Interesting psak: no Thursday night meaty cholent this week!

This does not seem to be a major chiddush, but basic halacha. It is interesting in the sense that someone felt it was important, or significant, enough that it needed to be published. It also points to a major cultural issue as well.

The question presented is regarding a major cultural trend in haredi areas of "Thursday night cholent". Guys get together at a cholent joint and sit around late Thursday nights eating cholent and kugel, beer and challa, and maybe a Hungarian will have some galla/ptcha. So, the question is, with Rosh Chodesh Av falling out this Thursday night-Friday, can the regular weekly "Thursday night cholent" events take place as usual or must they be skipped this week due to the advent of the Nine Days when eating meat is prohibited?

Rav Shabsi Yagel, rav of Bnei Hayeshivos in Ranana, responded that with the hope that this will no longer be relevant by Thursday night as by then hopefully the exile will be finished and we will by then have merited the geula, but if not, there is a difference between sefardim and ashkenazim in this regard.

There are different minhagim regarding eating meat during the Nine Days. Ashkenazim stop eating meat from Rosh Chodesh Av, meaning from Thursday night this year. Sefardim have other minhagim that allow eating meat on Rosh Chodesh, and some allow it on Motzei Shabbos as well (and some allow it all week and just prohibit eating meat and drinking wine during the week of Tisha B'Av itself). Yemenites allow eating meat throughout the Nine Days and only prohibit it at the seuda mafsekes right before Tisha B'Av.

That being the case, Rav Yagel said that in his shul in Ranana they have a weekly Thursday night shiur and they serve fleishige cholent with coca cola every week/ This week, because of Rosh Chodesh Av, they will be serving pareve cholent.

And, while some will suggest making a siyyum as a solution to be able to eat meat, Rav Yagel says such a siyyum cannot be scheduled for the Nine Days for the purpose of being able to eat meat, but if one's learning happens to come to a siyyum during the nine Days that is definitely something to celebrate and would be allowed to eat meat. Rav Yagel even relates a story in which arestaurant in herzliya contacted the kollel in Ranana and offered a proposal by which each night the kollel would arrange an avreich to go to the restaurant and make a siyyum so the customers of the restaurant can eat meat. In return, the restaurant would donate a percentage of the profits from those days back to the kollel. Rav Yagel says the Kollel rejected the proposal.

And, Rav Yagel concludes, the beis hamikdash is worthy of being mourned for, even if it means forswearing meaty foods on Thursday night and making do with kugel and other pareve foods.
(source: Srugim)

Personally this discussion seemed very straightforward with no unusual or controversial chiddush to make it noteworthy. As mentioned above, I think what makes it noteworthy is the cultural aspect of people being concerned regarding Thursday night cholent.

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