Question: Is it permitted to take caffeine supplements by mouth on Tisha Bav? Yom Kippur? What are the guidelines for each? Answer: I am assuming that you are not taking… Read more »
Category: The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
Fasting on Yom Kippur with anxiety and high blood pressure
Question: I am currently on psych medications for chronic anxiety, depression and high blood pressure with chest pains. What are my fasting options on Yom Kippur. Answer: I am… Read more »
Beyond hope for teshuva if I transgressed a Chiuv Kares?
Question: BS”D I’m in a very very dark place. I’m a frum, Gd-fearing person but not long before Yom Kippur I succumbed to the Yetzer Hara and behaved in a… Read more »
Fasting on Yom Kippur
Question: I am recovering from breast cancer surgery and preparing for radiation. Nurses are telling me not to fast because I need to keep my immune system strong and still… Read more »
Fasting on Yom Kippur may damage my body
Question: I always fast on Yom Kippur, but I’m not sure what to do this year. I’ve recently been diagnosed with stage 2 chronic kidney disease. I’m told that it… Read more »
Washing the nose in yom kippur
Question: Can a person wash his nose with a syringe on Yom Kippur? Can he swallow this liquid ?! Answer: Since he is not permitted to swallow the water he… Read more »
Fasting
Question: Dear Rov. I have been diagnosed with a mental disability and high blood pressure, chronic anxiety and depression taking numerous medications with chest pains. I believe that I am… Read more »
caffeine suppositories
Question: Are caffeine suppositories permissible on Yom Kippur? Thank you Answer: Although one is allowed to use caffeine suppositories on erev Yom Kippur to make the fast easier, on Yom… Read more »
Le’eil Yom Kippur
Question: Aside from learning, reading etc…, would it be permissible to do exercises (sit ups, push ups, etc…) on the night of Yom Kippur to remain awake (L’Siba Noda’at) as… Read more »
Wearing crocs and thongs
Question: Hi, if I am living in a city with no Eruv, am I allowed to wear crocs on yom kippur that don’t have a strap at the back? And… Read more »
Treif for pikuach nefsh
Question: A father refuses to eat something treif, although the doctors have ordered him to. His son tries to trick him and says that it is not treif. The father… Read more »
Mistaken Eating on Yom Kippur
Question: Nursing woman felt strong weakness during Yom Kippur and husband commanded her to eat & drink and she did. If this is permitted or she did aveira? Answer: Presumably… Read more »
Nursing and Pregnant on Yom Kippur
Question: Regarding my wife’s fast on Yom Kippur. My wife is (bsha’ah tova) in week #12. She still nurses our 16 month old daughter 3-8 times a day, who can… Read more »
Medical Issues on Yom Kippur
Question: I need to take important medicines everyday. What do I do on Yom Kippur? My husband has sleep apnea and he needs special machine to sleep (cpap). Is he… Read more »
Eye Drops on Yom Kippur
Question: I am scheduled to get lasik eye procedure the day after Yom Kippur. Am I allowed to put in eye drops on Yom Kippur? Thank you. Answer: Yes, this… Read more »
Avel Chazan on Yom Kippur
Question: Can an avel lead the service (daven for the amud) on Yom Kippur? Answer: No, he should not daven for the amud. If he is the only available chazan who… Read more »
Fasting Difficulty
I am finding it increasingly difficult to fast the entire Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur. I’m 50 years old but haven’t fasted the minor fast days since the years of… Read more »
Brother Died in Ne’ilah
Inside the bet-akeneset, at mincha/neillà time, arrived a news that to a men is died a brother, (in the same city and near to the bet akeneset) is better that… Read more »
Heating on Yom Kippur
Is one allowed to place permissible (dry) food on top of a blech/hotplate on Yom Kippur for children to eat? Answer: Concerning a regular electric warming plate, which can be… Read more »
Deodorant on Yom Kippur
Can one use deodorant on Yom Kippur? What if the reason is to remove sweat? Can you give us the source of the psak? Answer: It is permitted to use… Read more »
Shiurim on Yom Kippur
For a person who needs to eat and drink on Yom Kippur, what are the Shiurim for eating and drinking? Answer: A person who is eating shiurim must drink no… Read more »
Nursing for Yom Kippur
My wife be 43 yrs old, this is our first baby, we have no precedent in terms of knowing how she will handle a fast, how the fast might impact… Read more »
Ne’ilah after Nightfall
from the rishonim it is clear one should finish neila by tses the shagas aryeh and magen avraham say ein limchos if a tzibur cont. neila after tzes. where did… Read more »
Fasting after C-Section
A woman in the community might have the C-section on Monday or Wednesday before the Shabbos of Yom Kippur. In those situations, what would be her requirement to fast? Answer:… Read more »
Wearing Artificial Leather Shoes on Yom Kippur
Can man made material shoes that look like real leather be used on yom kippur regading maris ayin? Are you also michsal others who might judge you wrongly thinking the… Read more »
Happy Yom Kippur
