Q&A: Chewing Gum on a Fast
Chewing Gum on a Fast
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I understood that most opinions forbid chewing gum on a fast, but I heard that Rabbi Ovadia was lenient and permitted it. Is that true?
I would appreciate it if you could answer today.
Answer
I haven’t heard of Rabbi Ovadia’s leniency. Simply speaking, it is forbidden, because you are consuming the taste from the gum. If we’re talking about already-chewed gum (which no longer has any taste), then indeed there is no problem.
I saw that people cite in this context the law of chewing cinnamon sticks (Orach Chayim, sec. 567, par. 3), but in my humble opinion that is not relevant to our case. There it is a matter of chewing and spitting out (that is enjoyment of the tongue and palate, without enjoyment of the throat and intestines), whereas with gum one swallows the taste. The discussion there is about tasting without swallowing.
Discussion on Answer
What?! If you’re not swallowing, then there’s nothing to make a blessing on. And if you are swallowing and it already has no taste, then there’s also nothing to make a blessing on. On your saliva?
I didn’t understand what difference you see from cinnamon sticks. In both cases, by chewing, some part of what is being chewed is released into the saliva, but there is no swallowing of anything tangible, and in the end you spit out the main substance.
Do you understand that one spits out the sticks and not the taste itself? I understood that one spits everything out. This needs checking.
Obviously it’s impossible to spit out the taste of the cinnamon, and the person swallows it. So there is no difference between cinnamon and gum.
And should one make the blessing “that all came to be by His word”?