so too shall you respect the lifestyles of others. That's the part where you and other selfish liberals have a problem. Too busy demanding rights and respect for yourselves without offering respect for other people. Eat and drink until your pants explode. Who cares? No one really. You're not that important. And others will fast, atone, and do what they do, and its none of your business.

I am thinking that Ynet should be called Haaretz Net, what a disgusting article to post right before the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Instead of having an encouraging article about Jewish traditions they rather have us read such mockery and filth from the liberal Left anti Jewish people living in Israel. Time to find another news source.

Misgivings about self worth drive the need to diffrentiate yourself. Far from free, you are enslaved to need to tell the world you are not conforming. You have simply cut yourself from your ex-people and made a curse for your next generation who may not suffer your inferiority complex You are a case for pity as you do not understand yourself or your people.

This fulfills the annual requirement to post an article to remove (or justify) the guilt of not fasting on Yom Kippur. I too am Jewish, but I don't believe in religion - not even atheism - and I won't be fasting this year either. I don't deny that I will be violating a Jewish law (which is not contingent on belief in a diety or its intervention/communication with mankind); I'll just be eating because I like to eat when I'm hungry and nothing will be stopping me. I don't need to justify my actions - right or wrong, feeling guilty or without conscience - I do as I please without concern for consequences that I do not visibly see as (potentially) being metted out against me in this world as a direct result of my actions. Spare us the need to justify our state-given right to choose our actions (or inactions), for with that need what separates us from the religious?

... and while we're on the subject of not telling me what to do: Don't tell me when I may or may not cross the street. I look two (or more) ways before crossing safely - anything beyond that is a religious coersion of those who believe it is their God-given right to dictate religiously how I conduct my life. Like the author, I too was born free. Don’t decide for me what to eat, when to fast, on what day of the week to travel by bus, and where to cross the street. I was born and I shall die a free woman.

I think the rambam explains quite simply why there must be a God. Have you tried following his argument? How can you know your an athiest if you haven't studied the philosophy behind your religion? In a nutshell he writes that everything that exists is finite; has a beginning and an end. The universe exists so it is finite. However, something which is finite must be caused by something- it can't make itself appear as it didn't exist before its beginning. The only thing without this problem is something which is infinite as infinity doesn't have a beginning by definition. Therefore one must say that the infinity MUST have been the initial cause of the finite. God is this 'infinity'. (Not a zeus type bully in the sky - the rambam says anyone who thinks this is a heritic whilst others say he just an idiot.) Atheists are the real idiots of this world. At least agnostic say they don't know. Atheists actually state that there isn't a God even though there is so much proof caused by logic based on things which happen and happened that break the laws of nature and physics and are therefore 'impossible'. Such as creation, life and gravity...

whatever you feel about God, you belong to a culture 3500 years old through which your ancestors were persecuted so they could do things like fast on this day. The least you could do out of respect is to keep the holiest day of their year holy.

Uri, Well done! For too long, sane, rational objection to religious dogma has been missing from the pages of our newspapers. It's about time those living in the Middle Ages moved to the sidelines, and stopped hijacking our lives!

As long as you declare that you are Jewish you are accepting the history of the Jewish people, their belief and therefore G-d. If you claim you don't believe in G-d, how can you be Jewish? Without G-d you are the child of your parents. So you could say:"I am an atheist, a child of my parents and a free man!" Gmar hatima tova anyhow.

Thank you for writing this,thanks to ynet for publishing it. We need more people like you.. Of course I wont be fasting tomorrow, i see absolutely no reason to do that. I honestly can not understand, and i've tried very hard, why in this age of knowledge and science and discoveries, there's still people who believe in this man in the sky who allegedly would be watching and writing in some book if you will live or die. Religion is so fucking obviously man-made, all these rules are obviously man-made, and yet people refuse to accept the obvious. It's really sad. More people should be following in the steps of prof Schechtman, instead of wasting their life and my tax money endlessly "studying" that old book called the bible.

it appears that the writer has a chip on his soldier & feelings of guilt. why does he write this at all? who cares? it appears that he ma feel free (he is by defitnion of this article - not so), he wants to take away the freedom of others. iive & let live! fel free to do what you want, but what is it amybod's business?

