Laws of the Eve of Tisha B'Av

Laws of the Eve of Tisha B'Av – Torah study after midday, saying of Tachanun (supplication prayers), the concluding meal, the prohibition of meat and wine, two cooked foods, sitting on the ground, Zimmun (grace after meals invitation), and acceptance of the fast before the fast.

24th of Tammuz 5786 | 09.07.2026 | 20:36

A. Our custom is that we do not say Tikkun Chatzot [the midnight rectifying prayer] after midday on the eve of the Ninth of Av 23.

B. And there are those who say to abstain from teaching [Torah] on the eve of the Ninth of Av after midday the things that are forbidden to study on the Ninth of Av 24. And there are those who say that it is permitted 25, and one for whom the matter is difficult or there is a concern that he will neglect his study, may study in the place that his heart desires 26.

C. We do not say Tachanun [supplication prayers] in the Mincha [afternoon prayer] of the eve of the Ninth of Av, because the Ninth of Av is called a "Moed" [festival/appointed time], as it is said: "He called an appointed time against me" 27, and if it falls on Shabbat, we do not say "Tzidkatcha" 28.

D. The Seudah Hamafseket [the concluding meal before the fast] needs to be made with bread 29. And in our time when weakness has descended to the world, it is good that he should eat according to his habit after midday, and early to eat two or three hours before the Seudah Hamafseket, so that the Seudah Hamafseket will be a set meal of finality, and he shall eat it according to all its laws 30.

E. In the Seudah Hamafseket it is forbidden by the letter of the law to eat meat and to drink wine, and poultry is included in the prohibition, and they accustomed to be stringent not to eat fish 31. And in the Gemara they said (Taanit 30a): "Anyone who eats meat etc. upon him it says (Yechezkel 32, 27) 'and their iniquities shall be upon their bones'" 32.

F. In the Seudah Hamafseket it is forbidden to eat two cooked foods. And even one species cooked in two pots, or that one is hard and one is soft, this too is considered two cooked foods. But if both of them are equal/identical, except that he needed to cook in two pots because of members of the household who are many, it is permitted to eat from both of them 33.

G. Eggs prepared in two ways, such as scrambled or fried, or even soft and hard, are considered two cooked foods 34.

H. There is to be stringent also with two cooked foods in one pot, unless it is a thing whose way is so all year, and such as a soup of vegetables, or rice with lentils and the like 35.

I. Fruits, whether baked or cooked, even though the way is to eat them raw, are considered two cooked foods 36. And therefore, compote made of two kinds of fruits is considered two cooked foods and it is forbidden to eat it in this meal 37.

J. Dairy products that are pasteurized and reach a temperature that is too hot for the hand to touch, such as cheese, butter, and cream, behold they are included in the prohibition of two cooked foods that Chazal [our Sages of blessed memory] forbade, and there is no eating them if he ate another cooked food 38.

K. The custom for eating the Seudah Hamafseket is when they sit on the ground, but there is to put a garment between him and between the ground, and a weak elder is permitted to put a pillow under himself 39.

L. Three shall not sit together to eat the Seudah Hamafseket so that they will not become obligated in Zimmun [the collective grace after meals], and the reason is because Zimmun indicates fixed permanence, and we do not want there to be a set permanence to this meal which is for the sake of mourning, because the Redeemer will come and the Temple will be rebuilt speedily in our days, and it will become a meal of joy and gladness 40.

M. Even though he finished eating the Seudah Hamafseket on the eve of the Ninth of Av, and blessed the Grace After Meals, he is permitted to return and eat, and even if he did not accept in his heart the fast, he has accepted nothing, unless he accepted explicitly and brought it out with his lips, because there is no addition to the fast of the Ninth of Av, for they did not forbid except the Bein Hashmashot period [twilight] and onward, and nothing further than this 41.

Footnotes & Analysis

23. Ben Ish Chai (First Year, Parshat Devarim, Ot 12) and these are his words: Haircutting is forbidden by the law in the week in which Tisha B'Av falls, whether [the hair of] one's head or any hair upon him, and there are those who practice stringency from the 17th of Tammuz, and regarding the beard (it seems to me he means the mustache) anything that interferes with eating is permitted, and even the father of the [newborn] son and the Sandak are forbidden from cutting hair in this week. And such is the opinion of our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation, in Chazon Ovadia (there, Laws of Haircutting, Halacha 2) and these are his words: the main participants in a brit [Mohel, Sandak, and father] etc., but in the week in which Tisha B'Av falls, which is forbidden by the law of the Talmud, one should not permit it even for the honor of the circumcision.

