Moor Lane More Torah Pesach 5780
Sadly this year the synagogues are locked, so we have not produced printed version of Moor Lane More Torah.
However below is the material we have put together which we hope will enhance your Pesach. It contains divrei Torah, and halachot relevant to Eruv Tavshilin, Tal.
We wish you a chag sameach, aware that many of you are keeping Pesach in difficult circumstances, and we wish that you should all keep well!
First Day
‘And Pharoah got up at night’
Do you think Pharoah slept peacefully through to the morning on the night of the Killing of the Firstborn? It’s pretty remarkable that he went to bed at all on the night he had been told would be split by such a plague! He must have been woken up by the ‘great cry’! So ‘at night’ seems a bit redundant.
Rabbi Chaim ben Attar in his ‘Ohr Hachaim’ quotes the midrashim that the night of the last plague was broad daylight for the Bnei Yisrael. The verse is telling us even though it was day for the Jews, it was still ‘night’ for Pharoah. Just like during the plague of darkness. The verse about the four sons alludes to this: And you will tell your son on that day saying…… ‘On that day’ is strange, since the mitzvah of relating the story of the Exodus is at night. The answer is that ’on that day’ means you tell your child all the details of the miracle: that the night of the Exodus was as bright as day.
First Day – Tal
On the first day of Pesach we stop mentioning ‘Mashiv Haruach umorid hageshem’. At which point exactly do we stop? Those who say ‘morid hatal’ in the summer months start ‘tal’ instead of ‘geshem’ at Musaf on the first day, as the gabbai announces ‘morid hatal’ before the silent Amidah. Those who do not say ‘morid hatal’ in the summer months normally continue to mention ‘geshem’ at Musaf and only stop at Mincha after having heard the Shliach Tsibbur say the ‘tal’ prayer in his repetition; an individual in a village should say Musaf before the time it is prayed in the towns and continues to say it at Musaf so as not to be different from the tsibbur. If he is praying at a time when the tsibbur may have already prayed Musaf, he should not say it.
What about this year in the many paces where there are sadly no minyanim taking place at all?
It would seem that those who say ‘morid hatal’ in the summer months start ‘tal’ instead of ‘geshem’ at Musaf on the first day as per usual. Regarding those who do not say ‘morid hatal’ in the summer months – who normally continue to mention ‘geshem’ at Musaf – it would seem they should not mention ‘geshem’ this year at Musaf, as there is no minyan continuing to say ‘geshem’ at Musaf. [This is my own suggestion, I am grateful to my neighbour Rabbi Slade for pointing out that in the guidance put out by Shomrei Hadas shul it writes that one should still say Mashiv Haruach Umorid Hageshem at Musaph on 1st day Pesach. I should point out this is against what I wrote. [I should also add that this is talking about people who do not say 'morid hatal' in the summer. Those who do say 'morid hatal' would -it seems- start that with musaph.
]
Second Day
A most unusual Pesach
On the second day of Pesach the Haftara tells us of a unique Pesach – King Yoshiah made a Pesach which was unlike any previous Pesach. This king undid the idol worship of his predecessor and was the catalyst for a fundamental return to G-d among the people.
Our Pesach is also unique; unique in the circumstances; unique in the way we are preparing for it; unique in the way we will keep it.
But first let’s wind the clock back some thirty-four years.
On 26th April 86, Reactor 4 blew up in the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. The explosion killed 250 people; the nuclear fallout was 400 times larger than the Hiroshima bomb, and is reckoned to have caused subsequent deaths with estimates ranging from 5000 to half a million.
At first Russia covered it up. The unfolding disaster shook the Russian people’s acceptance of the Communist regime’s authority, and according to Mikhail Gorbachev, former General Secretary of the Communist Party, it was the real reason behind the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the decades’ old Communist regime.
The then Chief Rabbi Lord Immanuel Jakobovits made a penetrating observation: when G-d announced what would happen on the night of the death of the Egyptian firstborn, He said He would wreak judgements against the Egyptian idols. The Medrash explains: wooden idols would rot; metal ones would dissolve and melt down to the ground.
