On a Shabbos afternoon, the day before the fast day, 12 year-old Miriam was a bit nervous about the upcoming fast. Then, she remembered the words of her camp counselor: “If you eat green grapes on the day before the fast day, you will have a much easier time fasting!”
“Hmm...Do we have any green grapes?” she asked herself on the way to the fridge. When she open the refrigerator's door, she exclaimed, “What a Hashgacha Pratis! We have green grapes! Hashem loves me!”
In a couple of minutes, she was sitting on a couch with a bowl of grapes in her left hand. But as she picked up the first grape to eat, she thought to herself, “Wait a minute! I don’t really like green grapes. And I am only eating them to make my fasting easier. Would doing this be considered as hachana (preparing on Shabbos for a weekday) and therefore, would be prohibited?”
Question: Can Miriam eat those green grapes now just so that she can have an easier fast day tomorrow?
Hints & Answers
SHMIRAS SHABBOS: Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchosa (28:85) teaches: “If Tisha B’Av falls on a Sunday, it is permitted to eat and drink extra at Sholosh Seudos, even if his intention in doing that is to make it easier for him to fast. However, he should not say that he is eating for that purpose.”
RIDDLES: Shimon is a father of a new baby boy. The boy had the bris done today (on a “pushed off” 9th of Av). After midday, the baby’s father and mother, the mohel and a sandek are allowed to eat! See Shulchan Aruch 559:9.
*Note: answer are not to be taken as final decisions in halacha, but rather as a springboard for discussions, further study, and questions to a posek, etc.
