Laws of Public Fasts in Judaism: Eating, Prayer, and Practical Guidelines

Is it permitted to eat at night before a fast after one has already slept?

Answer:
One may not eat at night before a fast after having a fixed sleep (even if not in bed), unless one made a condition before sleeping (either verbally or mentally) that he intends to eat afterward.

Sources:
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 564:1; Mishnah Berurah 553:2; 564:3–4; see also Or LeTzion Vol. 3, ch. 31.

Notes:

• Regarding drinking: ideally, one should also make a condition. However, after the fact, one may be lenient with water.

• Other beverages should be treated more strictly.

• According to Sephardic practice, one should be stringent even with water, even after the fact.

• If one is accustomed to drinking after sleep, no condition is required (Shulchan Aruch O.C. 564:1; Mishnah Berurah 564:6).

Addendum:

• If one made a condition to eat, he may also drink.

• If one made a condition only to drink, he may not eat (Kaf HaChaim 564:10; Piskei Teshuvot 564:2).

* * *

If eating is permitted at night before a fast, may one begin eating within the half-hour before dawn?

Answer:
It is forbidden to begin eating more than a kebeitzah (egg-sized amount) of bread (or mezonot) within half an hour (proportional hour) before dawn, whether on a fast day or a regular day.

However, it is permitted to:

• Eat up to a kebeitzah of bread

• Eat fruits or similar foods even more than a kebeitzah

• Eat cooked foods made from the five grains, provided one is not establishing a meal on them

Sources:
Mishnah Berurah 89:27; 232:34–35; 639:15–16; Derech HaChaim; and others.

Notes:
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ruled that this restriction applies to men, but women are permitted to begin eating within the half-hour before dawn.

* * *

If someone forgot and ate or drank during a public fast, must he complete the fast?

Answer:
Whether he ate unintentionally or intentionally, he must continue fasting for the rest of the day.

Sources:
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 568:1; Mishnah Berurah 549:3; 568:1–2.

Notes:

• He may still say Aneinu in his prayers despite having eaten.

• He does not need to fast another day unless he wishes to do so as atonement.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky explained that the Fast of the Firstborn is different from other fasts:

• In regular fasts, there is also an independent prohibition of eating, so one must continue fasting.

• In the Fast of the Firstborn, there is no inherent prohibition of eating; therefore, if one participates in a siyum, he may eat afterward.

Addendum:
If one forgot and made a blessing on food during a fast and then remembered:

• There is a dispute whether he should eat less than a kezayit or not eat at all and say “Baruch Shem…”

• Some say he should taste a little and spit it out without swallowing

• In any case, it appears he should say “Baruch Shem…”

* * *

During Torah reading on a fast day, when the congregation customarily recites certain verses aloud, should the one called to the Torah read them with the congregation or with the reader?

Answer:
He should read them together with the Torah reader, not with the congregation.

Sources:
Mishnah Berurah 566:3; see also Siach Tefillah.

Notes:
The Torah reader should wait until the congregation finishes so that everyone can hear the reading properly from the Torah scroll.

* * *

Is there an obligation to repent on a public fast day?

Answer:
Every individual is obligated to examine his deeds and repent. The main purpose of the fast is not the fasting itself, but repentance; the fast serves as preparation for repentance.

Sources:
Mishnah Berurah 549:1.

Notes:
Nevertheless, one may not exempt himself from fasting by relying on repentance alone.

Addendum:

• It is customary to give charity at Minchah on a fast day.

• Some calculate the value of the food they would have eaten and give that amount to charity in the evening.