Tisha Be’Av that Falls on Shabbos
This year, the day of Tisha Be’Av – the Ninth of Av – falls on Shabbos. The halachah is that in this case, the fast of the Ninth of Av is deferred to Sunday, in respect of Shabbos.
In the current article, we will outline the laws of Shabbos that pertain to this special combination. On the one hand the day is Shabbos, and this prohibits us from mourning. On the other, it is the Ninth of Av, and moreover, the fasting and other restrictions of the day commence immediately after the termination of the Shabbos, leading to a number of halachic ramifications.
How is the law of the se’udah mafsekes, the special meal eaten before the commencement of the fast, fulfilled this year? Is it permitted to study Torah on Shabbos, after midday? When are shoes taken off, and Shabbos clothes changed to clothes that befit the mourning of the Ninth of Av? When is havdallah recited, and what are its laws? We will seek to deal with these questions, and others, in the present article.
Eating on Shabbos-Tisha Be’Av
The Gemara in Taanis (29b) cites a Beraisa which records the basic halachah concerning eating on Tisha Be’Av that falls on Shabbos: “Tisha Be’Av that falls on Shabbos, or the eve of Tisha Be’Av that falls on Shabbos – one eats and drinks as one wishes, even bringing the feast of King Shlomo to the table.”
We thus learn that it is permitted to eat on Shabbos according to one’s heart’s desire. The simple reading of the Gemara implies that this is true even for the third meal of Shabbos: The fact that this is the meal leading into Tisha Be’Av does not impose restrictions on one’s eating.
However, early authorities dispute whether the Gemara means to merely permit eating as one wishes, or means to obligate eating a festive meal, as on every Shabbos.
According to the Raavyah (3:888) and a number of other rishonim, it is permitted to eat as one desires, but some refrain from eating meat and drinking wine – at least at the third meal – because this is not an obligation. In a similar vein, the Shibolei Ha-Lekket (266) mentions that some are careful to refrain from eating meat and drinking wine from midday and on.
The Rambam (Taanios 5:8-9) writes simply that a person is permitted to eat “all he wishes” on Shabbos, and adds: “We have never eaten a dish on the eve of Tisha Be’Av – even a dish of lentils – unless it was Shabbos.”
Some derive from this wording that on Shabbos of Tisha Be’Av the custom was to eat specifically a dish of lentils, and not the regular festive meal (Maaseh Roke’ach). However, others explain that one can eat normally, and there are no restrictions on any of the Shabbos meals (see Ha’amek She’elah 158:3, who derives from the Rambam that one should not eat more than usual).
Halachic Rulings on this Issue
The Mishnah Berurah (552:23) rules that one can eat on Shabbos as usual, and it is forbidden to refrain from eating meat, for this is considered an act of mourning: “It is forbidden to refrain from meat. Although there is no obligation to eat meat on Shabbos, nonetheless refraining from eating meat on account of mourning is a sin.”
Yet, the Mishnah Berurah adds, citing the Magen Avraham, that a person should “sit in anguish,” and should not enjoy the company of friends on this Shabbos. However, he also notes that the Bechor Shor disputes this, and rules that this is considered a public act of mourning, which is forbidden on Shabbos, so that one should sit with company as usual. The Mishnah Berurah concludes that it is certainly permitted to eat in the company of one’s family, as in regular weeks.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Orach Chaim 4:112, sec. 1) adds that it is permitted to eat meat even if one does not regularly eat meat on Shabbos, and it is likewise permitted to sing zemiros on Shabbos, even for somebody who is not used to doing so, “for this is in honor of the Shabbos.”
It is obligatory to cease eating before sunset (shekiah; Rema 552:10), and one must be careful to ensure that one has eaten sufficiently before this time, so that there will be no appearance of mourning on Shabbos. It is preferable to conclude the zemiros before sunset too, and doing so is not considered an explicit act of mourning.
One should not, however, sit on the floor until after nightfall, for this is an explicit act of mourning, and hence forbidden on Shabbos.
Torah Study after Midday on Shabbos
Poskim discuss whether or not it is permitted to study Torah on the eve of Tisha Be’Av after midday on regular weekdays. The Terumas Ha-Deshen writes that it is forbidden to study Torah after midday on the eve of Tisha Be’Av, whereas the Maharshal (cited by the Taz 553:2) writes that there is no prohibition in this.