What happened at Chernobyl was called a meltdown, the term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. This meltdown brought down with it one of the most powerful regimes in the history of mankind.
Said Rabbi Jakobovits: when the time was up for that regime, G-d first took the ‘idol’ of that world outlook – technology and science – and showed its limitations; He melted it down and changed it from a source of useful energy into a force of destruction.
Back to our Pesach:
We have come to rely on technology, science, wealth, global trade and prosperity. We have come to take it as a given that we can flit back and forth between here and Israel; we can make lavish functions surrounded by hundreds of friends; we can expect at times of sorrow to have the community rally round to comfort us; we can predict the economic situation; we can organise our lives down to a digital ‘t’. Now we find ourselves in a situation where we can still communicate instantly around the world, but we cannot walk freely out of our own houses, and we cannot assume our hospitals will be able to protect our loved ones, nor that we can be at the bedside of those who…….. We feel much more fragile, forced to see the limitations of our health care systems and of our economies, as one new mutation of a virus spreads round the world wreaking havoc with so much we have grown to take for granted.
When the melt-down happens, there is a message: we risk making an ‘idol’ out of our capabilities if we forget our limits. Ever since we left Egypt God has carried us on eagles’ wings, but the belief in our own power hides this: we think we are doing the flying ourselves. This year as we sit down to sedarim so very different from what we had planned, with the empty seats of those who could not fly, we know Who is really doing the flying. We will no doubt remember this Pesach for many years to come. Let’s remember our limitations even in the times of health, freedom of movement and prosperity which we hope will soon return.
Second Day: Eruv Tavshilin
For those on Chutz La’aretz we make an Eruv Tavshilin on Wednesday, erev Pesach. What happened if someone forgot? Can he cook on Friday Yom Tov for Shabbat? The Gemara [Beitsa 16b] relates that one Yom tov Shmuel noticed someone who was sad; the man told him he had forgotten to make an Eruv Tavshilin. Shmuel replied that the man could rely on Shmuel’s eruv. The next year the same thing happened again, but this time Shmuel told the man that he was negligent and so Shmuel’s eruv would not work for him. This is the halacha: the Rav has in mind people who forgot to make Eruv Tavshilin, but not a ‘second-time forgetter’.
Is this a ‘one strike and you’re out for life’ rule? The Kaf Hachaim writes that if a person’s omission was not at two consecutive Chagim – i.e. he remembered at the chag in between – then he is allowed to rely on the Rav’s eruv. Although the Chayei Adam remains in doubt about this point, one could argue for leniency since the Knesset Yechezkel holds that nowadays Rabbanim have in mind even who have forgotten on two consecutive occasions and all the more so when it the occasions he forgot were not consecutive.
Another point regarding forgetting is that if a ‘Ben Chutz La’aretz’ who is in Israel forgets to make an Eruv when Yom Tov falls on Thursday/Friday, it does not count as negligence, in the opinion of Rabbi S Z Auerbach – since the Bnei Eretz Israel are not making an eruv, his omission is considered to be closer to an accident.
Conversely Bnei Eretz Israel who are in Chutz La’aretz when Yom Tov falls on Thursday/Friday are not required to make an Eruv Tavshilin. Even though they are not allowed to do regular melachah on the Friday of second day Yom Tov even in private, they can cook from Friday to Shabbat without an Eruv Tavshilin, since it is not recognisable that they have not made an Eruv [Teshuvot HaRadvaz].
Note: it is preferable to put the food/hot water on to cook on Friday Yom Tov with enough time for it to be ready before Shabbat starts.
7th Day Pesach
The midrashim about the splitting of the sea mention conversations between the ‘Sar shel Yam’ [guardian angel of the sea] and G-d. Here is a remarkable story of a Rav addressing the ‘Sar shel Yam’ just over a hundred years ago, as related by the mashgiach of Kamenetz yeshiva Rabbi Moshe Aharon Stern zt’l in his book ‘With Wisdom and Warmth.’ He tells this event as related to him by an old Rav, a tremendous Talmid Chacham, called Rabbi Ellberg, who witnessed it as a ten-year-old child.
