Thursday, October 6, 2016

Does a Pregnant Woman Fast?

TONIGHT'S SERVICE NEW SUMMER TIME 6:30pm

Question of the Week
    
I am five months pregnant and was told that I definitely don't have to fast on Yom Kippur. But then someone told me that I definitely do. So what is it? Do I fast or not?

Answer:

As a mother to be, you want the best for your baby. You want to do anything possible to give your child everything he or she needs for the future. So if you can, you should at least try to fast.

This is what Jewish mothers have been doing for thousands of years. They withhold food from their unborn babies for one day, and then spend the rest of their life over-feeding them to make up for it.

Of course, if you have a specific medical condition or there are any complications with your pregnancy, you may be forbidden to fast, and a doctor and a rabbi should be consulted. But in normal circumstances, pregnancy is not a medical condition, it is a natural state, and fasting once will have no negative effect on you or the baby whatsoever. In fact, the opposite may be true.

The Talmud tells of a pregnant woman who smelt food on Yom Kippur and craved to eat it. They reminded her that it was a fast day, and she refrained. The child she bore grew to become the saintly leader Rabbi Yochanan. His greatness was partly credited to his mother's fasting even when it was not easy.

You have to be practical. Drink a lot of fluids beforehand, and rest on the day itself. If staying home in bed will make it easier, then that's what you should do. Fasting is more important than going to shul. And watch yourself as you fast. If you feel faint or lightheaded or anything unusual, you may need to break the fast. Don't be overly strict. But don't dismiss the fast entirely. Plan to complete the fast, and see how you go.

May you have an easy fast, an easy birth, and a child who will appreciate that it's worth going through momentary discomfort to uphold our eternal beliefs. 

Good Shabbos and Good Yomtov,
Rabbi Moss

Note: The above applies to a nursing woman as well. The specific laws pertaining to a woman close to her due date, in labor or immediately after childbirth vary. A competent rabbi should be consulted in all cases.


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SERVICES TIMES AND COMMUNITY INFO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, 7 October 2016 | 5 Tishrei 5777
Candle Lighting............................... 6:44 pm (*Earliest 5:47pm)  
Mincha............................................ 6:10 pm
Friday Evening Service 
(NEW SUMMER TIME)................ 6:30-7:20 pm
 
Shabbos, 8 October, 2016 |6 Tishrei 5777
Chassidus Class............................... 9:00 am
Shabbos Morning Service............... 10:00 am-12:15 pm
Children's program........................ 11:00am
 
Mincha.........................................   6:40 pm
Seudah Shlishis
Gematria and Story by Rev Amzalak................. 7:00 pm
Shiur:............................................................. 7:20 pm
Shabbos ends and Maariv................................. 7:41 pm
Followed by Havdalah.

YOM KIPPUR
Kol Nidrei   
Tuesday 11 October, 2016
Light Candles (fast begins) ................. 6:47pm
Evening Service: .............................. 7:00pm - 9:00pm 
Children's Program ............................ 7:00pm 
(only children booked into the program will gain entry)
 
Yom Kippur Day   
Wednesday 12 October, 2016
Morning Service: .............................. 9:30am
Children's Program, ages 0-12 yrs: ...... 10:30am 
(only children booked into the program will gain entry)
Yizkor: ............................................ 12:15pm
Mincha: ........................................... 5:30pm
Neilah: ............................................ 6:30pm
Final Shofar:..................................... 7:44pm
Yom Tov and Fast ends:..................... 7:44pm
Breaking of the fast sponsored in loving memory of Abdulla Ben Miriam A"H, 9 Tishrei 5769 לעלוי נשמת עבדאללה בן מרים ע״ה ט׳ תשרי תשס"ט
 
WEEKDAY SHACHARIS SERVICES
Sunday ........................................... 8:00 am
Mon, Tues & Thurs, Fri...................... 7:00 am
Latest Shema this week................... 9:31 am
 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
William Feuermann............. 7 Tishrei/ Sunday 9 October
Rabbi Moss.......................... 7 Tishrei/ Sunday 9 October
Luke Lipovic........................ 7 Tishrei/ Sunday 9 October
Nicola Deall......................... 9 Tishrei/ Tuesday 11 October
Yvonne Coburn................... 11 Tishrei/ Thursday 13 October
Amielle Hedges....................11 Tishrei/ Thursday 13 October
 
LONG LIFE TO
Libby Moss and Peter Irving for their great-grandmother Leah Bernhardt... 6 Tishrei/ Saturday 8 Oct
Tauba Tanchum for her late mother Rose Kaplan, Rose bat Avraham........ 13 Tishrei/ Saturday 15 October
Magda Schaffer for her late father Chayim Ben Avraham ......................... 13 Tishrei/ Saturday 15 October
 

Nefesh Shul, 54 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026 Australia
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