by Rabbi Moshe Rotberg. It has become increasingly popular for people to take a variety of different pills and supplements prior to Yom Kippur to help make the fast easier. At times these are Tylenol pills which are slowly released throughout the fast or even caffeine. The S’dai Chemed (Maereches Yom Kippur end 1) brings that this is prohibited since in fact this would be a violation of the requirement for one to be pained of hungry on Yom Kippur. 

Most Achronim disagree with his premise. They explain that the prohibition of v’ineesem es nafshosaichem is not to eat on Yom Kippur, if one eats prior to Yom Kippur as is required by halacha he is not prohibited in doing so just because he may not be as hungry during the fast (See Tzitz Eliezer Vol. 7; 32). 

Therefore according to most Achronim this would be halachically acceptable. 

Taking Medications, Suppositories on Yom Kippur not for a Csyb”s 

Today there are certain supplements which do not have to be taken orally. Some of these items may be medications or simply caffeine. There is much talk in the Achronim whether or not someone who keeps drinking less than the shiur to the point where he is no longer thirsty is chayav kores since at the end of the day he did not fulfill the requirement of v’ineesem. 

While suppositories (and IV fluids however see what was written further in regard to that) would not be in the same category most Achronim nonetheless rule that it is prohibited to do so. The only allowance given is for someone who is sick that he is a choleh sheain bo sakana (meaning they are in a lot of pain of they are so weak that they are bedridden). In that case there are those who then allow for it. 

As such there are some Achronim (See Rav Shlomo Zalman zt”l Halichis Shlomo Hilchos Yom Kippurim) who write that a choleh sheain bo sakana can also take a pill so long as it tastes bitter. If it does not taste bitter then he advises people to wrap it in a piece of paper so that it is not k’derech achila. 

Fasting 

Each year Hatzolah members and doctors are approached in Shul or called with regards to individuals who are ill from fasting. While no one will ever tell a person not to call or consult a medical professional it is important to still know some basic guidelines. 

Cholim, Pregnant and Post-Partum Women  

A choleh who a doctor (or even anyone with knowledge of what is needed) instructed to eat on Yom Kippur must do so. Even if the doctor maintains that the person will not necessarily die but the illness will intensify that person still must eat. The reason is since Chaza”l feared that the person will die as a result (Mishnah Berurah 618; 2). When it comes to the risk of life we give the medical professionals the benefit of the doubt. Meaning even if the patient or another doctor disagree with regards to the need to eat we listen to the doctor who mandates that there is a need to eat. Transversally if the doctor states that a person does not need to eat and the patient disagrees we listen to the patient. 

All cholim r”l should consult a doctor and Rov prior to Yom Kippur to see if they are allowed to fast. In addition they should try to ask the doctor whether drinking and not eating would suffice to make sure there is no risk to him. One should try to verify whether eating and drinking pachus m’kshiur would suffice. 

Pregnant and nursing women are required to fast as per the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch. Dayan Fisher zt”l as well some other Poskim that since there is a risk of miscarriages and pre-term labor pregnant women should be allowed to eat. However this has not been accepted by most of the Poskim (See Tzitz Eliezer Vol. 17; 20 T’shuvos V’hanhagos Vol. 2; 292 and others). Therefore, pregnant women in general are required to fast. Obviously a woman with a difficult pregnancy; or a woman who has compounded risk factors needs to consult with a doctor prior to fasting (and a Rov). As such anytime someone is really not feeling well they need to consult a medical professional even on Yom Kippur. 

In general the nursing women do not have an added allowance to eat. (In a rare case where the baby is ill and can only nurse from the mother without any other substitute there may be room for lenieincy. See Chazon Ish (O.C. 59; 3-4) with regards to Shabbos however today this issue does not seem all that prevalent. 

A woman who is within three days of giving birth should not fast on Yom Kippur. There is some debate as to how we calculate these three days. The Mishnah Berurah (Ibid 13) writes that this means 72 hours from the delivery. From 3-7 days if the woman states that she feels she needs to eat she may. 