The city of Dvinsk [also known as Denenburg, Russia, known now as Daugavplis, Latvia] was protected against flooding from the river Dvina which flows through it by a large dam. One winter, after much rain and snow, the water was reaching close to the top of the dam. The mayor was perplexed as the whole city was in danger of flooding, and the water was rising ever higher.
The mayor consulted with the chief of police, who suggested they needed a holy person to save them. They summoned a priest; the water was two yards from the top and still rising; the whole city assembled at the dam; the priest could not accomplish anything.
The mayor suggested the Jewish Rabbi. They called the ‘Ohr Sameach’, Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk. He looked down at the dam and saw the water coming quickly. He said, ‘Sar shel Yam, with the power of my Torah I am telling you to go down.’ The water kept rising. Then he said, ‘Sar shel Yam, I’m the Rav here. I’m telling you to go down and remove the water from the top of the dam.’ This did not help. Then he said’ ‘Sar shel Yam, either divert the water or I’ll put you in cherem. With full authority as Rav of the city, I’m putting you in cherem. I want you to know, I have the de’ah here in this town. If I put you cherem here, you are in cherem in Olam Ha’elyon too. I immediately decree b’koach haTorah that you should have the waves go the other way and that the waters should go down.’
Suddenly the waves went the other way and the water reached half of the dam and stopped. The mayor fell to his knees and kissed the Rav’s feet.
Rav Meir Simcha became the holiest person in town. The mayor, the chief of police and everyone in town swore by his name. Rav Ellberg said he saw this himself and can bear witness to it. For months to come, everyone in the city talked about what had happened that winter. People realized what the power of Torah was. They had come face to face with the power of the Jewish Rav.
Passover- The Proper Procedures for ERUV
TAVSHILIN When Yom Tov Is On Thursday and Friday
Regarding one law that
is applicable this year, Erev Pesach 5780 (2020). Because the holiday is
falling out on a Thursday and Friday, and we’re going straight into Shabbat,
Halacha does tell us that it is forbidden to cook from Yom Tov to Shabbat. Even
though Friday is Yom Tov and we are allowed to cook according to the Halachot
of Yom Tov, but one would not be allowed to prepare the food on Friday for the
Friday night Shabbat, unless one prepared Eruv Tavshilin on Erev Pesach, which
this year would be Wednesday. Wednesday before the holiday, Halacha says; you
take a slice of Matzah that at least has the shiur of a kezayit and you take a
hard boiled egg, and make sure its cooked well, and you place them on the side,
and you make the Beracha, “Asher Kidishanu Bemitzvotav Vitsivanu Al Mitzvat
Eruv”, and then you recite; “Biden Eruva….”, ‘With this Eruv that I am making,
it would be permissible for me to cook, and to bake, and to carry, and to do
all my needs for Yom Tov to Shabbat.’ So Eruv Tavshilin is vital in order to
make those preparations. Now, it should be pointed out, Eruv Tavshilin while it
helps you for Friday to Shabbat, it does not help from one Yom Tov to the next.
This means, if let’s say, someone is having a Seder by their home on Thursday
night, which is the 2nd night of Yom Tov, and now they want to start preparing
Thursday afternoon, cooking the rice, and preparing some of the foods, so that
when the people come home Thursday night its all ready- It’s Forbidden. We’re
not allowed to prepare from one Yom Tov to another! We must wait until its dark
outside, and then you can start cooking for the holiday. So this Eruv only
allows you to start preparing food Thursday night or Friday for the Shabbat
meal. Of course the cooking and the preparations have to be finished obviously
before Shabbat.
