Yom Kippur: What if I can't fast?

These helpful thoughts for Yom Kippur are shared by my associate Ariella bat Ariyeh haCohein. We wish all my readers a meaningful fast and my you be sealed for a good, healthy and productive New Year.

To those who are fortunate to be well enough to observe the fast, my wish for you is to have a meaningful fast.

If you can't fast for Yom Kippur-I am sharing some advice that was given to me over the years.

These are not my ideas. They were penned by sages much wiser than myself.

 

Abstain from things other than food.

If your health dictates that you must eat and/or drink, you still can refrain from these other activities.

When fasting is not feasible, here are some other ways to observe Yom Kippur.

Eat precisely.

What I mean by this directive is to eat exactly what you are supposed to eat – no more and no less. If you’re supposed to eat five vegetables, eat five vegetables. If you’re supposed to leave refined sugar alone, leave it alone. If you’re supposed to eat three balanced meals, don’t do just one or two. Following your doctor’s orders exactly is a discipline, too.

Abstain from things other than food.

Traditionally, we refrain from five things during the 24 hours of Yom Kippur: eating and drinking; engaging in sexual relations; anointing ourselves with cream, oils, and other products for pleasure; bathing and shaving; and wearing leather. If your health dictates that you must eat and/or drink, you still can refrain from these other activities.

Attend services.

The Yom Kippur services are some of the most moving of the entire year. From Kol Nidrei in the evening to N'ilah, the day’s closing service the following evening, the services carry us on an arc of spirituality and emotion that must be fully experienced to be understood.

Use the day for serious reflection.

The true purpose of Yom Kippur is to examine our lives, individually and communally, and to seek out ways to be better Jews and better human beings. You can do this whether you fast or not.

Use the day for prayer.

  גְּמַר חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה

Good final sealing!