- We do not say Tachanun at Mincha. We eat a regular meal before Mincha, and afterwards we eat the Se’udah Hamafseket, the final meal before the fast. It consists of bread dipped in ashes, an egg and water, and is eaten while sitting on the floor or in a low chair. It’s not necessary to remove leather shoes for this. You should not eat this meal with a group, but should sit and eat alone.
- If you plan to continue eating after this meal, you should think or say before reciting Bircat haMazon (Grace after meals) that you are not yet beginning the fast.
- The fast and restrictions begin at sundown (7:56 p.m., Monday, August 8). We remove leather shoes before the fast begins.
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