Now, in the event one forgets to make the Eruv Tavshilin,
Halacha tells us that the Rabbi of the City, of every city knowing that people
forget or don’t know, he has in mind when he makes his Eruv to include all the
dwellers in the city. So Bediavad, if you forgot to make Eruv Tavshilin, you’re
still OK, as you can rely on the Rabbi’s Eruv. However, you cannot rely on the
Rabbi’s Eruv Lachatchila. Which means you can’t say; ‘I’m not making an Eruv,
and I’m too busy, and I’m relying on the Rabbi’s.’ That does not work. It only
works in the case where you made a mistake, or you forgot or there were
circumstances where you couldn’t do the Eruv.
Of course you place the Eruv in a safe place and Halacha
says you have to be careful that you don’t eat it until after you finish your
cooking on Friday for Shabbat. Halacha says, let’s say you ate or somebody ate
it, then now your Eruv is invalid, so either you have to rely on the Rabbi’s
Eruv, or Halacha says you can make Eruv Tavshilin on the 1st day of Yom Tov.
It’s an interesting Case. Let’s say you remember on the 1st day of Yom Tov,
this year being Thursday that you didn’t make Eruv Tavshilin, you could then
still make it. However, you have to say the following condition. The condition
is we have 2 days of Yom Tov, and Yom Tov is really on Thursday or on Friday.
We keep 2 days out of Safek, but one of the days is actually Yom Tov and one of
the days is really Chol, so we make the following condition: ‘If today is Yom
Tov, and therefore I would not be allowed to make an Eruv on Yom Tov, then no
problem, because you don’t need an Eruv, because tomorrow, Friday would really
be a weekday, and you’re allowed to cook a weekday to Shabbat. So again, if
today is Yom Tov, then you really don’t need an Eruv. However, if today is Chol,
then you’re allowed to make an Eruv, and then you make the Eruv, so that Friday
you can cook for Shabbat, and when tomorrow is Yom Tov, so therefore you make
this condition. Once you make this condition the Eruv then works even on Yom
Tov Rishon (1st day), but you do not make a Beracha.
Halacha says when should you eat the Eruv? Preferably you
eat it on Shabbat, and the custom is to eat at Seudat Shelishit. You take the
Matzah and the egg in order to do another Mitzvah. The Gemarah says that since
you’re doing one Mitzvah, you want to recycle it and do another Mitzvah. Again
you should remind the ladies or the men, as its not specifically a lady’s item,
that one should prepare the Eruv Tavshilin on Wednesday afternoon, and one
should set it aside and fulfill this most important Mitzvah.
It’s a trivia question – What’s the only Beracha that
Lechatchila, you could only make on a Wednesday? And that’s the Beracha of Al
Mitzvat Eruv.
The above Halachot are all from the Shulchan Aruch
Passover- Eruv Tavshilin
When Yom Tov falls on
Friday, Halacha forbids cooking or making any preparations on that day for
Shabbat, unless one follows the procedure known as "Eruv Tavshilin."
The Eruv Tavshilin is made on Erev Yom Tov; thus, if Yom Tov falls on Thursday
and Friday, one would make the Eruv Tavshilin on Wednesday, before the onset of
Yom Tov. One takes a Ke'zayit (the volume of an olive) of bread – or, on
Pesach, Matza – together with a cooked food – our practice is to use an egg –
and sets them aside. He then makes the formal declaration stating that through
this Eruv it will be permitted to cook, bake and make any preparations
necessary on Yom Tov for Shabbat. Without making an Eruv Tavshilin, one may not
prepare on Yom Tov for Shabbat.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef writes that even if one did make an
Eruv Tavshilin, he should preferably not cook and prepare for Shabbat late in
the day on Yom Tov, shortly before the onset of Shabbat. He should endeavor to
prepare the food early enough in the day that it could potentially be served to
guests who arrive while it is still Yom Tov, before Shabbat. This is an
additional measure of stringency; if one cooked food late in the day on Yom
Tov, the food is nevertheless permissible for consumption on Shabbat.
Preferably, however, one should prepare food earlier in the day.
