In many siddurs and benching books a notation is added to the additional section said on festivals: ya’aleh v’yavo. This states that children who eat on Yom Kippur should say this section, mentioning Yom Kippur. The same is of course true for sick people who have to eat an amount that would require them to bench. A question can be asked about this practice? Surely someone that has to eat on this day should not proclaim it? The answer is of course that just as it is a mitzvah for the healthy to fast it is a mitzvah for the sick to eat. Both are part of the obligations of the day. A further question, however, can be asked concerning children. Surely, since they bench for reasons of education, they shouldn’t be saying something they are unlikely to say as adults? The answer is profound. They are being educated in precisely the idea mentioned above, that those who must eat Yom Kippur are also fulfilling the mitzvah of the day as much as those who must fast. This teaches an important lesson about fasting on Yom Kippur. This mitzvah is certainly central to the observance of the day and the Torah mandates severe penalties for the healthy who do not fast. But it is not the end of the story. As Isaiah points out in the famous section we read as the Haftorah on Yom Kippur morning, the fast G-d has chosen is about changing our behaviour and coming close to Him. Fasting, while an essential component of the day, is an aid to repentance and introspection, and an intimation of mortality. Those who fast but ignore the deeper significance of the day are missing the point. We are not meant to spend the whole day thinking about food but thinking about G-d; not regretting missing meals but upset about the missing Divine presence in our lives. For this reason those who must fast and those who must eat are united in observing this special day, whose essence is G-d’s invitation to us to get close to Him. Will me miss this opportunity worrying about a few missed meals or forget about food for a day while experiencing a closeness to G-d unparalleled in this life.

TORAH PREVIEW

KNOW YOM KIPPUR

1. It is a mitzvah to honour Yom Kippur by wearing nice clothes and setting the table.

2. We say five services on this day and confess ten times in our prayers.

3. During the Shema, we recite the second verse, baruch shem, aloud.

4. We call six people to the Torah in the morning.

5. During Musaf we recite the Order of the High Priests service and kneel three times.

6. The final service of the day, Neilah, is unique to Yom Kippur.

7. Havdalah must be made using a candle lit before Yom Kippur

Fasting Facts

1. On Yom Kippur we are forbidden five things: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, wearing leather shoes and having sexual relations

2. Sick people in danger of their lives are obligated to eat on Yom Kippur. Others, who may need to take medicine, for example, should consult the Rabbi.

3. Children under nine should not be allowed to fast at all. Between nine and twelve, they should be educated by fasting part of the day. It has been customary for children in the year before their bar-mitzvah to try and complete the fast.

4. It is important for parents to pay close attention to their teenagers in the first years after bar-mitzvah, to ensure they do not become ill. The same is true for the elderly.

5. It is permitted to wash ones hands after going to the bathroom; but only the minimum necessary.

6. Not wearing leather shoes is an important part of fasting on this day and every effort should be made to comply with this.

7. The prohibition of work on Yom Kippur as the same as on Shabbat.