Is it appropriate to wish a person Happy Yom Kippur? Answer: Interesting question. The Mishnah (end of Taanis) actually writes that the day of Yom Kippur is the most joyful… Read more »
Kissing on Yom Kippur
Is it permitted to kiss (one’s wife or somebody else) on Yom Kippur? Answer: One must not kiss one’s wife on Yom Kippur. Although the principle prohibition is on marital… Read more »
Chewing Gum on Yom Kippur
It is permitted to chew gum on Yom Kippur? Answer: No, it is not permitted to chew gum on Yom Kippur. Tasting and expelling food is not permitted on Yom… Read more »
Yom Kippur Commences
When does Yom Kippur of 2013 commence? Thanks. Answer: Yom Kippur begins at sunset of Friday, September 13, 2013. One must refrain from eating and drinking and from performing all… Read more »
Deodorant on Yom Kippur
What is the scope to use anti-perspirant deodorant on Yom Kippur. Does it make a difference if it is a spray deodorant and whether it is scented? Answer: It is… Read more »
Haircut Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Is it permitted to take a haircut between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Answer: Yes, there is no problem in taking a haircut during this period. However, there is a… Read more »
Fasting with Spasm Condition
My son recently became bar mitzvah. I am writing to ask you as to what he should do in the future about fasting on the six annual fasts. Three years… Read more »
Custom of Money for Kaparos
What is the earliest makor for using money for “Kaparos” on Erev Yom Kippur? Answer: It appears to be a new custom. See Mo’adim Uzmanim, Yom Kippur 52, who speaks… Read more »
Leather Shoes on Yom Kippur
With regard to wearing leather shoes on y”k and t”bav, if the sole is not leather but the top is , is this still a problem? Thank you. All the… Read more »
Fasting Yom Kippur
If my wife is 1 month pregnant, does she have to fast on yom kippur? Answer: Yes, a woman at one month pregnancy must fast on Yom Kippur, unless there… Read more »
Non-Jew Doing Preparation for Break-Fast
Hi. We are having an outreach learners service and after our nei’la service we’ll be having a break-fast. What is the earliest a non-Jew can begin preparing for a Jew… Read more »
Using Inhalation Device on Yom Kippur
Is someone who suffers from asthma and needs to use a nebulizer to make it easier for them to breath (not pekuach nefesh) allowed to use it on Yom Kippur?… Read more »
Separation Between Head and Floor
If a shul has carpeting does one have to put a cloth under ones knees while kneeling on yom kippur? What about having a cloth for the head? What are… Read more »
Weakness on Yom Kippur
Hello I have had a problem for many years, and doctors can’t diagnose it. I have decided I need to make the effort to change this situation. I am 42… Read more »
Using Nicotine Cigarettes on Tisha Be’Av
The new popular varieties of anti-smoking devices, called “Electronic Cigarettes”, contains liquid nicotine in, I believe, a water-base. When inhaled, the battery-operated sensor flash-evaporates the liquid(s) (a drop at a… Read more »
Kaparos Rooster that Died
Before Yom Kippur I did kaporos with a rooster. While I was waving the rooster around my head for the second time, the rooster tried to get away. I held… Read more »
Prostration on Carpet without Covering
This a Yom Kippur question. When one bows for Anachnu Korim on Yom Kippur, and the shul has carpeting, does one still need to have a covering between the carpet… Read more »
Scented Deodorants on Yom Kippur
I’ve heard that using scented deodorants can be a problem on Yom Kippur. I would feel extremely uncomfortable without using deodorant. Would it be permissible to use my normal deodorant… Read more »
Kaparos for Pregnant Woman
I learned that a pregnant woman should get for kaporos an extra hen for the baby. Why does an unborn baby need a kapora – surely it has no aveiros?… Read more »
Repeating Words of Shemoneh Esrei
When one davens Shmoneh Esrei is one allowed to repeat words (besides the actual bracha) in order to arouse feeling and connection to HaShem – for example v’timloch’; v’timloch; v’timloch?… Read more »
Deodorant on Yom Kippur
Saw in Piskei Teshuvos not to use deodorant on Yom Kippur. Are there leniencies? (I teach Halacha in High schools) Many thanks for your amazing work! Answer: Although some authorities… Read more »
Yizkor and Kol Nidrei in Private
Dear Rabbi Thank you for your kindness and help to me and answering my shailas. In regards Yom Kippur, if a woman finds it difficult to be shul on Yom… Read more »
Duchaning after Shkiah during Ne’ilah
Regarding Tefilas Neilah – is it permissable for the Kohanim to duchen after shkiah? Answer: In principle, one should try to ensure that birkas kohanim should be before shkiah (Mishnah… Read more »
Meat on Yom Tov and Erev Yom Kippur
Is one permitted to have dairy meals on Yom Tov? What about on Shabbos? What about at the seudah hamefsekes before yom Kippur? Thank you and gmar chasima tovah. Answer:… Read more »
Taking Pills on Yom Kippur
Are there any kulos for a girl who is 12 years old with respect to fasting on Yom Kippur? If she feels faint, can she drink or eat anything? If… Read more »