On Wednesday night at sundown, Jewish people around the world will begin a daylong fast for Yom Kippur . I will not be one of them.

In the years I’ve been eligible to fast, I have rarely observed the Day of Atonement. In fact, I’ve been discouraged from fasting. Since age 8, I have lived with chronic migraines. (As any fellow sufferer knows all too well, forgoing a healthy routine—which includes eating regular meals—is a fast-track to a terrible time.) While my parents have always cautioned me to avoid such an obvious trigger as fasting, it is also backed up by Jewish law: it is actually considered a mitzvah (or good deed) to put one’s health first. But even with a rabbi’s blessing, sitting out the holiest day of the year can dredge up feelings of guilt and anxiety.

“People are reall

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