Summary: When Yom Tov falls on Shabbat, one must make an
Eruv Tavshilin on Erev Yom Tov to allow preparing on Yom Tov for Shabbat. Even
if one did make an Eruv Tavshilin, he should preferably not prepare food for Shabbat
late in the day on Friday
What Is The Latest Time On Erev Yom Tov,
One Can Make Eruv Tavshilin?
When Yom Tov falls on Friday, one must prepare an
Eruv Tavshilin before sunset on Erev Yom Tov to allow cooking on Yom Tov for
Shabbat. The question was raised as to whether or not somebody who forgot to
prepare an Eruv Tavshilin before sundown on Erev Yom Tov has the opportunity to
do so after sunset.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef addresses this question in his work Yechaveh Da'at (6:31),
and he concludes that in such a case one may, in fact, prepare his Eruv
Tavshilin during the thirteen-minute period after sunset called Bein
Ha'shemashot. He adds that one may even recite the Beracha when preparing the
Eruv Tavshilin during this period.
Chacham Bentzion Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998), in Or Le'tziyon (22:8),
adopts this position, as well. He adds, however, that once a person recites
Arvit on the night of Yom Tov, or even responds to "Barechu" at the
beginning of Arvit, he has effectively begun his observance of Yom Tov and
therefore can no longer prepare an Eruv Tavshilin. Even if one responds to
"Barechu" within thirteen minutes after sundown, he may no longer
prepare the Eruv Tavshilin.
Summary: One who forgot to prepare an Eruv Tavshilin before sundown on Erev Yom
Tov may still do so – with a Beracha – within thirteen minutes after sundown,
unless he recites Arvit or responds to "Barechu" during Arvit, in
which case he may no longer prepare the Eruv Tavshilin.
Which Foods are Suitable for the Erub
Tabshilin?
An Erub Tabshilin is prepared before Yom Tob in
situations where Yom Tob is immediately followed by Shabbat, in order to allow
cooking on Yom Tob for Shabbat. The Erub Tabshilin must consist of two foods –
one baked, and one cooked. The baked food is traditionally a piece of bread, or
a piece of Masa on Pesah. As for the cooked food, it was for many years
customary to use a hardboiled egg for this purpose. The reason is that the food
must be able to remain fresh until Shabbat, and before refrigeration, there
weren’t many foods that could remain fresh for this long. An egg was therefore
used because it could be stored and eaten for a number of days.
Nowadays, however, Hacham Ovadia Yosef ruled, it is preferable to use a more
“Hashub” (significant) food for the Erub Tabshilin. Since food can now be
refrigerated and kept fresh, one should try to use a food such as a piece of
fish or meat for the Erub Tabshilin, rather than an egg. Certainly, if one uses
an egg, it suffices to allow cooking on Yom Tob for Shabbat, on condition that
it was not peeled. The Gemara in Masechet Nidda (17) teaches that eating an egg
that has been left unpeeled overnight can be injurious to one’s health. Since
the food of the Erub Tabshilin must be edible, an egg that is left overnight
without a peel is not suitable. Thus, although it is preferable to use a more
significant food, one may use an egg, as long as it is not peeled before it is
eaten on Shabbat.
In general, any food that is boiled, roasted, poached, etc. is suitable for the
Erub Tabshilin. In fact, it once happened that a person had only tomato sauce,
and he used it as the cooked food for the Erub Tabshilin, as it is made from
cooked tomatoes. Pickled foods are suitable, as well, and thus one may
designate a jar of pickles for the Erub Tabshilin together with the bread or
Masa. The exception to this rule is food that is not ordinarily eaten at a meal
with bread, such as farina and the like. Such foods, according to Hacham Ovadia
Yosef, should not be used for the Erub Tabshilin.