24. Thus practiced the sages of Porat Yosef, and so wrote our master and teacher the Ohr LeTzion (Part 3, in the elucidations to Responsum 6) and these are his words: And regarding the saying of Tikkun Chatzot (the Midnight/Midday Rectification prayer) on the eve of Tisha B'Av after midday, the customs are divided, there are those who practiced to say it, and so wrote the Ben Ish Chai (Parshat Devarim, Ot 25), and there are those who did not practice [to say it], and so wrote the Pri Megadim (Siman 551, Eshel Avraham, subparagraph 45). And see also in the Aruch HaShulchan there. And see in the Shulchan Aruch (Siman 552, se'if 12), that we do not say Tchinah (supplication) on the eve of Tisha B'Av at Mincha (the afternoon prayer) because it is called a "Moed" (festival). And it appears that from the core of the law it should have been necessary to say it, and it is not similar to Tachanun which we do not say on the eve of Tisha B'Av, and see also in the Birkei Yosef (Siman 552, Ot 11) and in the Kaf HaChaim (551, subparagraph 223), however, the custom has already spread more widely not to say Tikkun Chatzot on the eve of Tisha B'Av after midday.

25. So wrote the Rama (Siman 553, se'if 2) and these are his words: And they practiced not to study on the eve of Tisha B'Av from midday onwards, except for matters that are permitted on Tisha B'Av. And so ruled the Ben Ish Chai (First Year, Parshat Devarim, Ot 18) like the opinion of the Rama, and these are his words: The eve of Tisha B'Av after midday, he shall not study Torah except for matters that it is permitted to study on Tisha B'Av. And such is the opinion of the Ohr LeTzion (Part 3, Chapter 28, Responsum 5) one should refrain from studying on the eve of Tisha B'Av after midday matters that are forbidden on Tisha B'Av.

And the reason for the matter, the Chatam Sofer wrote in his Responsa (Siman 156) that they practiced to be stringent in this way because whatever he studies from midday onwards, his thought is still upon it and his contemplation is with it into the night, and he enters into the mourning on Tisha B'Av while he is joyful.

26. And nevertheless, the opinion of the Gra (the Mishna Berura brought it in subparagraph 8) and the Chayei Adam (Klal 134, Ot 10) is that it is nothing but a mere stringency, for even the five afflictions are permitted by the law on the eve of Tisha B'Av. And so ruled our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation (Four Fasts, p. 248, Laws of the Eve of Tisha B'Av, Halacha 1). For they did not forbid Torah study except on Tisha B'Av itself, but on the eve of Tisha B'Av, whether when it falls on Shabbat, or whether when it falls on a weekday, the entire day is permitted until twilight. See there.

27. So ruled our master and teacher the Ohr LeTzion (there) and his reason is according to the Gra, and these are his words: And also regarding this custom, several Achronim (later authorities) doubted it, and as is explained in the Gra and in the Mishna Berura there, subparagraph 8. And therefore, even though ideally one should refrain from studying matters that are forbidden on Tisha B'Av, nevertheless, someone for whom the matter is difficult, and there is a concern that because of this he will idle from his study, he may be lenient to rely on the lenient authorities, and he should study in the place [the topic] that his heart desires.

28. Shulchan Aruch (Siman 552, se'if 12).

29. Shulchan Aruch (Siman 559, se'if 1).

30. So wrote the Ohr LeTzion (there, in the elucidations to Responsum 1) and these are his words: And it appears that the concluding meal is specifically with bread, for without this, it does not have the name of a "meal." And see in the Beit Yosef there, who brought from the Yerushalmi, that they dip bread in ashes and say, "This is the meal of Tisha B'Av." (And see further in the Tur there in the name of the Ramban, and in the Bayit Chadash there). And see also in the Kaf HaChaim (Siman 552, subparagraph 36) in the name of the Hilchot Ketanot. And so he should endeavor to dip the bread in ashes, and as was explained here, and so wrote the Rama in se'if 6, see there.

