Dei'ah veDibur - Information & Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

4 Av 5767 - July 19, 2007 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

POPULAR EDITORIALS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS
Preparing for a Fast

by Rabbi Yechezkel Eschaik

Note: This is appropriate for Tisha B'Av or Yom Kippur, but not for the other fast days.

Starting two days before the fast, in the morning (e.g. if the fast is on Shabbos this means Thursday morning) through the day before the fast in the afternoon (e.g. Friday afternoon) one should drink large quantities of water. For example, someone who normally drinks 10 glasses of water per day should drink an extra five on Thursday, and on Friday he should drink 10 cups before noon and finish the rest of the additional water at least 20 minutes before starting Seudah Mafsekes.

The same applies regarding protein consumption. Starting Thursday morning, one should increase one's normal intake by 50 percent over the normal amount, which is 1 gram per day for every kilogram of body weight.

For example, a person who weighs 70 kg should eat 70 grams of protein on a normal day, and on Thursday he should eat 105 grams of protein and another 105 grams of protein on Friday, including Seudah Mafsekes.

The protein content (chelbon in Hebrew) appears on the label of most food products. A normal egg has eight grams of protein and a serving of fish, poultry or beef has 20-35 grams of protein, depending on the serving size.

On Friday (as every day) one should also avoid drinking 20 minutes before meals and two hours after meals (including Seudah Mafsekes) as I wrote in my booklet, Chaim Bri'im Kehalochoh. Thus one should use foresight and planning in his eating and drinking during these two days— hechochom einov berosho.

During Seudah Mafsekes one should be careful to chew well and not overeat, of course. The strength to fast will come from thorough chewing and protein, not from the amount eaten.

All year long, one should use salt sparingly, especially before a fast.

 

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.