Eating Meat and Drinking Wine During the Nine Days

It is customary not to eat meat or chicken or to drink wine or grape juice during the Nine Days. The reason for this is to commemorate the loss of the wine libations and animal (meat) sacrifices.

• In some Sefardic communities it is customary to permit eating meat and drinking wine on Rosh Chodesh and only to forbid it after this. (As this year, Rosh Chodesh coincides with Shabbat, this is permissible for Ashkenazim as well)
• One may eat meat and/or drink wine if it is a seudat mitzvah (mitzvah feast). This includes: a Brit Milah, Pidyon Haben or a Siyum of a masechta which was completed on one’s regular learning schedule.
• This only includes one who would normally attend this simcha if it had happened during the rest of the year.
• It is customary not to eat food cooked with meat or chicken. If the food was not cooked with actual meat but was merely cooked in a fleishig (meaty) pot, it may be eaten.
• One may cook with wine if the taste of the wine will not be noticed in the dish.
• If one made a bracha on a piece of meat (or on wine) and then realized it is in the middle of the Nine Days, he should taste a small amount so that his bracha not be in vain.
• If a young child needs to eat meat or chicken for health reasons, one may feed it to him.
• One who is ill may eat meat in order to gain strength.
• On Shabbat one may eat meat and drink wine.
• One who accepts Shabbat early may drink the Kiddush wine and eat meat at the Shabbat meal even before the sunset.
• Regarding Havdalah see below.
• It is customary not to drink grape juice, but it is permissible to drink other alcoholic beverages including cognac.