31. Ohr LeTzion (there): The halachic authorities divided over whether it is proper to make a large meal with several types of cooked foods after midday, and afterward make a small meal with an egg for the concluding meal, for the Perisha wrote that even though they wash hands and eat again, behold they are among those of whom the Ramban wrote that "their belly is the belly of the wicked," since they first eat to their full satiety, and at the concluding meal they eat a coarse/excessive eating, and not like those who interpret the words of the Ramban that this means specifically one who eats a casual/snack eating then, see there.

And it appears that in our times, when weakness has descended upon the world, certainly one does not need to be stringent in this, and it is possible even ideally to make a meal with several cooked foods after midday before making the concluding meal, except that one should advance this [first] meal by two or three hours before the concluding meal, so as not to eat the concluding meal as a coarse/excessive eating. And also so as not to come into a concern of an unnecessary blessing, if he adjoins these meals to one another.

32. Shulchan Aruch (Siman 552, se'if 1) and these are his words: On the eve of Tisha B'Av, a person shall not eat at the concluding meal—which he eats after midday—meat, even salted meat over which more than two days and one night have passed; and poultry meat and fish, and wine from its press—meaning that it is not more than three days old—they practiced to forbid.

And so wrote our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation, in Chazon Ovadia (Laws of the Concluding Meal, Halacha 1): On the eve of Tisha B'Av after midday, it is forbidden to eat meat at the concluding meal, and it is forbidden to drink wine. And salted meat and poultry meat are within the scope of the prohibition. And they practiced to be stringent not to eat fish.

33. The Rambam wrote (Chapter 5 of the Laws of Fasts, Halacha 9) and these are his words: The early pious ones, such was their attribute: on the eve of Tisha B'Av, they would bring to a person by himself dry bread with salt, and he would soak it in water, and sit between the oven and the stove, and eat it, and drink upon it a jug of water in anxiety, desolation, and weeping, like one whose dead relative lies before him. And like this it is fitting for sages to do, or close to this. And from our days, we have never eaten on the eve of Tisha B'Av a cooked food, even a cooked food of lentils, unless it was on Shabbat. Until here [end of quote].

34. Our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation, in Chazon Ovadia (there, Halacha 3): And according to the words of the Shulchan Aruch (Siman 552, se'if 3), even if one cooked one type [of food] in two pots, it is called "two cooked foods." And so one should be stringent and careful regarding two types [of food] in one pot. And the Kaf HaChaim wrote (subparagraph 19) the explanation is that one has a thick mixture and one has a soft/loose mixture, but if both are equal, there is no objection to cooking them in two pots. (Magen Avraham, subparagraph 3). However, the Rabbi of Knesset HaGedolah (in a response, Orach Chaim Part 2, Siman 36) inclined to forbid it and wrote that so agreed perfect sages, see there. And the Birkei Yosef brought his words (Ot 2). However, the Eliyah Rabba (Ot 2) wrote like the words of the Magen Avraham. And so wrote the Nehar Shalom (Ot 2). And so wrote the Ar'ch HaShulchan (Ot 3), and wrote that so it implies from the Ritva, and not like the Rabbi of Knesset HaGedolah in the response, see there. And so it is written in the elucidations of the Gra like the words of the Magen Avraham. And so ruled the Chayei Adam (Klal 134, Ot 1), and in Derech HaChaim (Ot 1), and in the Mishna Berura (Ot 8). And for this reason, it appears [proper] to forbid two eggs—one soft, fit to gulp down, and one hard—for they are to them like two pots; however, it is possible to distinguish. (Nehar Shalom there). And the Ben Ish Chai brought his words in Parshat Devarim, Ot 19, and wrote that one should be stringent. Until here [end of quote].