A woman in labor (consult a Rov prior to ascertain the correct time) is considered a yoledes and may eat (if her doctor allows her to.) A woman who miscarries may also be considered a yoledes (where it is prior to 40 days of gestation and she had this before ask a Rov how to classify this- See Biur Halacha s.v. Yoledes and the Sdai Chemed Mareches Yom Kippurim 3; 1 which he refers to.) 

I.V. Fluids on and Prior to Yom Kippur 

At times people will call Hatzolah to ask for a paramedic to come administer I.V. on Yom Kippur. This most times should not be done as we will explain. 

A choleh who needs to eat on Yom Kippur should not ask to have an I.V. line inserted prior to Yom Kippur to enable fasting. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l (O.C. 3; 90 O.C. ; 101) maintains that one is prohibited from doing so. His reasoning is that one who is allowed to eat according to halacha has no right to inflict a wound on himself (via I.V. administration) to alleviate a symptom in order to fast. He also maintains that there is always some risk factors with any procedure (albeit a small one but still not one requiring one to risk when halacha clearly states that he does not need to fast). He also maintains that it is not likely that IV fluids totally satisfies the body as eating would. Rav Shlomo Zalman zt”l (Halichos Shlomo Refuah) has a similar position. 

On Yom Kippur one should certainly not be asking for someone to do a melacha in order to enable them to fast when they can simply eat permissibly.   

Husband’s  Staying Home from Shul 

Rav Moshe zt’l (Ibid) Rav Shlomo Zalman zt”l (Ibid) and Rav Shternbuch ybl”c (Ibid) write that if a woman will not be able to fast because she is weak from taking care of the children and house and there is no other help the husband must stay home to help her so that she will be able to fast. In addition if one will go to Shul only to risk getting weak and needing to eat he should better stay home and not daven with a minyan yet fast. 

Can a Choleh who is Eating on Yom Kippur Get an Aliya 

Rav Akiva Eiger zt”l (Vol. 1; 24) writes that someone who was not fasting on Yom Kippur since he is sick can still get an aliya. He explains that the reason for this is since in essence this person is not doing an avaira he is not an avaryon. However, he debates whether the same holds true with getting an aliya by Mincha. There are those who say that when the person is eating less than the shiur than he can, as well as when Yom Kippur falls out on Shabbos. 

Mechilah 

The Mechaber (O.C. 606; 1) writes that aveiros that are committed to a fellow person will not be forgiven by Yom Kippur. Therefore one needs to appease his friend (even he only hurt him verbally) to forgive him. If he who he wronged refuses his request for forgiveness he should go a second and third time in the presence of another three people and try to seek his forgiveness. If he still refuses to forgive him he should go before ten people and state that he tried obtain his forgiveness and was not successful. (See Mishnah Berurah (606;6) that the reason for this is so that it is known that he tried to obtain mechilah. The Darkai Moshe adds that by doing so Hash-m will be mochel him. However, Rav Dovid Feinstein shlit”a (V’dbarta Bom 163) seems to suggest that one should only go to ten people who already know the story so as not to cause increased humiliation by announcing an embarrassing event.) If the person he wronged was someone who he had learned Torah by then he needs to continue going to him until he receives his forgiveness. 

There was a group of people who made fights and spoke disrespectful about a certain Gadol. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l said he was shocked when he it came before Yom Kippur and he didn’t see long lines of people outside the Gadols home seeking out his forgiveness. (Halichos Shlomo – Yom Kippur 3; 6 19) 

Why is This Done on Erev Yom Kippur 

The Mishnah Berurah (Ibid 1) writes that this does not simply apply to Erev Yom Kippur. He explains that in reality one needs to do so or year round. However since many times one does not find time to do so and pushes it off it must be done on before Yom Kippur. He adds that one should be extremely careful that he doesn’t have money which he got through gezel and ona’ah in his procession and he should repay it should he have such monies. If one knows that his friend has money of his he should verify that he in fact owes him the money with a Rov and then inform his friend. 

Should Specify how he Wronged his Friend if it will Embarrass him 

The Mishnah Berurah (Ibid 3) writes that although one who wrongs his friend must specify what he has done to him when asking him mechilah, however where it will embarrass the person when hearing what he had done to him then he should not specify this act. 

