Yoma 81 - How to eat on Yom Kippur and not bear responsibility

If one eats excessively on Yom Kippur, stuffing himself with food, he is not liable. The Torah prohibited eating to alleviate hunger, but what he is doing cannot be properly called eating, but rather damaging, both his body and food.

If one both ate and drank, in the same period of forgetfulness - either he forgot it was Yom Kippur or forgot that it is not allowed to eat or drink - it counts as only one transgression. That is because both eating and drinking are covered by the same prohibition of "afflicting oneself by hunger." When he realizes what he has done, he would have to bring one sin-offering.

However, if he ate and worked, these are two separate prohibitions, and for this, he will have to bring two sin-offerings. If he ate something that people normally don't eat (like spoiled meat) or drank something that people normally don't drink (like fish brine), he is not liable to any sacrifice.

When one prepares for Yom Kippur on the day before, he gets a double reward. The Torah said, "You will fast on the ninth of the month." But the fast is on the tenth! This shows you that the one who eats and drinks on the ninth gets a reward as if he fasted for two days in a row.

Art: Il Mangiafagioli by Annibale Carracci's