussera just before Diwali, as per the Hindu Calendar). Karwa Chauth is perhaps a form of fasting unique to the northern part of India where married women undertake a fast for the well-being, prosperity, and longevity of their husbands. The Fast is broken after the wife views the moon through a sieve after sunset.

Methods of fasting also vary widely and cover a broad spectrum. If followed strictly, the person fasting does not partake any food or water from the previous day's sunset until 48 minutes after the following day's sunrise. Fasting can also mean limiting oneself to one meal during the day and/or abstaining from eating certain food types and/or eating only certain food-types. Ekadasi is the eleventh lunar day (Tithi) of the shukla (bright) or krishna (dark) paksha (fortnight) respectively, of every lunar month in the Hindu calendar (Panchang). ... In astronomy, a phase of the Moon is any of the aspects or appearances presented by the Moon as seen from Earth, determined by the portion of the Moon that is visibly illuminated by the Sun. ... A fortnight is a unit of time equal to two weeks: that is 14 days, or literally 14 nights. ... Maha Shivratri or Shivaratri (Night of Shiva) is an Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the month Phalguna in the Hindu Calendar. ... Navaratri or Navaratra is a Hindu festival of worship and dance. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Diwālī or Dīpāvali (also transliterated Deepavali; Sanskrit: row of lights) is the Hindu Festival of Lights. ... It has been suggested that Samvat be merged into this article or section. ... Karwa Chauth is celebrated by married women in India by fasting for the long life of their husbands. ...

Islam

Main article: Sawm Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. ...

In Islam, fasting starts from fajr (dawn), until maghrib (sunset) is observed during the month of Ramadan. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the Pillars of Islam , and thus one of the most important acts of Islamic worship. By fasting , whether during Ramadan or other times a Muslim draws closer to his Lord by abandoning the things he/she enjoys, such as food,and drink. This makes the sincerity of his/her faith and his/her devotion to Allah (God) all the more evident. The believer knows that Allah will love him/her when he/she is ready to abandon worldly comforts for Allah's sake. Islām is described as a dīn, meaning way of life and/or guidance. ... The Fajr prayer is the dawn daily prayer recited by practicing Muslims. ... Maghrib is an Arabic term for of the setting (sun); from the root ghuroob (to set; to be hidden). It is also used in a manner similar to the metaphorical use of to be eclipsed, which is used in the English language. ... Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. ... Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. ... Islām is described as a dīn, meaning way of life and/or guidance. ... Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ... The word Allāh is the Arabic term for God. It is most commonly used in Islam and refers to the eternal monotheist Deity. ... God is the Supreme Being believed to exist in monotheistic religions as the creator of the Universe. ...

Allah informs Muslims in the Qur'an that fasting was prescribed for those before them (i.e., the Jews and Christians) and that by fasting Muslim gains 'taqwa', which can be described as the care taken by a person to do everything Allah has commanded and to keep away from everything that He has forbidden. Fasting helps prevent many sins and is a shield with which the Muslim protects him/herself from jahannam . A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ... The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān, literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al Karīm or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ... Taqwa is a concept in Islam that is roughly described as being the care taken by a person to do everything Allah has commanded and to keep away from everything that He has forbidden. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ... Jahannam is the Islamic equivalent to hell. ...

Muslims believe that fasting is more than abstaining from food and drink. It also means to abstain from any falsehood in speech and action, from any ignorant and indecent speech, and from arguing and fighting. Therefore, fasting helps to develop good behavior.

Fasting also inculcates a sense of brotherhood and solidarity, as a Muslim feels and experiences what his needy and hungry brothers and sisters feel. Moreover, Ramadan is a month of giving charity and sharing meals to break the fast together. A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ... Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. ...

While fasting in the month of Ramadan is considered obligatory wajib, Islam also proscribed certain days for non-obligatory fasting, such as on each Monday and Thursday of a week, or six days in the month of Shawal of the Islamic calendar (the month following Ramadan). Fard also farida (arabic فرض obligation, duty) is an Islamic term which denotes a religious duty. ...

Jainism

Jains fast for a variety of time periods. In Jainism fasting is seen as a must for purification of the soul. Jains may take boiled natural water while fasting or take no water at all (nirjala upvas). Many Jains abstain from food and water after sunset until next sunrise which is considered to be a kind of fasting.

Judaism

Observant Jews fast on 7 days during the Jewish calendar. Five of these are considered minor fast days, and on these days fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset.

