עברית
Holidays
Brushing Teeth on Yom Kippur
Question
Shalom, esteemed Rabbi!
Is there permission to brush teeth on Yom Kippur? I am very sensitive, and this greatly bothers me. It’s very distracting and hampers my concentration during prayer. Is there any solution for this?
Thank you and may you have a meaningful conclusion to the year.
Answer
To the questioner,
According to the Mishnah Berurah, one should be stringent regarding the introduction of water into the mouth on Yom Kippur, even if one does not swallow (Siman 669, S"k 11).
Regarding brushing teeth without any water, according to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, zt"l, if avoiding brushing one’s teeth will cause one distress, it is permissible to brush one’s teeth on Shabbat, as long as it is not clear that this will cause bleeding. However, it is proper to set aside a special toothbrush for Shabbat (and Yom Tov) to avoid any concerns of a weekday activity. Furthermore, one should not rinse the toothbrush after use (if there is no intention to use it again on Shabbat), due to the prohibition of preparing from Shabbat for a weekday. Nevertheless, even according to his opinion, it is good to be stringent not to brush teeth on Shabbat (Responsa Yabia Omer, Part 4, Part Orach Chaim, Siman 27, and Yalkut Yosef, Siman 306, Section 15).
Best regards,
Rabbi Nachum
