If One Must Take Medicine Once Every 24 Hours, Is It Better to Take It on Erev Shabbos, Or Should He Wait Until Shabbos?
If one has a slight illness, but he is not on the level of a choleh she’ein boi sakonah [ill person who is not in danger] and he doesn’t have a heter to take medicine on Shabbos. However, he has to take a certain medicine once every 24 hours, and he can’t afford to skip it out for two days, from Asorah B’Teves until motzei Shabbos: Should he take the medicine on Asorah B’Teves when there is an issur derabonon to eat, or should he wait until Shabbos where there is an issur derabonon due to the gezeirah of sechikas samamonim [rabbinic enactment against taking medicine on Shabbos, as one may come to ground spices]?
It would seem that it is better to take it on Asorah B’Teves, based on the Beis Yosef (612) who writes in regard to Yom Kippur, that if one eats something not fit for eating, and it is less than the shiur issur, it’s mutar lechatchilah to eat. This would seem to be better than swallowing the medicine on Shabbos when there is an issur derabonon. Although the Mishnah Berurah (612:15) writes in the name of the Pri Megodim in regard to food not fit for consumption, that lechatchilah there is an issur derabonon to eat them on Yom Kippur, even a chatzi shiur [half the amount of the forbidden size]. The poskim (Shu”t Kesav Sofer, Orach Chaim 111, Shu”t Eretz Tzvi, siman 88, and Igros Moshe, Vol. 3, siman 91 – see Be’er Heitev 567:7) write, that to swallow tablets is lechatchilah, as besides for the aforementioned leniency, swallowing is not considered a normal way of eating, as one is simply swallowing and not benefiting at all.
However, what if one needs to use water to help swallow the tablet? If one needs water, then he should make the water not taste nice by adding something bitter, i.e. put in a number of strong tea bags.
The Shu”t Shevet HaLevi (10: end of siman 84) rules: If one needs to take tablets for healing purposes, it is better to swallow them on postponed Tisha B’Av, even if one needs to drink water with it, then it is to swallow the tablets on Shabbos erev Tisha B’Av.
R’ Avrohom Ganchovsky adds: On Shabbos there is no size medicine which Chazal forbade due to the gezeirah of sechikas samamonim, they forbade all sizes. On Tisha B’Av, however, there is an amount, and a tablet is only a chatzi shiur [half amount], therefore, it is better to take it on the fast. R’ Ganchovsky adds, that one should wait until Sunday as he may get better before then, and he won’t need the medicine altogether. There is a nafkah minah [practical difference] between the above two reasons in a case when Asorah B’Teves falls on erev Shabbos. According to the reason of chatzi shiur it would be better to take the medicine on Asorah B’Teves, however, according to the reason that one may get better and not need the medicine, it would be better to wait until Shabbos.