• The Fast of Gedaliah
• The Fast of the 10th of Tevet
• The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz,
• The Fast of Esther, which takes place immediately before Purim
• The Fast of the Firstborn, which takes place before Passover, and only applies to first-born sons.

On the two major fast days, Jews fast from sunset to sunset the next day. The first major fast day of the Jewish calendar is Yom Kippur. It is also known as the Day of Repentance, and is considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The second major fast day is Tisha B'Av, a 25-hour fast that mourns the destruction of the first and second Jewish Temple, and other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people. The Fast of Gedalia (or Gedaliah) is a Jewish fast from dawn till dusk to commemorate the death of a Jew of that name. ... Tenth of Tevet, in Hebrew asarah btevet, the tenth day of the Hebrew calendar month of Tevet, a minor fast day in Judaism. ... Seventeenth of Tammuz, the seventeenth day on the Hebrew calendar month of Tammuz, is a half-day (dawn to dusk) fast in Judaism. ... The Fast of Esther known as Taanit Ester is a Jewish fast from dusk until dawn, commemorating the three day fast observed by the Jewish people in the story of Purim. ... Purim (פּוּרִים Lots, Standard Hebrew Purim, Tiberian Hebrew Pûrîm: plural of פּוּר pûr Lot, from Akkadian pūru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. ... Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah (פסח pesaḥ), is a Jewish holiday, beginning on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan, that commemorates The Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Ancient Egypt. ... Yom Kippur (1878) Yom Kippur (יום כיפור yom kippūr) is the Jewish holiday of the Day of Atonement. ... // Tisha BAv (תשעה באב tish‘āh bə-āḇ) is a major annual fast day in Judaism. ... Jewish temple: Jewish temple or The Jewish Temple, may refer to the original two ancient Jewish Temples in Jerusalem. ...

Fasting in Jewish practice means complete abstinence from all food and drink, including water. On the two major holidays it is also forbidden to engage in any sexual relations, wash or bathe, and even wear leather shoes. Partial or total exemptions apply in many cases for those who are ill, those for whom fasting would pose a medical risk, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. Fasting despite an exemption is prohibited, as endangering one's life is against a core principle of Judaism.

Aside from these official days of fasting, Jews may take upon themselves personal or communal fasts, often to seek repentance in the face of tragedy or some impending calamity.

Fasting is never permitted on Shabbat. If a public fast falls on the Sabbath, it is either delayed until Sunday, or observed on the Thursday before. The one exception is Yom Kippur, which, based on a verse in the Torah, is observed even if it falls on Shabbat. Shabbat (שבת shabbāṯ, rest in Hebrew, or Shabbos in Ashkenazic pronunciation), is the weekly day of rest in Judaism. ... Torah (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ...

A fast is also observed if the scrolls of the Torah are dropped. The length of the fast varies, and some Jews will reduce the length of the fast through tzedakah, or charitable acts. Tzedakah (Hebrew: צדקה) in Judaism, is the Hebrew term most commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning justice (צדק). According to Maimonides, there are eight levels of tzedakah in Jewish tradition, ranging from publicly giving funds, so that the donor and recipient both know who each other...

Medical fasting

People can also fast for medical reasons, and this has also been an accepted practice for many years.

One reason that people fast for medical reasons is for surgery or other procedures that require anesthetic. Because the presence of food in a person's system can cause complications when they are anesthetized, medical personnel strongly suggest that their patients fast for several hours before the procedure. Anesthesia (AE), also anaesthesia (BE), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ...

Another reason that people fast for medical reasons is for certain medical tests. People are often asked to fast so that a baseline can be established.

A longer fast for health reasons typically lasts a week or longer and includes some food intake, such as fruit or vegetable juices.

Recent studies on mice show that fasting on every other day while eating double the normal amount of food on non-fasting days led to better insulin control, neuronal resistance to injury, and health indicators similar to mice on calorie restricted diets. This may mean that alternate-day fasting is an alternative to caloric restriction for life extension. However, this result may not apply to human physiology. The structure of insulin Red: carbon; green: oxygen; blue: nitrogen; pink: sulfur. ... Caloric restriction or Calorie restriction (CR) is the practice of limiting dietary energy intake to improve health and retard aging. ... Life extension in an increase in the maximum lifespan beyond the current maximum lifespan, especially for humans. ...

