Q&A: Havdalah When Tisha B’Av Falls on Sunday
Havdalah When Tisha B’Av Falls on Sunday
Question
Hello Rabbi,
If someone wants to recite Havdalah on Sabbath while it is still daytime, after plag ha-minhah, and not wait until after the fast ends on Saturday night / Sunday nightfall (for fear he might forget, and for other reasons): may he eat after Havdalah? The Tur writes in Orach Chayim, siman 556, in the name of the Ba’al Halakhot Gedolot, that he is not permitted even to recite Havdalah, because with Havdalah he accepts the fast, and then he is forbidden to drink the wine. But that sounds a bit strange—does such a thing as accepting a fast early exist? And perhaps Tisha B’Av is different, since an addition to the holy day applies to it?
Practically speaking, in your opinion am I allowed to recite Havdalah on Sabbath and drink the wine as usual? If so, is it permitted to continue eating and drinking until sunset?
Thank you
Answer
I do not think he means acceptance of the fast in the sense of accepting a private fast, like a fast for a dream and the like, which creates an obligation to fast. This is, after all, a fast that does not need to be accepted. It takes effect by virtue of the date itself. So it seems to me that what he means is that once you have recited Havdalah, Sunday has begun, and the fast therefore already takes effect. Put differently: eating after Havdalah is self-contradictory, because if you have recited Havdalah then it is already Sunday, and if you are eating then it is still Sabbath.
Therefore, in my opinion, it is forbidden to continue eating after Havdalah. As for drinking the wine—as the Tur wrote—that is problematic for the same reason.