In practice, the Rema (553:2) cites the custom of refraining from Torah study after midday, except for those biblical and Talmudic passages that one may study on Tisha Be’Av itself. However, the Mishnah Berurah (8) cites a number of authorities who are lenient in this question, including the Vilna Gaon and the Chayei Adam.
On account of these opinions, the Mishnah Berurah concludes that “one who wishes to be lenient in this matter – we do not tell him off.”
When Tisha Be’Av falls on Shabbos, the Lekket Yosher (1, p. 110) writes that one should not study Torah at all during the entire Shabbos! This ruling is not cited by other authorities, but the Maharil (44) does write that one must refrain from Torah study after midday. The same principle emerges from a ruling of the Rema (553:2), who rules that Pirkei Avos is not recited at Minchah of this Shabbos.
Yet, the Mishnah Berurah cites many authorities who permit Torah study on the eve of Tisha Be’Av, and the more so on Shabbos – as the Maharam of Lublin (99) writes. The Taz (loc. cit.) rules that one who studies Torah on Shabbos “does not lose out,” and the Mishnah Berurah (10) concludes that the basic ruling (for Shabbos) is to be lenient.
Taking off Shoes
Another question that requires our attention is the matter of removing shoes for Tisha Be’Av.
In contrast with the halachah of eating, where there is a full obligation to refrain from all eating and drinking from the time of shekiah, the Roke’ach (310) writes that one only takes off his shoes from nightfall after Shabbos, after the recitation of Barchu. The Rema (553:2) cites this ruling, adding that the Chazan (for Maariv) takes off his shoes before Barchu (so that he will not be distracted), after saying “Baruch Ha-Mavdil.”
The reason why shoes are only removed after the departure of the Shabbos – after Barchu is recited – is in order that there should be no act of mourning on Shabbos.
Concerning somebody who is at home at this time, Shut Salmas Chaim writes that shoes are only removed after nightfall. He explains that this does not involve a problem of wearing leather shoes on Tisha Be’Av, for when the original enactment was made, it was decreed that when Tisha Be’Av commences on Sunday, the restriction on shoes will apply only from nightfall.
However, some state that one should take off his shoes at sunset. The argument is that because he remains at home, taking off one’s shoes does not involve a public act of mourning. A number of authorities upheld this view (see Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah Chap. 28, note 139, citing Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, who used to lay in bed, without shoes, from sunset until nightfall (Shalmei Mo’ed Chap. 92, note 116); see also Hilchos U-Minhagei Bein Ha-Metzarim, p. 183, note 7).
This involves a chidush, for it can be argued that the only instance of “private mourning,” which is permitted even on Shabbos (as the Rema rules), is a case of mourning that is essentially private – the instance of marital relations. In addition, there is room to argue that taking off shoes is not considered an act of avelus (mourning), but an act of inui (suffering), which is prohibited on Shabbos even when done in private (Minchas Chinuch 313).
Indeed, the Vilna Gaon (553) writes explicitly that there is no obligation to take off one’s shoes before nightfall, and a similar ruling emerges from other authorities (see Chayei Adam 136:1; Shut Salmas Chaim 227). The custom of the Chazon Ish was likewise to take off his shoes after nightfall. It is possible that in places where it is common to walk barefoot indoors (in hot climates), taking off shoes before nightfall will not be a concern – though one should not put on cloth shoes until nightfall.
The Custom Today
Many today not only take off their shoes, but even put on special cloth shoes for Tisha Be’Av. This makes following the custom of the Rema somewhat difficult, for it is hard to both take off one’s shoes, and to put on cloth shoes, after the recitation of Barchu in shul.
In addition to this, our custom, in contrast with the ruling of the Rema (551), is to wear Shabbos clothes on the Shabbos before Tisha Be’Av (following the ruling of the Vilna Gaon). According to this custom, we would be saying Kinnos with our Shabbos clothes, a practice that seems somewhat inappropriate even after taking off our shoes (see Mo’adim U-Zemanim 7:256).
Because of this, many are careful to daven the Maariv prayer of Motza’ei Shabbos a little later than usual, giving congregants the time to change shoes and clothes after nightfall (and after saying “Baruch Ha-Mavdil”), and only then going to shul.
This is the ruling given by Rabbi Ovadyah Yosef (Yecheveh Daas 5:38), and is likewise cited in the name of the Chazon Ish (by Mo’adim U-Zemanim; see also Zeh Ha-Shulchan 2, noted to Orach Chaim 559).
