Q&A: Fasting – Someone Who Is Ill
Fasting – Someone Who Is Ill
Question
According to the Rabbi, what about someone who is physically disabled and can barely walk, and uses a cocktail of medications to improve his condition? But fasting, in principle, is equivalent for him to a healthy person. (It has already been established in his case that fasting does not harm him.) Is he obligated to fast?
Answer
Why not? If it doesn’t harm him, then what grounds would there be to permit him not to fast?
Discussion on Answer
For example: he would avoid taking a certain medication because it can’t be taken without food. But there’s no medical problem with skipping that medication for one day; it won’t harm him. It would just make movement harder for him.
It’s impossible to answer like that. You need very concrete data, not just examples. The fact that he is disabled is not relevant. The question is what will happen during the fast compared to his normal condition.
Because fasting is harder for him than for a healthy person. Significantly so.