עברית
Halachot and Customs
Is it Permissible to Eat Bread After Halfway Through Friday?
Question
Please one more tiny question:
Is it permissible to allow eating bread after halfway through the day on Fridays (now that this is quite necessary, as Shabbat begins later)?
Best regards and thank you,
Hadas
Answer
Greetings,
A regular meal with bread that you are accustomed to eating during the weekdays - according to the letter of the law it is permissible to eat throughout the day, but it is a mitzvah to refrain during the last quarter of the day (about three hours before sunset), so as not to diminish the appetite for the Shabbat meal. And during the winter when the days are very short, it is a mitzvah to refrain even before that time, if it is estimated that it will affect the appetite for the Shabbat meal.
Sources: Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 249:2) and Mishna Berurah (s"k 17).
Shabbat Shalom,
Hillel Meirs
