CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS

I Observed Yom Kippur in Israel— And Fell in Love With The Culture

Celebrating the holidays in the Holy Land

Me in Jerusalem — Temple Mount or al-Aqsa Mosque in background — Darren Weir

Time seemed to be standing still. And I couldn’t stop staring at the clock. I was lightheaded and dizzy, my tongue was swollen and felt like sandpaper. My lips were cracked and parched and my stomach was aching from hunger.

It was the final hour of Yom Kippur and I’d had nothing to eat or drink for 24 hours. Not even water.

These were the High Holidays, the most significant religious holy days on the Jewish calendar. But I’m not sure why I was putting myself through this. I’m not Jewish.

I was on the adventure of a lifetime — six months into my two-year travel adventure. But I was beginning to think I needed to put down some roots. Living out of a backpack was not as easy as you might imagine. I was always on the move. Now I needed to create a home base.

Every new city I visited, I wondered, could I live here?

Tel Aviv — Yeah I could live here — Darren Weir

I fell in love with Tel Aviv within an hour of my plane touching down. It was a clean…