People who feel they are near the end of their life sometimes consciously refuse food and/or water. The term in the medical literature is Patient refusal of nutrition and hydration. Contrary to popular impressions, published studies[1] indicate that "within the context of adequate palliative care, the refusal of food and fluids does not contribute to suffering among the terminally ill", and might actually contribute to a comfortable passage from life: "At least for some persons, starvation does correlate with reported euphoria." People who feel they are near the end of their life often consciously refuse food and/or water. ...

In homeopathic medicine, fasting is seen as a way of cleansing the body of toxins, dead or diseased tissues, and giving the gastro-intestinal system a rest. Such fasts are either water-only, or consist of fruit and vegetable juices. Some results have been achieved while including fasting in the treatment of some kinds of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and allergies.

Political fasting and hunger strikes

Main article: Hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest or to achieve a goal such as a policy change. ...

Political fasts (today more commonly known as the hunger strikes) have been around since the early 1900s. One of the most famous people to go on a political fast was Mohandas Gandhi. Some people see a difference between a hunger strike, a pure political act, and fasting, a political and religious act. By fasting, they intend to take some of the responsibility of the problem in question. A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest or to achieve a goal such as a policy change. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to world attention. ...

Hunger strikes have been used by personalities all over the world, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Lanza del Vasto (during the Algerian War, Vatican II and the struggle of the farmers of the Larzac plateau). Martin Luther King Jr. ... Lanza del Vasto, (Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Enrico Lanza di Trabia), (September 29, 1901 – January 5, 1981) was a philosopher, poet, artist, and nonviolent activist. ... The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was a period of guerrilla strikes, maquis fighting, terrorism against civilians on both sides, and riots between the French army and colonists in Algeria and the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale) and other pro-independence Algerians. ... The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ...

Today, hunger strikes are often used by refugees seeking political asylum.

A crossover between the religious fast and the political fast can be seen in 40 Hour Famine, an event run annually by the Christian relief organization World Vision Australia, in which participants fast for 40 hours to raise awareness of world hunger and funds for World Vision's relief efforts. Each year the 40 Hour Famine draws hundreds of thousands of participants throughout the Pacific Rim and beyond. The 40 Hour Famine is an annual event held by World Vision Australia. ... World Vision, founded in the United States in 1950, is an international Christian relief and development organization whose goal is working for the well being of all people, especially children. ... Map of the Pacific Rim and List of the Pacific Rim Nations The USS Abraham Lincoln Battle Group along with ships from Australia, Chile, Japan, Canada, and Korea speed towards Honolulu in RIMPAC 2000. ...

Physical effects of fasting

When food is not eaten, the body looks for other ways to find energy, such as drawing on glucose from the liver's stored glycogen and fatty acids from stored fat and eventually moving on to vital protein tissues. The body is fine relying on fatty acids but the brain and the nerves depend on glucose. Once the glucose is significantly used up, the body switches and begins to produce ketone bodies (acetoactate, hydroxy-butyrate, and acetone). Even though this transformation to an alternative form of energy has been made, some parts of the brain exclusively need glucose and protein is still needed to produce it. If body protein loss were to continue, death will ensue. Glucose (Glc), a simple monosaccharide sugar, is one of the most important carbohydrates and is used as a source of energy in animals. ... Glycogen is a polysaccharide that is the principal storage form of glucose in animal cells. ... Fat is one of the three main classes of food and, at approximately 38 kJ (9 kilocalories) per gram, as compared to sugar with 17 kJ (4 kcal) per gram or ethanol with 29 kJ (7 kcal) per gram, the most concentrated form of metabolic energy available to humans. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... A ketone is either the functional group characterized by a carbonyl group linked to two other carbon atoms or a compound that contains this functional group. ...

After approximately three days of fasting, feelings of hunger usually become infrequent or disappear altogether.

See also

• Asceticism
• Simple living
• Vegetarianism and religion

Asceticism denotes a life which is characterised by refraining from worldly pleasures (austerity). ... Simple living (also known as voluntary simplicity or voluntary poverty) is a lifestyle considered by its adherents to be an alternative to Western consumerism. ... According to the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians, the majority of the worlds vegetarians follow the practice for religious reasons. ...

External links

• Traditional Catholic Fasting and Abstinence Practices
• International Solidarity Fast for Darfur
• ACTivist Magazine Fast for Peace
• 40 Hour Famine
• Therapeutic Fasting - Worldwide Links
• Ramadan - Fasting in Islam
• Fasting during the month of Ramadan
• The fast of Karwa Chauth