There is a debate among the Halachic authorities as to the status of milk with
regard to Erub Tabshilin. Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul (Israel, 1923-1998), in
his Or Le’sion (vol. 3, p. 215), ruled that pasteurization qualifies as
“cooking,” and thus milk and dairy products purchased in stores today are
considered “cooked” foods. Thus, for example, if a person drinks milk at the
Se’uda Mafseket (final meal) before Tisha B’Ab, when only a single cooked food
is allowed, he may not eat another cooked food. By the same token, milk and
dairy products may be used as the cooked food for the Erub Tabshilin. Hacham
Ovadia Yosef, however, disputes this ruling, and claims that pasteurization
differs from cooking. Boiling has the effect of eliminating bacteria in the
milk, but does not cause a fundamental change in its nature. “Cooking” for the
purposes of Halacha requires transforming the food in some way, and thus
pasteurization would not qualify. Accordingly, Hacham Ovadia rules that one may
drink milk and partake of another cooked food at the Se’uda Mafseket. It stands
to reason that he would also disqualify milk for the Erub Tabshilin, since it
is not considered Halachically “cooked.”
Summary: The Erub Tabshilin must consist of one baked food – customarily a
piece of bread or Masa – and one cooked food. It is best to use a significant
food, such as a piece of fish or meat, though strictly speaking, one may use
any food that has been cooked, roasted, poached or pickled. An egg may be used
as long as it is not peeled before it is eaten. Pasteurized milk does not
qualify as a cooked food. Regardless, as mentioned, it is preferable to use a
significant food such as fish or meat
Must a Guest Prepare an Erub Tabshilin?
When Yom Tob falls on Friday, one must prepare an
Erub Tabshilin on Thursday afternoon, before the onset of Yom Tob, in order to
allow cooking on Yom Tob in preparation for Shabbat. The question arises as to
whether a person who spends Yom Tob in a hotel must prepare an Erub Tabshilin.
After all, hotel guests do not cook food for Shabbat, as their food is provided
by the hotel catering staff, which prepares an Erub Tabshilin before Yom Tob to
allow them to cook food for Shabbat on Yom Tob. Seemingly, as the guests will
not be cooking at all in preparation for Shabbat, there is no need for them to
make an Erub Tabshilin before Yom Tob. This question also applies in the case
of a young couple spending Yom Tob with parents, who do all the food
preparations. In this case, too, the couple is not planning on cooking food for
Shabbat, seemingly obviating the need to prepare an Erub Tabshilin.
In truth, this issue is subject to a debate among the Rishonim (Medieval
Halachic scholars). Essentially, the question boils down to whether or not an
Erub Tabshilin is required to allow lighting Shabbat candles on Friday
afternoon when Friday is Yom Tob. Tosafot (Talmud commentaries by Medieval
French and German scholars), in Masechet Besa, as well as the Rosh (Rabbenu
Asher Ben Yehiel, Germany-Spain, 1250-1327), maintained that one who did not
prepare an Erub Tabshilin before Yom Tob on Thursday afternoon may not light
Shabbat candles on Friday afternoon. In their view, just as the Erub Tabshilin
is necessary to allow cooking food on Yom Tob for Shabbat, it is also needed to
allow lighting candles on Yom Tob for Shabbat. Indeed, some versions of the
Erub Tabshilin text make explicit reference to candle lighting as one of the
purposes of the Erub (“U’l’adlukeh Sheraga Mi’Yom Tob Le’Shabbat”). According
to this view, then, guests are required to prepare an Erub Tabshilin, despite
the fact that they have no need to cook for Shabbat, since they do need to
light candles for Shabbat.
The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204), however, in his
discussion of Erub Tabshilin in Hilchot Yom Tob, makes no mention at all of
candle lighting being dependant upon the Erub. And Maran, in the Shulhan Aruch
(Orah Haim 527:19), writes explicitly that one may light Shabbat candles on
Friday even without having prepared an Erub Tabshilin before Yom Tob.
Therefore, Halacha does not require guests to prepare an Erub Tabshilin before
the onset of Yom Tob on Thursday, since they are not cooking and candle
lighting is permitted even without the Erub. Nevertheless, Hacham Ovadia Yosef
ruled that it is preferable for guests – whether at a hotel or at parents, or
in similar situations – to prepare an Erub without a Beracha in order to
satisfy all views. This means that they should take the Masa and cooked food
and recite the “Be’haden Eruba” text, without the introductory Beracha. This
ruling appears in Yalkut Yosef – Sefirat Ha’omer, p. 246 (listen to audio
recording for precise citation).
