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The halachah states: “One who is dangerously ill must not fast on Yom Kippur…”
The Shem MiShmuel once wrote to his son-in-law, Rav Yaakov Tzvi:
“I heard from my daughter that the doctor feels that you are improving, may Hashem send you a complete recovery. Yom Kippur is approaching, and I want to warn you not to act overly righteous by fasting if the doctor tells you to eat. If he says that eating less than a shiur is not dangerous for your health, then do so. But if he says that even this is not enough for you, G-d forbid that you should endanger yourself by being stringent! The same Torah that commanded us to fast on Yom Kippur also commanded us to eat when health requires it.
“Do not think that only an immediate danger permits eating. Even when there is the shadow of a doubt, one must eat. This is what the Gemara teaches in Yoma: if a sick person says that he does not need to eat but the doctor says he does, we listen to the doctor. This is true even when the sick person himself understands the nature of illness— even if he is a real expert—still, we listen to the doctor.
“I am certain you recall what you have heard from me many times: the main element of Judaism is to nullify one’s own understanding before that of the Torah and the sages, even if they tell you something that appears counterintuitive. This is the most important avodah of a Jew. By eating as ordered by the doctor, you will be fulfilling this exalted avodah. Therefore, you should feel no pain if you must eat. In such a case, you are doing a more precious avodah than one who fasts.”
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The halachah states: “We read the book of Yonah on Yom Kippur.”
On a simple level, the connection of Sefer Yonah with Yom HaKippurim is that it concludes with the mass fasting and repentance of the people of Ninveh and an affirmation of Hashem’s limitless care for all His creatures.
The Mishnah Berurah brings a deeper dimension to this custom based on a powerful Kabbalistic concept. We read Sefer Yonah on Yom Kippur to internalize that whatever Hashem wants for us will happen, regardless of our machinations. In the end, we will do whatever is necessary to play our part in the Divine plan, just as Yonah did. We can try to run away and avoid our life’s mission, but the same tests will recur until we finally get it right. Even if we resist throughout our entire lifetime, we will return again and again through gilgulim—reincarnations—until we ultimately fulfill our mission. Resistance only makes it take longer. So why belabor it?
The Creator wanted Yonah to prophesy to the people of Ninveh, warning them to repent or die. Yonah feared that they would indeed repent, and this would make the unrepentant Jewish people suffer by comparison. So he fled Eretz Yisrael—generally the only place where prophets receive their visions—but his efforts were in vain. Hashem sent a storm, and Yonah immediately understood that it was meant to sink him. He told the sailors to throw him into the sea and was swallowed by a gigantic fish. Our Kabbalistic sources explain that this means that Yonah died. His soul cried out for deliverance, and he was finally “spit out”–reincarnated–and compelled to do exactly what Hashem had commanded.
May we merit to carry out our part in Hashem’s plan in this lifetime, willingly, and with full trust in His lovingkindness and wisdom.