It is interesting to note that this is in direct conflict of what the Chofetz Chaim wrote in Hilchos Shemiras Halashon (4; 12). There he states that one who said lashon hora about his friend is in desecration of violation between him and his creator. This requires one to do teshuvah as he must do on other such aveiros. However if he was belittled in the eyes of those who heard the lashon hora then he is in a violation of committing an aveira to his fellow man. For such a desecration one needs to ask mechila from his friend before he can do complete t’shuvah. He says that if the person doesn’t know how he was wronged the person must specify to him what he has done to him and seek out his forgiveness. (He uses this as an illustration of how problematic lashon hora is. Since many people forget who they have spoken ill about or even if they remember they may refuse to seek out mechila since he may be embarrassed to admit to his friend the hurtful things he has said.) 

While this ruling is based on the Rabainu Yonah (see footnotes Ibid) it is said that Rav Yisroel Salanter zt”l disagreed with this ruling. He said that although he may need to specify what he has done in order to be forgiven he doesn’t have a right to embarrass his friend for the sake of his t’shuvah. 

Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurebach zt”l (Halichos Shlomo – Yom Kippur 3; 6) rules as the Mishnah Berurah that in the aforementioned case one should not specify what he has done.   

Approaching One who Wronged You 

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (131; 4) as well as the Mateh Efraim (606) write that if one knows that someone has wronged him then he should purposely try to meet the person so that he will remember that he had wronged his friend and will ask him mechilah.  

One Does not have to Forgive one who was Motzei Shem Ra 

After stating that one should forgive he who asks of him mechila (so that Hash-m should to so for him as well) the Rama writes an exclusion to the rule. He states that someone who was motzi shem ra on a person that person does not have to forgive him. The Magen Avrohom writes that the reason for this is since even if the person who spread the false rumors apologizes however we do not know who in the world has also heard these rumors and don’t of the subsequent apology (thus they still think badly of him). However midas anovo is to forgive him. 

There is a story which is told in this regard with the Chofetz Chaim. There was once a person who spread a false malicious rumor about his friend. After doing so he felt bad and came to the Chofetz Chaim to find out how to do t’shuva. The Chofetz Chaim told him to take a feather pillow on a windy day and cut it open. The man came back to the Chofetz Chaim and told him “Rebbe I did what he told me, now what should I do?” He responded “go pick up all the feathers and bring it back”. The man responded “pick it up? They have blown all over the place I can possibly retrieve every one.” The Chofetz Chaim said “well the motzi shem ra you spread also is spread all over how can you possibly retrieve it?” 

Going to the Mikvah Erev Yom Kippur 

The Tur quotes from Rav Sadia that one should make a b’racha once upon he comes up from the mikva. The Tur disagrees with this as does the Shulchan Aruch. There are two different reasons given as to why one is supposed to go to the mikvah on Erev Yom Kippur. Some say the reason is due to tumaas keri thus one only needs to immerse himself once. However others maintain that the reason for this tevilah is for the sake of t’shuvah (Magen Avrohom Ibid 8). If the reason one is immersing himself is for the sake of t’shuvah then he is supposed to immerse himself three times. Young boys according to many do not have to go to the mikvah. 

Many maintain that it is best to go to the mikvah prior to Mincha where he will be saying vidui. Others say that one should go after the seudas hamefsekes right befors Yom Kippur. 

The Magen Avrohom (as such rules the Mishnah Berurah) writes that the minhag was for single girls and women to go to the mikvah as well since they to are “Bnai Mitzvos”. 

Ner Sheshovas

There is a requirement to make havdala on a candle which was lit before Shabbos. The Mishnah Berurah (624; 13) brings that it is best to have a candle lit specifically for the sake of havdala on Motzai Yom Kippur. Some say that one can’t be yotze from a candle lit for a yohrzeit or other reasons. Where one does not have such a fire and he can’t borrow one, some say that one should not make a boreh meorai ha’aish at all (See Biur Halacha s.v. V’yaish), others allow one to light a fire and take a flame from that and then to recite the b’racha (see Chayai Odom 145; 40).  

May we all make all right preparations to the yom hadin and may all of us be written and signed into the Sefer Chaim Tovim.