Day off on tzom Gedalya

A woman knows that if she goes to work on the fast day (the fast of Tzom Gedalya, the third day of Tishrei), she’ll likely feel terrible and she won’t be able to complete the fast. Is she obligated to take a day off? This will involve a monetary loss, since she’ll have to take this day at her own expense, and some unpleasantness while dealing with her boss. Then, if she stays in bed the whole day, she might be able to complete the fast. It should be noted that she just stopped breastfeeding her baby about a week ago, and it’s very difficult for her to fast.

Dear …!

According to what you describe, it’s reasonable to assume that if this woman fasts on Tzom Gedalya, that will make it more difficult for her to fast on Yom Kippur (which is a week after Tzom Gedalya). Therefore, she should not fast at all on Tzom Gedalya.

But even if she knows that there is no connection between her fasting on Tzom Gedalya and her ability to fast on Yom Kippur, she is not obligated to spend the whole day of Tzom Gedalya lying in bed (unlike on Yom Kippur).

In the case where she knows that she won’t be able to fast anyway, unless she stays in bed all day, and fasting won’t have an effect on her ability to keep Yom Kippur, she can go to work. When she feels that she is no longer able to function because of the fast, she can break it.

In the case where she can fast if she stays at home, but if she goes to work she for sure won’t be able to keep the fast, she should take a vacation on the fast day.

But if it could happen that she will be able to fast even if she goes to work, but she does have a legitimate concern that she’ll be forced to break the fast, she can go to work. When she begins to feel that she isn’t functioning because of the fast, she can break it.

To summarize: it’s reasonable to assume that the woman you asked about is not allowed to fast, because it will impair her ability to fast on Yom Kippur. But since this response is going to be put up on a website, it was important for me to go through several possibilities, for there are different cases.

Shulchan Oruch, section Orach Chaim, chapter 549, §1