Melaveh Malkah — Mezonot Foods Immediately After Shabbat Ends
Question
The Mishnah Berurah says that it is proper to eat Melaveh Malkah immediately after Shabbat ends, and even if one cannot, it is preferable not to do work beforehand.
The question is: If a person cannot wash his hands for bread immediately after Shabbat ends and wants to do work, is it effective for him to eat mezonot foods immediately after Shabbat ends, which also counts after the fact as Melaveh Malkah, and afterward, before midnight, to eat Melaveh Malkah with bread, which is the ideal way?
The question is: If a person cannot wash his hands for bread immediately after Shabbat ends and wants to do work, is it effective for him to eat mezonot foods immediately after Shabbat ends, which also counts after the fact as Melaveh Malkah, and afterward, before midnight, to eat Melaveh Malkah with bread, which is the ideal way?
Answer
Shalom u’vrachah.
The idea of eating mezonot foods immediately after Shabbat ends, and later in the evening washing your hands for bread, is certainly a good idea, and there is no drawback in it.
Since immediately after Shabbat ends you do not have the strength to eat bread, the halachah is fulfilled by eating mezonot foods.
Later in the evening you try to eat bread, thereby completing the mitzvah also according to the opinions that specifically require bread.
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