NEWS
Proper Fast Preparation for Yom Kippur
by R' Yechezkel Escheik
"Eat what you need to live and abstain from any more. Do not believe abundant eating and drinking will help the body grow and increase mental capacity just as a sack fills up from what is placed inside it, for the opposite is true. Light eating enables the stomach to ingest it and to digest it with one's natural metabolism. Then one can grow and become healthy and have a clear mind, but if one eats excessively . . . his mind will become degraded and his pocket will empty and this is the reason for most ailments . . . " reads an excerpt from the Rambam's will.
The Tur begins the halochos of Yom Kippur with a saying by Chazal: "He who eats and drinks on the ninth [of Tishrei] is considered as if he fasted on the ninth and the tenth. And due to HaKodosh Boruch Hu's love for [Am] Yisroel. . . He commanded them to eat and drink first to allow them to fast and so that the fast does not harm them."
And the Shulchan Oruch (Simon 608) reads, "On Erev Yom Kippur one should only eat foods that are easy to digest to avoid being satiated and become haughty when he prays."
The wise have the foresight to adopt proper conduct in eating and drinking. "When you eat right you eat the food and when you do not eat right the food eats you!" The power to fast will come from protein and proper chewing, not from filling your belly.
The fluid intake the body needs must begin on the eighth of Tishrei with 50 percent more water than on a typical day, and on the ninth one should drink at least the normal daily quantity, if not more. Adding a small amount of natural, unsweetened juice concentrate will make it easier to drink more. Before Seudoh Mafsekes one may drink one or two glasses of water, but the body must be fully hydrated earlier.
Finish your breakfast drinking ten minutes before breakfast and later in the day finish drinking 20 minutes before your meal. Do not drink within two hours of finishing a meal.
The same applies regarding protein intake. Starting on the morning of 8 Tishrei add 50 percent to the regular daily amount of protein — 1 gram per kilogram of body weight. For example, if you weigh 70 kg (154 lbs.) on a normal day eat 70 grams of protein and on the eight of Tishrei eat 105 grams of protein. On the ninth of Tishrei eat at least 70 grams of protein.
Most food products list the protein content on the packaging. A standard egg contains 8 grams of protein, a portion of fish, poultry or beef has 2-35 grams, depending on the size of the portion. Humus and whole rice are rich in protein.
On the ninth as well one should follow the guidelines I wrote in my book: vary your choice of food, including fruits and vegetables, chew well, do not talk while eating and do not drink after eating, including after Seudah Mafsekes. Remember to brush your teeth before the fast. All year long one should use as little salt as possible, especially before fasting. You should also avoid spices that cause thirst, even if they are not salty. Filling one's stomach also causes thirst. Avoid starch, such as in potatoes, which needs insulin to break it down, and of course one should avoid oily and fried foods.
Avoid prolonged sitting or standing, which can harm the veins in the legs. Try to walk or change positions. Do not wait to relieve yourself.
Break the fast by drinking and wait ten minutes before starting to eat. Do not eat too quickly, chew your food well, do not eat a lot at once, start with light foods like fruits and vegetables and be sure to eat protein.
Yechezkel Escheik Author of Chayim Bri'im Kehalochoh
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