Tisha B'av: The Final Meal
Question
Are there any laws regarding the Seuda tomorrow night and Tuesday night ?
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question!
The final meal should be eaten while sitting on the floor. It is preferable not to sit directly on the floor and instead to sit on a pillow or blanket.
There is no need to remove one’s shoes for this meal.
Common custom is to eat bread and a hard-boiled egg with water. Many people dip the bread and/or egg into ashes.
One should say “This is the meal of Tisha B’av”
One who requires more than just bread and eggs at the final meal should consider the following:
1. Two cooked foods may not be eaten at this meal. Hence, since the egg is a cooked food, no other cooked food should be eaten.
2. One who wants to have more cooked foods may eat them before beginning the final meal i.e. one may have a meal of cooked food before the final meal. One should make sure to leave a little bit of an appetite for the final meal.
3. Vegetables and salads may be eaten
4. There is no restriction on the number of baked goods. (i.e. one can have bread, cake, and cookies)
5. It is customary not to eat fish at the final meal (whether raw, baked, or cooked.
6. Alcohol should not be consumed at this meal nor should any special/fancy drink be consumed. Soft drinks, tea, and coffee are permitted (this is true even though tea and coffee is “cooked”)
7. Three men should not join together for the final meal so as not to require “zimun” for the Birkat Hamazon. Even if three men did join for the final meal, the zimun is not recited.
8. One who, for whatever reason, is not fasting should still have a “final meal” though it is not truly required.
9. The final meal must, of course, be finished before sunset.
10. One who plans to eat after the final meal should stipulate that one intends to do so. If no stipulation was made it is still permitted to eat (until sunset)
After the fast one can eat anything other than meat and wine. Meat and wine remain forbidden until chatzot on Wednesday according to the Ashkenazi custom and for Sefardim it's till Wednesday night.