Shabbos Sukkos - Shalosh Seudos

QUESTION: This year, the first day of Sukkos is Shabbos. Are we required to eat Shalosh Seudos on Sukkos?

ANSWER: Yes. The requirement to eat three meals on Shabbos applies even when Yom Tov falls on Shabbos. In truth, it may be challenging to eat Shalosh Seudos at the proper time. The halacha states that one should not begin a meal within three hours of sunset prior to Yom Tov, so that the evening Yom Tov meal will be consumed with an appetite. (Three hours is measured as sho’os zemanius, where the length of each hour fluctuates with the length of the day. On Sukkos, the day is about 12 hours long, and the three hours are almost precise.) This year, Motza’ai Shabbos is the beginning of the second day of Yom Tov, and it may be difficult to eat two meals between the end of Musaf and the three hours before sunset. Nonetheless, the Mishnah Berurah (529:8) writes that if one did not eat Shalosh Seudos before the cutoff time, Shalosh Seudos should be consumed until sunset. This is because the mitzvah to eat Shalosh Seudos outweighs the honor of Yom Tov. To avoid this problem and fit everything into the limited time frame, some split the Shabbos meal into two. The first part of the meal is eaten, followed by benching and a short break. After that, the meal is resumed with hamotzi and the final courses, making certain to begin more than three hours before sunset.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.