Since antiquity, firstborn children in Jewish families have fasted from sunrise to sunset on the day prior to the first Passover seder. The fast, first recorded in the Babylonian Talmud, represents an expression of gratitude for being spared from the tenth plague upon Egypt. In modern times, few Jews observe the fast, as most firstborn children instead choose to attend an obligatory feast. This practice, also from Talmudic times, teaches that Jews must break a fast in order to celebrate certain significant joys for the community, including the conclusion of study of a tractate of Talmud. Please join Cantor Lam and your fellow Wise Guys for prayer, study, and celebration on the morning of Wednesday, April 8, 2020, at 7:30 a.m. in our Chapel Study.