[Avodah] This year Purim will be on Friday. What time should one begin their Purim seuda?

[Prof. L. Levine]

>From today's OU Kosher Halacha Yomis


Q. This year Purim will be on Friday. What time should one begin their Purim seuda?

A. The Rema (Shulchan Aruch OC 695:2) writes that when Purim falls on erev Shabbos, it is preferable to begin the Purim seuda in the morning (before midday) so as not to detract from the honor of Shabbos. (If one eats the Purim seuda later in the day, there will minimal appetite for the Shabbos meal.)

The Mishnah Berurah (695:10) cites the Yad Efrayim who writes that if this will be difficult, one may lechatchila postpone the seuda up until three hours before sunset. (These three hours refer to sho’os zemanios, which means the length of each hour is proportionate to the length of the day. As an example, three hours of sho’os zemanios before sunset on Purim this year in New York City will be approximately 3:00PM.)

Bedieved, if unable to begin the seuda before the three-hour period, one must start the seuda before sunset, which is when Shabbos begins. However, during this three-hour time frame, only a minimal meal should be eaten (a little more than a kibaiya of challah and a small amount of meat and wine) so that one will have an appetite to eat the Friday night seuda. (See Rema 529:1 and Aruch Hashulchan 249:7) If one did not complete the Purim seuda before shkia (sunset), which is when Shabbos begins, the challah must be covered and Kiddush is recited, and then the meal continues. Hamotzi is not recited on the challah since one is in the middle of the meal (OC 271:4 and MB 18). If one drank wine during the first part of the meal, Borei Pri Hagefen is omitted during kiddush (ibid). After the seuda, one davens Kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv.

The Mishnah Berurah writes that if the meal continues after sunset, Retzei is recited in Birchas Hamozon, but Al Hanissim is omitted. (One cannot recite both Retzei and Al Hanissim, as this would be contradictory. Since we recite Retzei, this indicates that Shabbos has begun, and Purim has concluded.)


YL

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