When is Hadvalah Made?
There are many laws involved in making havdalah this Shabbos, and we will not be able to cover them all in this article. Rather, we will cover only the basic halachos and their sources.
Due to the impossibility of drinking the wine from havdallah, authorities suggest a number of different methods to perform the mitzvah of havdallah.
One option, which is mentioned by a number of rishonim, is that havdallah should be made as usual, with the wine drunk by a child who is not fasting. Rishonim (see Meiri, Taanis 30b; Ramban in Toras Ha-Adam) however, reject this option, because of the negative educational effect on the child.
A second option, which is adopted by the Ramban (Toras Ha-Adam, Aveilus Yeshanah), is that there is no obligation to perform havdallah at all – not at the termination of Shabbos, and not on Sunday night. The reason for this is that because havdallah can’t be made at the regular time, the mitzvah is entirely deferred and we rely solely on the havdallah of atah chonantanu.
The principle halachic ruling, however, follows the third option, which is attributed to the Geonim, that havdallah is made on Sunday night after the termination of the fast. This opinion is cited by Tosafos (Pesachim 108a), and is held by a number of rishonim. The Shulchan Aruch (556:1) cites the ruling, and later authorities confirm the ruling (see Magen Avraham 2; Eliyah Rabbah 4; Chayei Adam 126:6; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 125:6; Mishnah Berurah 559:37).
The opening verses of the regular havdallah – “Behold, the G-d of my salvation” – are not recited at havdallah after the fast – just as they are not recited by mourners (Divrei Malkiel 6:9).
At the termination of the Shabbos, the regular blessing is recited over the candle, but not the blessing over spices (Shulchan Aruch 556:1).
Because there is some doubt as to the obligation of women in reciting the me’orei ha-eish blessing (see Biur Halachah 296, s.v. lo yavdilu), it is preferable that a man, who is at home at the time when Shabbos terminates, recite the blessing of their behalf. In principle, however, a woman may recite the blessing for herself (Minchas Shlomo 2:53:2).
Havdallah for Those Eating on Tisha Be’Av
Somebody who is sick, who may eat on Tisha Be’Av, must make havdallah before he eats. However, if he will only need to eat in the middle of the day, he should not recite havdallah immediately at nightfall, but should rather wait until he must eat, and make havdallah right before eating (Kaf Ha-Chaim 9; Minchas Yitzchak 8:30).
According to the Chidah (556:3), somebody who needs to eat and therefore makes havdallah on Tisha Be’Av, can also make havdallah for others – even those who are fasting. For this reason, if it is hard for the person who needs to eat to recite havdallah, a healthy person can recite havdallah for him, and the wine is drunk by the sick person, or by a child who is not fasting. This is ruled by the Tzitz Eliezer (14:44) and by the Mishnah Halachos (7:39).
With regard to a minor who eats on Tisha Be’Av, the Maharil Diskin (Kuntress Acharon 5:72) discusses whether he must make havdallah before eating, or not. The general custom is that minors do not recite havdallah, and this custom is cited in the name of the Steipler (Orchos Rabbeinu Vol. 2, p. 145) and of Rabbi Elyashiv zt”l (Shut Rivevos Efraim 3:371), and noted by other poskim (see Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 62:45).
May Hashem bring us the speedy rebuilding of the Temple, and may the day of the Ninth of Av be turned to a day happiness and joy.
Summary
• The third Shabbos meal is eaten as usual, including Shabbos songs, but one must ensure that the meal ends before sunset (shekiah).
• It is permitted to study Torah on Shabbos as usual. Marital relations are forbidden (for Ashkenazim).
• The time of Maariv after Shabbos should be a little later than usual, giving people a chance to change clothes and shoes. Clothes and shoes should be changed after the termination of Shabbos, and after reciting “Baruch Ha-Mavdil Bein Kodesh Le-Chol.” If there are ladies who will not be coming to shul, it is preferable that the husband/father recite the me’orei ha-eish blessing for them while still at home.
• The atah chonantanu prayer is recited in Maariv. The me’orei ha-eish blessing is recited in shul before reading Eichah. It may not be recited over a fluorescent light bulb, but only over a true flame, or over an incandescent light bulb.
• Havdallah is recited after the fast (some prefer grape juice to wine for this havdallah).
