Yom Kippur: Pregnant and Fasting?
Hello to all the Jewish mothers and mothers-to-be out there!
Wanted to take a few minutes out from cleaning my disaster area of a house
in order to write a few words about the Yom Kippur fast (inspired, as always,
by Rebbetzin Yemima Mizrachi's class and Yikrat Friedman's transcription).
Did you know that the Holy Ari, one of the greatest Jewish
Mystics ever, asked why men keep the Yom Kippur fast at all- since, he writes,
Yom Kippur is really a women's holiday- the day when the Shechina, the Holy
Presence- which is identified with women- ascends to its highest point.
Yom Kippur is, therefore, really a 24 hour celebration of women's holiness,
it is our day to pray and ask for everything that we need from G-d, it is
OUR DAY! (To further prove his point- the Ari teaches that women's prayers
are accepted from the start of Yom Kippur in the evening, while men's prayers
are only accepted in the afternoon for the last few hours of the holiday)
About the fast- not eating or drinking on Yom Kippur is
just about the most important thing you do all year. It can be really really
tough. I am a TERRIBLE faster, even when I am not pregnant, but it really
is possible if you stay in bed the day of the fast. Remember- fasting is
much more important than going to shul, so if you will tire yourself out
shlepping to synagogue, it is best to stay home. (If you have a high risk
pregnancy or other medical problems, please ignore everything I am saying
about fasting, and speak with your doctor).
One word of encouragement and advice- our Holy Rabbis teach
us that while every other day of the year food and drink give us energy-
on Yom Kippur, our prayers are what give us strength (that's why there are
five prayers in place of the five meals we would have eaten). So, if you
feel like you're starving or thirstier than the Sahara desert, and have
to break the fast, just open your prayerbook, or pray from your heart, and
the holiness of Yom Kippur will get you through. I had never heard this
prayer-as-food explanation before this year, but is the only explanation
I have ever found for the two Yom Kippurs I kept the fast even though I
had been suffering the weeks before Yom Kippur with awful morning sickness,
so that I was mostly living from rice cake to rice cake to keep from throwing
up (and I was nursing too- aaaaaaaaah!!!!!!). I have no explanation aside
from a miraculous one to explain how I fasted those Yom Kippurs- and actually
felt the least nauseous I had all month. anyway, from one bedridden Yom
Kippur keeper to another, I wish all of you an easy fast, and a Chatima
Tova- a good sealing to our fate for the coming year. love, Chana- the Jewish
Pregnancy Lady
The following is an article from Rabbi David Sperling
about the specific laws concerning the Yom Kippur fast:
Fasting for Pregnant Women on Yom Kippur
From Rabbi David Sperling
In a case of, G-d forbid, danger to the life of the mother,
or the fetus, or even a possible danger, we break the fast (on how to eat
see below). Jewish law records the case of a women who, upon smelling some
food for example, lusts to eat it. This is considered life threatening,
and if after being reminded that it is Yom Kippur she still wants to eat,
we give her a few drops to eat. We up the amount of food slowly until she
no longer needs to eat. I have not heard of this happening in our day and
age. More common is a woman who feels nauseous, dizzy or faint.
There is an argument amongst modern Rabbis how sick she
must feel in order to eat. Rav Nebenzal (of the Old City of Jerusalem) is
very lenient and rules that in any cases of dizziness (even mildly) or nausea,
she should eat in "measures" (see below) and if that does not suffice, she
should eat normally. She can even start eating before the nausea begins,
if she is sure that the fast will cause the nausea to come. There is an
even more lenient opinion (of Rav Fischer of the Bedatz of the Adah Haradit)
who tells all women from the seventh month on (until the ninth) that they
must drink in "measures" as a preventive health measure. This opinion is
not generally followed.
Rav Mordichay Eliyahu (previous Spharedi Chief Rabbi) rules
that one must be much stricter and cannot break the fast for dizziness or
nausea. I would suggest that if the mother feels well she should begin the
fast, and if she then feels herself to be sick (especially vomiting or other
signs of dehydration) she should break the fast by eating in measures. However
mild dizziness and nausea that can be coped with by lying down should be
endured. But this depends very much on the general health of the mother
and fetus.
There is an opinion that obligates women in the ninth month
to at least drink in "measures" so as not to arrive at labour without enough
liquids. This is not generally followed, but someone who has fears about
birth and wants to follow such an opinion has on whom to rely. It should
be stressed that the obligation to fast is much greater than the obligation
to go to synagogue. A woman who knows that going to the synagogue will cause
(or add to) the possibility of having to break the fast, should not go.
It is better to spend the day in bed lying down if needs be, than to go
out and have to eat.
A husband should also be reminded that he has an obligation
to stay home and take care of his wife or children rather than go to pray
with a minyan, in order that his wife be able to fast. Medically needed
tablets (for low iron etc) can be taken, when needed, on the fast, without
water. All the above is written for normal healthy pregnancies. If there
are any complications, or a medical history of problem, one should consult
a Rabbi with the details. And in general it is better to talk to a rabbi
who knows you personally and not rely on what I have written.
For eating in "measures": one eats less than 30 cubic
cm of food, no more than every nine minutes, and drinks less than a cheek-full
of liquid (about 40 ml) every nine minutes. The food and drink do not join
together and one can eat the amount above, as well as drink the amount above
in the same nine minutes. But one must be careful that the food of one 9
mins does not overlap with the food of the next 9 mins. (That is not to
eat the food at the end of one 9 min. period and the next lot at the start
of the next 9 mins. But rather there should be 9 mins between each lot of
food.).
Before the fast one can prepare a small measuring cup and
determine the size of the food (it is about what fits into an average Israeli
match-box), or drink. May you be healthy in body and soul, and inscribed
for a good year. Please
Note: This information is for educational purposes only.
You should not rely on this information as a substitute for personal medical
advice.