Best practices for a fast day

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

Q: I generally don’t plan to wake up early before a fast day to eat in the morning before it starts, but sometimes my kids wake me anyway. Can I then eat something if the fast hasn’t started yet?

A: You may only eat on the morning of a fast day until alos amud hashachar if you planned to do so before retiring for the night. L’chatchilah, you should stipulate verbally that you’re planning to eat in the morning after waking up, but bedi’eved, as long as you clearly intended to do so, you may eat. (If you plan on washing for bread, you may do so only if you begin the meal at least half an hour before alos amud hashachar.) Drinking, however, is permitted even if you didn’t clearly stipulate to do so, as long as you normally drink something in the morning when you wake up. If mistakenly you miscalculated and ate or drank past alos, you still must continue fasting the rest of the day.

Q: After a year in seminary with girls from all over the globe, I’ve been surprised at the myriad “minhagim” that girls have for fasting, especially the minor fasts. Shouldn’t all girls at least aim to fast every fast?
A: According to Shulchan Aruch, there is no difference between men and women, or boys and girls, when it comes to the obligation of fasting, minor or major fasts. There are, however, some communities whose custom is that women and girls don’t fast on the minor fasts. Members of those communities should follow the guidance of their poskim for the practical halachah. But those who aren’t members of those communities need to follow the standard halachic ruling, which requires all healthy adults to fast, unless they have a specific situation that makes it too difficult, and they have clear permission from a posek that exempts them from fasting. (Women who aren’t fasting may still say Selichos and Avinu Malkeinu, but they may not say aneinu.) Girls below the age of 12 (and boys below the age of 13) shouldn’t fast at all, even if the fast is right before their bas or bar mitzvah.

Q: May I brush my teeth the morning of a fast if I make sure no water is being swallowed?

A: Brushing your teeth on a minor fast day is permitted if otherwise you will be distressed (tzaar). On Tishah B’Av, it’s permitted only if otherwise you will be in great distress (tzaar gadol). On Yom Kippur it’s not permitted at all. The same halachah applies for mouthwash or rinsing out the mouth with water. But placing a mint breath strip in your mouth that yields a flavor that is then swallowed is forbidden. Vaping is forbidden as well.

Q: Is it permitted to use spray deodorant on a fast day?

A: Spray deodorants and anti-perspirants are permitted on all fast days except Yom Kippur.

Q: If I feel a headache starting during the fast, can I take Tylenol during the fast, or is it better to break my fast?

A: Taking a pain killer such as Advil or Tylenol without water is permitted on all minor fast days and Tishah B’Av. If you can only take the medicine with water, and the headache is severe enough to make you dysfunctional and unable to fast, then take the pain killer with one fluid ounce of water. All other prescribed non-chewable medications may be taken with or without water, as per doctor’s instructions.

Q: On the morning of Shivah Asar B’Tammuz, after I got the kids out to camp, I accidentally broke off a piece of my son’s muffin and ate it. Is the whole fast now ruined for me and I should eat the rest of the day, or can I continue fasting and salvage some of the day’s value?

A: You’re obligated to continue fasting. Indeed, when you daven Minchah, you may add aneinu to the brachah of shomeia tefillah. A “makeup fast” isn’t required.

Q: I work in a day camp and the kids aren’t fasting. It’s happened that I forget and grab a water bottle and make shehakol before I suddenly remember I’m fasting. Should I then take a sip so as not to have made a brachah l’vatalah?

A: Don’t drink at all, not even a sip. Instead, just recite the words Baruch Sheim kevod malchuso l’olam vaed.

Q: My baby just started solids and I often suck on the pieces of schnitzel before he eats to make sure it’s soft enough. If I’m not swallowing the food, is this permitted on a fast day?

A: This isn’t permitted on a fast day. But if otherwise the baby won’t have anything to eat, then it’s permitted to place the food in your mouth and then spit it out.

Q: I know that to teach my kids about the importance of fasting and why we’re sad I shouldn’t let them have treats and prizes on a fast day, but that’s the only way I can fast.

A: If that’s the only way you can fast, you may give the kids the treats and prizes that they need.

Q: We wait 72 minutes after sunset to make Havdalah on Motzaei Shabbos. Should we be keeping that time, known as the zeman of Rabbeinu Tam, before breaking our fast days as well?

A: The common custom is not to keep the zeman of Rabbeinu Tam for fast days. In Israel, most people wait no more than 35 minutes past sunset to break their fast. In the US, most people wait no more than 50 minutes past sunset to break their fast, including Tishah B’Av. Many communities use the time period known as “36 minute as degrees,” which on Tishah B’Av this year will come out to be 46 minutes past sunset (on the East Coast) to be the correct time of ending the fast.

Q: I’m a diabetic and I cannot fast ever. Should I be hiding my eating from my family and coworkers? It makes me feel like I’m being sneaky.

A: While it’s permitted for you to eat out in the open, it’s sometimes difficult for people who are fasting to watch someone else eating without restriction. So for the sake of sensitivity, it would be appropriate to eat your meals in a private area.

Q: My children never want to miss a day of swimming. Is that allowed on a fast day? What about adults taking a hot shower?

A: According to the basic halachah, showering and swimming is only strictly forbidden on Tishah B’Av and Yom Kippur. Still, the custom developed in many localities that bathing or showering in hot water, or swimming for pleasure, is restricted on all of the fasts. Showering in cold (or lukewarm) water, or swimming for health reasons, is permitted. Washing parts of the body in hot water is permitted. Swimming for small children, until the age that they’re old enough to understand the idea and the background of the fast, is permitted as well. A woman who is preparing for the mikveh may take a hot bath as usual.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 953)