Do you fast if you are not pregnant & not nursing?

devash1

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 4:06 pm

I fasted, not pregnant or nursing although I know some woman who fast even when they're pregnant or nursing.

amother

Blush

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 4:07 pm

If I'm taking care of kids and I feel weak I will break my fast.

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 4:10 pm

I was told by a rav I do not need to fast for minor fasts even if I'm not pregnant or nursing.

amother

Ruby

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 5:27 pm

Never heard of such a heter for a healthy woman who is neither nursing nor pregnant. If you feel ill, breaking a minor fast is less of a problem. B"H I fast well despite feeling ravenously hungry and observe all the minor and major fasts. Being ravenously hungry unfortunately isn't what's meant by "feeling ill".

amother

Mint

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 5:32 pm

amother wrote:

I was told by a rav I do not need to fast for minor fasts even if I'm not pregnant or nursing.

I was told the same. I only fast YK and TIsha BAv.

amother

Ginger

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 5:37 pm

I don't usually fast the 'small' fasts either, just yk and tisha b'av... but this year, I'm trying to lose weight so I figured fasting tzom gedalya's not going to hurt me Smile

(even though I AM nursing! b'h I fast well... I credit all my extra stores of body fat... )

Zehava

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 5:55 pm

No way no how. Fasting is traumatic for me. Every time. I'm already dreading YK.
as a teen my mother didn't allow me to fast on tzam gedaliah because it's so close to YK and my body won't be fully recovered. I fasted one year and realized she was right on the mark.

amother

Linen

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 6:31 pm

I am satmar and satmar holds that a women should not fast on the minor fasts. If I ever tried fasting on one of these days as a girl my father would not let me.

amother

Magenta

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 6:35 pm

As a single girl, I fasted on every fast. Once I married, my husbands family (chassidisch) holds that women and girls are only required to fast Yom Kippur and tisha b'av. The first few minor fasts did feel weird, but I since got used to the idea. I'm more than happy to comply Wink

amother

Blush

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 6:42 pm

I can count on my fingers the number of fasts since I'm married that I was neither pregnant nor nursing.

BetsyTacy

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 8:11 pm

Amother ruby said it-- I fast. I don't cook dinner that night. I don't grocery shop that day.
Is it bad to say I try not to think too hard that day?

amother

Gold

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 10:57 pm

I am married almost 10 years and have had exactly 3 minor fasts where I was not pregnant and not nursing. I fasted on 2 of those. The first of those 3 was actually during sheva brachos and then I was told that as a kallah I should not fast.

eschaya

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 11:16 pm

I fast. I fasted today, had to go into work while still fasting. And I'm not a great faster and dread them. But I don't really have any legitimate reason not to.

amother

Periwinkle

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:25 am

Most people are lazy these days and exempt themselves without any real reason.

5mom

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:43 am

Zehava wrote:

Plenty of women fast both tzom gedalia and Yom Kippur and do just fine. Women have fasted "behab" through the ages too. I don't know why some people have this exaggerated sense of female weakness.

Ema of 5

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:52 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I only fast yom kippur and 9 av. I get migraines and bad stomach aches when I cant drink at all. I havent fasted on any minor fasts since I was in my teens.

Same here. I stay in bed most of the day Yom Kippur with my Gatorade, snack, and shot cups. 9 AV I used to try to make it to chatzos, but now I just go as long as I can. This year I made it till 9:30am.

Ema of 5

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:57 am

5mom wrote:

Plenty of women fast both tzom gedalia and Yom Kippur and do just fine. Women have fasted "behab" through the ages too. I don't know why some people have this exaggerated sense of female weakness.

I get major abdominal pains, terrible migraines, and I'm knocked out for a week if I fast. Not everyone is a good faster. I don't see any sense of weakness in that. It's reality. Just be happy that it's not YOUR reality. Women have fasted through the ages, and through the ages there have been plenty of women who have not. Does it make them any lesser?

Ema of 5

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:58 am

amother wrote:

Most people are lazy these days and exempt themselves without any real reason.

Ouch
Oh, and I spoke with three different rabbis. I did not decide on my own that I don't have to fast. Although after the first time I got sick, I probably would have, had I not been in the "ask the rabbi everything" stage.

baby12x

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 1:10 am

amother wrote:

Most people are lazy these days and exempt themselves without any real reason.

And many people don't follow halachas that say don't fast because they "feel guilty". The Halacha that guides whether a women fasts because a women is weak has been around since Matan Torah.