Q&A: When Is One Exempt from Fasting on Yom Kippur?
When Is One Exempt from Fasting on Yom Kippur?
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I’m asking a question that is practically relevant for me this coming Yom Kippur:
What is the status of a person who is not actually defined as sick, but has various deficiencies in the body—iron, vitamins, and the like—and overall is a very thin and weak person?
He has no reserves at all; that is, he can’t eat a lot and remain feeling full for a long time, but rather he always eats a little, and not long afterward eats again.
Until now he has fasted on Yom Kippur, but the fast is extremely hard for him. Despite his efforts to eat on the eve of Yom Kippur, already on the night of Yom Kippur he feels hunger and stomach pains. He spends the entire fast in bed, and two hours after the fast ends (after they bring him food and drink to the bed) it is still hard for him to get out of it.
Is such a person obligated to fast?
Thanks in advance
Answer
Difficulty, even if it is severe, does not exempt one from fasting on Yom Kippur. Only if there is danger, and that requires an evaluation by a doctor. However, there is also the rule that “the heart knows the bitterness of its own soul,” and therefore if he himself clearly feels that there is such danger, that too can be grounds for permission. It is preferable that he speak with a halakhic authority.
Discussion on Answer
Same here. As a matter of Jewish law, half a prescribed measure is prohibited by Torah law.
What about eating in measured amounts?