""Fasting isn't hard for me, it's just the coffee in the morning that kills me.".
This phrase, familiar to many people who have difficulty getting through the fast without their morning dose of caffeine, may find its solution: a product called 'caffeine suppositories' that are inserted into the body during the fast itself.
The candles, the distribution of which was revealed on the NRG website, contain caffeine and other substances and may help those addicted to coffee, cola, or tea to get through the fast without the familiar headaches.
However, these suppositories cannot be obtained at the nearest New Pharm or Super Pharm chain, but only at private pharmacies, where they are also manufactured.
The reason: The Ministry of Health doesn't really like the new and not very controlled initiative.
Are these candles permissible from a halachic point of view?
The answer is not absolute.
The Din website has an explicit reference to the subject. Here:
Is it permissible to use caffeine suppositories (wicks) while fasting on Yom Kippur, to relieve fasting headaches?
answer:
Hello,
Of course, at first it is forbidden to do so. However, if he knows that he will feel really bad, he is allowed to do so.
And see in the Yalkut Yosef for Rishon LeZion, Rabbi Yosef Shlita (Rosh Hashana Yom Kippur, page 17), who wrote: "Whoever wants to insert a medical suppository into his body on Yom Kippur to ease the pain of fasting is certainly not right to do so. Only if he fears that if he does not insert the medical suppository into his body, he will not be able to complete the fast, or if he is so sorry about the fast that he is almost close to fainting, is it permissible to insert a medical suppository or a vitamin capsule into his body and rectum, since this is not eating through the mouth.".
In the seventh letter, he cited the name of the Rabbi Auerbach (Shlomi Moed Amud Tzadz) who wrote that one who does so is "a villain in the eyes of the Torah." However, if he suffers from severe headaches, there is room for leniency.
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