Yom Kippur
Eating & Drinking by Shiurim
For someone who has been instructed by a Rov not to fast, or to fast only in measured amounts.
!
If there is danger to life
Give food or medicine immediately. Do not measure and do not wait.
This applies even where it is only a question whether the situation is a medical emergency.
Before Yom Kippur
- Consult a Rov in advance. A dispensation from fasting has to be given, not assumed; and once given, it should not be fasted against.
- Measure your mouthful. Fill your mouth and cheeks with liquid, empty it into a measuring cup, and divide that amount in half.
- Mark the cup you will use at that level, so nothing needs to be measured on the day itself.
- Portion out food and drink beforehand and set it aside ready.
Drink
½
of your own mouthful
This amount is personal. It differs from person to person and must be measured before the fast.
Eat
30 cc
about 1 fl oz
Roughly 2 tablespoons, the amount that fits into a small matchbox.
One portion at a time
How long to wait between portions
If nine minutes is not possible
7 min
If 9 is not possible
6 min
If 7 is not possible
4 min
If 6 is not possible
under 4 min
If 4 is not possible; as often as necessary
Eating and drinking are counted separately. Both may be taken within the same interval.
Keep in mind
- A person who is required to eat fulfills a mitzvah by eating, just as a healthy person fulfills a mitzvah by fasting.
- If you can only manage to fast by remaining in bed all day, remain in bed; davening and going to shul are secondary to the obligation to fast.
- If you ate or drank and later feel strong enough to fast, resume fasting.
If you are eating bread
- No Kiddush is recited, even when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbos.
- Wash your hands as you do throughout the year.
- Two whole challos are not needed, unlike other Yomim Tovim.
- Ya'aleh V'yavo is recited in bentching, with the wording for Yom Kippur: בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים הַזֶּה, בְּיוֹם סְלִיחַת הֶעָוֹן הַזֶּה, בְּיוֹם מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה
Download the printable sheet
Print it before Yom Kippur and keep it somewhere accessible.
This page is a condensed version, with some detail left out for clarity. Read the full answer.