You were were born into a society which makes demands of you: work, pay taxes, drive on the right, do no harm to others unless sanctioned by society. The list is endless. Society imposes on you duties and obligations and grants rights. Its a package deal.

you wrote: ..."I only believe in... systems of values that are worthy of following while living life in this world".... ...where do you have this "systems of values" from... ? what is it (for you) ? and why is it "worth" to follow ? i met some people in life, who didnt call themselves "atheists", but who clearly didnt believe in god, even though not all of them admitting it... their "system worthy to follow" was only determined by "do i get away with it or not"... it looked as if the only "system" they believed in was the police... and to be honest, THATS a true a real atheist (by my definition)....that makes sense for an atheist... and surprisingly... it didnt look as if they first dismissed religion and then turned to this selfish "system of values".... no, they have a selfish, narcissist view, and as this doesnt comply with the idea of god, they dismissed religion...

You are not free at all. You are a slave to your own ego.

I get angry about things that really matter and as self indulgent and self important as you think you are, I couldn't care less.

Fasting for health reasons makes sense, whenever I feel like it. I actually liked Yom Kipur in Israel because I used to ride my speed bicycle on the freeway. It is nice to breathe fresh air on that day. After the riding, I would complete reading the Musafim on the Yom Kipur war. Many good journalists in Israel who excel in covering that war. I liked when they brought up memories of our heroes and I cried remembering how they died.

I sense a discomfort being an atheist. It is a religion of sorts with the same kind of fanatical response that the ultra-orthodox convey. A True believer. Sad your children living in Israel will have to be outsiders. Be what you want to be but do it in PEACE. Writing a manifesto about it only shows how unsure and uncomfortable you really are with your decision. But then again fanaticism has a need to make public statements no one really cares about.

It is ridiculous that Uri Misgav thinks that we are interested to know what he is doing on Yom Kippur. What he thinks he is queen of England :-) It is pity that Ynet publishes such a nonsense

I completely agree with you. I feel the same on Yom Kippur and Pesach - I don't see why the whole country has to be dictated by the religious - enough is enough!

Reminds me of those "Gay Pride" parades. For all I care one can do whatever s/he wants, as long as it is legal. But what is it there to be proud about? Having sex with another male? Not believing in God? Who cares? This is their choice. Boring narcissistic people.... Just grow up.

A shmuck.

aint it great? I just don't get why the author thinks anybody is against free choice. As a religious jew i recognize that the Torah is replete with references to act as we see fit.

I wish you an excellent meal, and although I will reserve the right to fast, you are free to do what you want. If it makes you feel any better I will not decide for you to fast or not. If you could please point out the people who have come knocking on your door every Yom Kippur to ensure you have not eaten, I would like to meet these people. If you can find me the Dr. who has measured your stomach contents to ensure no food has been ingested during Yom Kippur please let me know the name. I am surprised you would need to write a whole article bashing fasting and Yom Kippur in order to show your freedom. Usually when I win at something or gain a form of emancipation I celebrate, not denigrate. I am glad that in 1948 when we got our freedom we worked to build a state instead of trying to invade one. If the state of Yom Kippur is abhorrent to you, fine, enjoy your state of meals. Please do not invade our state of fasting. If Jewish history is an indication we will always have non-religious [of gradients] and religious [of gradients]. The fools are the ones who try to convert the others to their beliefs.

...no one has the right to. The mitzvot are important for most of us but....perhaps you don't need to keep them because you are a very special man. I guess perhaps as long as you served in tzahal and support Israel (unlike those who don't) God loves you. Shana tova lecha, chamud.

Go on free man..nobody wants you to upset yourself by fasting. Fasting is actually a choice made by a free person who feels something for Jewish tradition & Identity. Are you familiar with "am haaretz"? That's you.

Of course its your choice whether or not to fast. But you don't have to explain it to us. No one really cares about what you and the loony anti-religious left think.

Dude, you are not even worth getting infuriated over. I do have one advice for you though, you'll be much happier living somewhere in Europe or the US perhaps.

According to Torah, he who says there is no God is a fool. You're not free. You are a slave. May Avinu sh'b'Shamayim open your eyes and grant you shalom in your heart.