35. So wrote our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation, in Chazon Ovadia (there, in the elucidations to Halacha 3) and these are his words: A fried egg and a boiled egg are two cooked foods. And similarly, a soft egg that is fit for gulping down, and a hard egg, it appears that they are considered as two cooked foods. And so wrote the Nehar Shalom (subparagraph 2), and even though he concluded "and it is possible that there is a distinction," one should be stringent. And so wrote the HaGaon Rabbi Chaim Palagi in the book Moed LeChol Chai (Siman 10, Ot 31), and in the book Ben Ish Chai (Parashat Devarim, Ot 19) and these are his words: At the concluding meal it is forbidden to eat two cooked foods, even [from] one species and only one is thick and one is soft is also considered two cooked foods, and even if he cooked a thing that is eaten as it is raw, such as apples and the like, which they cooked in sugar, it is considered a cooked food, and even if he cooked dates and made them into honey which they call in Arabic Silan, and even if he cooked sugar and prepared it and strained it and made it a drink which they call Shira, it is also considered a cooked food, since after its cooking a different taste is made in it, and it also acquires for itself a new name, and one should not eat a thick egg and a soft egg, for the Achronim (later authorities) of blessed memory doubted regarding this whether it is considered two cooked foods, and if he cooked one species in two pots, the Ritva permits, and the Rabbi HaChaviv of blessed memory in a response forbids, and as is written in the book Knesset Yisrael page 31 column 4, and any cooked food whose way is to cook it [as] two species together, such as rice and lentils, which they call Kitchri and the like in this, is considered one cooked food, and it is permitted, and so is the law for those who cook rice and place in it peas which they call Chometz, for it is considered one cooked food since its way is like that always, and so the like of this, but rice that he eats with it roasted eggs is considered two cooked foods and is forbidden. And not like the Torat Chaim Sofer (subparagraph 4) who was lenient in this.

36. So ruled our master and teacher the Ohr LeTzion (Chapter 28, Responsum 1) and he wrote in the elucidations: It is explained in the words of Maran (the Shulchan Aruch, there se'if 3) that one should not eat two species in one pot unless its way is to cook thus all the year. And behold in the Biur Halacha (there, starting with the words "that they put"), he debated to say that the permission is only in a manner that the two species flavor one another, and such as onions and eggs that flavor peas, but if he just cooks two species in one pot, like noodles and potatoes, it is to be said that they are considered two species. However, it does not imply thus from the words of Maran there in se'if 5, who permitted cooking lentils with eggs, even though it is not the way of lentils and eggs that they should flavor one another. And he already stood upon this in the Biur Halacha there, and settled [it] that it deals with when the main part is the lentils, and the eggs blend/soften them inside them, see there. And see also in the Kaf HaChaim (there, Ot 31). And it is a forced interpretation in the words of Maran. And the main point is that anything whose way is to cook in one pot is called one cooked food. And see also in the elucidation of the Gra here. And therefore it is permitted to cook a vegetable soup even with several types of vegetables that do not flavor one another.

And so ruled our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation, in Chazon Ovadia (there, Halacha 4) and these are his words: One should be stringent even with two species in one pot, unless it is a thing whose way is thus all the year, such as a cooked food of peas which in the majority of times they put into it onions and eggs, until here are his words.

37. So ruled our master and teacher the Ohr LeTzion (there in the elucidations). And our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation (there, Halacha 5).

38. Ohr LeTzion (there).

39. Ben Ish Chai (First Year, Parshat Devarim, Ot 19): And cheese, if he ate it uncooked, behold it is like raw fruits, but if he cooked the cheese, it has the law of a cooked food, and it is forbidden to eat it with another cooked food. And so wrote the Kaf HaChaim (there, subparagraph 10).

And so wrote my master and teacher the Ohr LeTzion (there, in the elucidations to Responsum 2): Dairy products that they cook by means of pasteurization and reached the measure of yad soledet bo (a heat from which the hand recoils), and such as butter, cheese, and sour cream—there was indeed room to say that since the pasteurization they do to them is not similar to other cooked food where the cooking changes the essence of the cooked food, it would have been possible to say that they are not considered a cooked food regarding a cooked food at the concluding meal, and it is not similar to other places where they are considered a cooked food, such as regarding Eruv Tavshilin (blending of cooked items), and as was explained above in Chapter 22, Responsum 2, see there; nevertheless, for practical law it appears that since in any case they were cooked, behold they are within the scope of the prohibition of eating two cooked foods that our Sages of blessed memory forbade, and one must not eat them if he eats another cooked food.

40. So ruled our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation (there, Halacha 10). And our master and teacher the Ben Ish Chai (there, Halacha 20) wrote, and these are his words: At the concluding meal he shall not sit upon cushions, but rather upon a mat or a thin garment, and he shall not sit upon the actual ground, for this matter is difficult [harmful] according to the Sod [Kabbalah]. And it is permitted to sit upon a plank that is not a handbreadth high, and see Moed LeChol Chai, Ot 35.

41. Ben Ish Chai (there). And the opinion of our master and teacher, the paragon of the generation (there, Halacha 11) is that b'dieved (after the fact), if three ate together, they shall perform the Zimmun.