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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
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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.




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There are many types of Jews
who may fi t 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.

Take a little bit. Not the whole meal.

Regain your strength while still observ-
ing the spirit of the holiday, he said.

“Of course, you should try to fast,”
Isaacson said.

Rabbi Geri Newburge of Main
Line Reform Temple-Beth Elohim in
Wynnewood compared that approach
to the way kids fast. In general, chil-
dren are not supposed to fast if they
are still growing. Th ey need the
sustenance. But as they grow older, they can start
to cut back a little. Th is helps them
understand the holiday. As Newburge
explained, maybe instead of eating
two Pop-Tarts and scrambled eggs for
breakfast, they just eat eggs. Or, in an
adult’s case, maybe it is apple slices
instead of a three-course meal.

“Th e whole idea is for us to think
about what we’re doing, how we’re
doing it, why we’re doing it,” she said.

“As long as we’re not putting our
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health at risk.”
Fasting, though, is not the only
way to observe the holiday. It’s a tool,
explained Friedman — a means to an
end. But not the end in itself.

Friedman said it’s still important for
someone who can’t fast to go to ser-
vices and participate in the life of the
community. Th e point of Yom Kippur,
he said, is to take an honest look at our
lives to make a more concerted eff ort to
live by our values.

You can break the fast and still
repent, he said. Th is can be diffi cult for
Jews used to fasting to understand and
accept, especially if the medical neces-
sity to eat on the holiest day is new.

“You don’t need to work within an
all-or-nothing mindset,” Lautman
said. “Th at once you broke your fast,
you’ve failed and should give up the
rest of the day.” JE
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