– Q. Hello Rov. Tonight is Rosh Chodesh Av and the start of the Nine Days. Is it possible for someone who can only daven with a minyan at an early maariv minyan after Plag, do so expressing that he is not accepting the restriction of eating meat until the shekiah, so he can have a meat meal then?

A. As with the receiving of Shabbos, once you daven Maariv after plag it is considered as being already Shabbos and you are not allowed to do any prohibited works, the same would apply in this case and one should not eat meat anymore.

Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a.