Fasting

Fasting

• The fast begins at dawn (5:15 am in Miami) and ends when the stars come out (8:41 pm in Miami).
• Under normal circumstances when one goes to sleep, it is considered as if the fast has begun, and he may not eat if he wakes up before dawn. If, however, one went to sleep with the intention of getting up and eating before dawn, one may do so.
• One should not eat a full meal within a half hour of dawn unless they appoint someone to remind them to pray the Shacharit service.
• Some say that one may drink if one wakes up in the middle of the night even if he had not planned on doing so. It is best, however, to specify that one intends to do so. One who normally wakes up and has a drink in middle of the night may do so on this night too, even if he didn’t specify that he planned to do this.
• Some say that one who is healthy should not eat extra before a fast but should rather experience the full difficulty of the fast.
• It is best not to use mouthwash, brush one’s teeth or rinse one’s mouth on a public fast day.
• One who experiences discomfort if he doesn’t brush his teeth or use mouthwash may do so. It is best if one uses mouthwash instead of water to do the rinsing. Care should be taken not to swallow anything.
• If one forgot and ate on the fast day, when they remember they must resume fasting. In such a case, it is proper (but not obligatory) to fast another day as an atonement for his sin. If this is difficult, one may redeem the fast by giving tzedakah.
• If one flies on a plane on a fast day, he should fast until the stars come out, even if it means this may result in a longer or shorter fast. Some disagree and say that one should fast according to the time in the city where the flight originates.
• If one crosses the dateline on a fast day, one should keep the fast based on the time of the location where he began fasting. Regardless of personal fast times, one should never eat publicly in a place where the people are fasting.
• An elderly or sick person who finds it difficult to fast is not obligated to do so, nor does he need to make up the fast on a different day.
• In such a case, one may eat in the morning and need not fast for the first part of the day.
• One may take medication that does not have a good taste. If he needs water to help swallow a pill, it is preferable to mix into the water something that tastes bad before drinking it, such as vinegar. If this is not possible, one should use a small amount of regular water.
• If the medicine has a good taste or if one needs to eat or drink when taking the medication (so as not to take the medication on an empty stomach), he may do so if he is ill or if by not taking the medication he would become ill.
• In Sefardic and Chassidic communities, it is customary that pregnant or nursing women not fast on this day. In this context, a woman is considered pregnant after the 40th day from conception. In a case of weakness, one may be lenient before this time as well. In Ashkenaz, non-Chassidic communities, some say that pregnant and nursing women should fast unless they are feeling sick or weak, in which case they should eat. Others say that nowadays we can assume a pregnant woman will feel weak or sick, and therefore she need not fast. All agree that a woman who had a baby within 30 days should not fast.
• A woman who has had a baby (or a miscarriage) within 24 months is considered to be a nursing woman even if she is not actually nursing her baby. There are those who say that only a mother who is actually nursing is not obligated to fast.
• Children under Bar or Bat Mitzvah need not fast.
• Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach disagreed with the modern custom of having children fast the three fasts before their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.
• One who is not fasting should eat in private. In addition, he, as well as children who are old enough to be educated, should only eat simple foods and not sweets or treats.
• One who is fasting may touch food (e.g., to serve her children). Some say that one may only touch food if it is necessary (i.e., if the child cannot prepare it himself).
• If there is a brit on this day, the meal should be postponed until after the fast.
• One who is cooking on a fast day may not taste the food even if he spits it out.