עברית
Holidays
Until When Is It Permissible to Eat on the Eve of Yom Kippur?
Question
Greetings Rabbi,
Does the fast of Yom Kippur begin at sunset, allowing one to eat until then (a minute before sunset), or should one stop eating approximately 20 minutes before, at the time when Yom Kippur begins?
Thank you
Answer
Greetings,
It is prohibited to eat until actual sunset, as one must add from the mundane to the sacred. Therefore, one should cease eating some time, even a small amount, before sunset (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, Siman 581, Sif 1).
However, everything that is permissible to eat until close to sunset is only if one has not accepted the fast upon oneself. If one has accepted the fast, it is forbidden to eat (see there, Sif 3). It is advisable before saying the birkat hamazon to explicitly state that one is not yet accepting the fast, and in any case, he should think so in his heart (Mishnah Berurah, Sif Katan 12), and then it is permissible for him to eat until close to sunset, as mentioned above.
May you be sealed for a good year,
Hillel Meirs
