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Breaking the fast, one word or two

Fat Guy

By Fat Guy
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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At the end of a fast, such as my people just had on Yom Kippur, there is typically a festive meal. Some people I know call it "breakfast" and some call it a "break fast" -- the latter, I suppose, to distinguish it from the morning meal (which also derives from the notion of breaking a fast). So, when writing about something like a Yom Kippur fast-breaking meal, is it one word or two?

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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andiesenji

andiesenji

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The Orthodox Jews that I know call it the Break Fast Meal. So I would say it's two words.

At one time I knew the Yiddish term but it has been many years since I heard or used it.

When I was young, prior to my marriage, I lived with an Orthodox family for almost two years.

I was their "Shabbos Goy" and was treated like one of their daughters.

I turned on the lights, lit the stove, opened and closed the fridge, did some cooking, ran errands delivered messages. I learned a great deal and enjoyed it immensely and when I got married they gave me a pile of gifts.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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liuzhou

liuzhou

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I don't see any confusion.

Breakfast clearly refers to the morning meal (albeit that it is derived from the notion of breaking the overnight fast).

A meal to end a true fast is understandable as a 'break fast meal', although a 'breaking fast meal' sounds more natural to me.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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Perhaps the confusion is entirely localized to me. But if you look in Merriam-Webster it says "first meal of the day," which, on a fast day, could be at night.

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Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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andiesenji

andiesenji

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Here's a link to an article where the usage is break-fast.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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If you search the Google news archives, you get 15 results for "Yom Kippur breakfast" and 25 results for "Yom Kippur break-fast" and "Yom Kippur break fast" combined (the space and hyphen seem to be treated the same by that search engine). Not sure what that says about anything. Just reporting it.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Mjx

Mjx

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As a term, I'm used to hearing it (in this specific context, I mean) as 'breakfast'; can't think of any time I've seen it written, but would expect to see it/be inclined to write it as a single, unhyphenated word. I'm most accustomed to hearing this as a phrase (e.g. '...going to so-and-so's place to break the fast'.

Michaela, aka "Mjx"
Manager, eG Forums
mscioscia@egstaff.org

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