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When Is it OK Not to Fast
on Yom Kippur?
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
A s an Orthodox rabbi guiding
Congregation Beth Solomon
in Philadelphia, Rabbi
Solomon Isaacson possesses a deep
understanding of why it’s so important
to fast on Yom Kippur.

But let’s let him explain it.

“God measures us. Our lives are at
stake,” he said. “We fast to put our-
selves in the mood to say, ‘Why are we
fasting?’ That fasting brings to mind
how serious the day is.”
At the same time, despite his doctri-
nal belief in Judaism and strict adher-
ence to its practice, Isaacson said it’s
OK to sacrifice the most serious ritual
of the religion’s holiest day. In other
words, it’s OK not to fast if your life
depends on it.

Isaacson is willing to defer to a doc-
tor on this question. On Yom Kippur,
it’s the man or woman of medicine who
serves as the moral authority, even if he
or she is not Jewish.

“If the doctor tells you it’s dangerous,
then you must eat,” Isaacson said. “Not
a rabbi, not an uncle, not a father, not a
husband, not a wife. A doctor.”
There are many types of Jews who
may fit into this category: someone who
needs to eat and drink due to a medical
condition, someone who needs to eat
and/or drink with a medication and a
woman who is pregnant. Among others.

Rabbis Abe Friedman and Adam
Lautman mentioned that mental
health is as much of a consideration as
physical health. A person recovering
from or still struggling with an eating
disorder probably needs to eat and
drink on Yom Kippur, they said.

“Fasting may be traumatic or dan-
gerous for certain individuals,” said
Lautman, who leads Temple Har Zion
in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

Friedman, the spiritual leader of
Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Center
City, called eating disorders “a life and
death matter.” He explained that rabbis
must not only listen to doctors but
mental health professionals as well.

“I always respect the expertise of
medical and mental health profession-
als,” Friedman said. “They know things
I don’t know.”
According to Rabbi David Englander
of Congregation Beth El in Voorhees,
Happy Rosh Hashanah
and a blessed
Yom Kippur
from all of us at Pine Run.

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6 SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
New Jersey, it is doctors who determine
the line between fasting and not fast-
ing, between eating a normal amount
and a little less than that, and between
the medical and the spiritual.

But if a person does not need to eat
and drink like it’s a normal day — if it’s
still safe to keep the fast to an extent —
it’s the rabbi who can provide guidance.

Isaacson believes that those who
must eat and drink should still be
reluctant. Unless they have to, “they
should not sit down and have a six-
course meal.”
Instead, if they begin to fast and feel
weak, they should “take a teaspoon of
something and then stop,” Isaacson
said. And if they feel that way again
in a few hours, they should do the
same thing.