TV Host Reveals Yom Kippur Fasting Change on Air

Professor Moshe Cohen Eliya, a participant on the Channel 14 program "The Patriots," revealed during a broadcast that he observed a significant change in his observance of Yom Kippur this year. After many years of not fasting, Cohen Eliya stated that he completed the full fast this year, attributing his decision partly to his participation in the show. "I said, how can I come to 'The Patriots' and say I didn't fast?" he explained.

Cohen Eliya recalled his childhood, when he diligently fasted from a young age. However, he described a period during his studies at the Hebrew University's law faculty when he began to deviate from the tradition, consuming pizza and beer on Yom Kippur. He linked this behavior to an attempt to integrate into elite circles. "As part of integrating into the elites, I was at the Hebrew University law faculty, pizza, beer on Yom Kippur. And today I fasted until the end," he shared.

This year, Cohen Eliya chose to return to fasting, a practice he knew from his youth. Despite completing the fast, he clarified that his observance did not extend to attending synagogue services. "We'll leave that for next time," he said. He also mentioned a Sephardic synagogue operating near his home and suggested he might consider attending next year, stating, "Under my house there is a Sephardic synagogue, maybe next year we will go."