Summary: In a situation where Erub Tabshilin is required, guests who will not
be cooking on Yom Tob for Shabbat do not have to prepare an Erub Tabshilin.
Nevertheless, it is preferable for them to do so, but without reciting the
introductory Beracha
Does an Erub Tabshilin Allow Cooking on
the First Day of Yom Tob for Shabbat?
An Erub Tabshilin is required when Yom Tob occurs
immediately before Shabbat, in order to allow one to cook on Yom Tob in
preparation for Shabbat. Thus, when Yom Tob falls on Friday and Shabbat (as the
last days of Pesah fell this year, 5752), we prepare an Erub Tabshilin on Thursday,
before Yom Tob, allowing us to cook on Friday in preparation for Shabbat.
The question arises as to how far this Halacha extends in situations where Yom
Tob is observed on Thursday and Friday. In such a case, of course, we prepare
an Erub Tabshilin before Yom Tob on Wednesday so we may prepare food on Yom Tob
for Shabbat. The question is, does the Erub Tabshilin allow us to cook for
Shabbat only on Friday, or may one cook already on Thursday – the first of the
two days of Yom Tob – in preparation for Shabbat?
The consensus among the Rishonim (Medieval Halachic scholars) is that the Erub
Tabshilin allows cooking for Shabbat only on the second day of Yom Tob, Friday.
The Rosh (Rabbenu Asher Ben Yehiel, 1250-1327) explains that the observance of
the second day of Yom Tob in the Diaspora applies only “Mi’de’rabbanan” (by
force of Rabbinic enactment), and not by force of Torah law, and therefore the
Sages permitted cooking on the second day for Shabbat through an Erub
Tabshilin. This does not apply on the first day, when cooking is forbidden by
the Torah. Others explain, quite simply, that cooking for Shabbat is only
permitted on Friday, the day immediately preceding Shabbat.
This is, indeed, the ruling of Hacham Ovadia Yosef in his responsa (Yehaveh Da’at
6:32; listen to audio recording for precise citation). He emphasizes that this
ruling applies even if somebody is unable to cook for Shabbat on Friday due to
circumstances beyond his control. Even in such a case, the Erub Tabshilin does
not permit cooking on Thursday for Shabbat. However, he adds, if somebody
violated this Halacha and cooked on Thursday for Shabbat, the food is
permissible for consumption.
Summary: If Yom Tob falls on Thursday and Friday, we prepare an Erub Tabshilin
to allow cooking on Friday for Shabbat. One may not cook on Thursday for
Shabbat, even though he prepared an Erub Tabshilin
If a Person Realizes Upon Arriving in
the Synagogue That He Had Not Prepared an Erub Tabshilin
An Erub Tabshilin must be prepared before Yom Tob in
situations where Yom Tob immediately precedes Shabbat, in order to allow one to
cook on Yom Tob in preparation for Shabbat. The question arises concerning the
case of a person who arrives in the synagogue for Minha on Ereb Yom Tob and
realizes just then that he had forgotten to prepare an Erub Tabshilin. What
options are available for such a person if he does not have time to return home
and prepare the Erub Tabshilin before Yom Tob?
Some authorities rule that a person can prepare an Erub Tabshilin even in the
synagogue by designating food products in the home as the Erub. For example, if
he knows that there is a hardboiled egg in the refrigerator and a piece of
bread in a certain place in the kitchen, he can stand in the synagogue and make
the Erub declaration, stating that through such-and-such food items in
such-and-such place it would be permissible to cook and make preparations on
Yom Tob for Shabbat. Others, however, dispute this position, and claim that one
cannot recite the Erub Tabshilin declaration, which begins with the words
“Be’haden Eruba” (“With this Erub”), if the Erub is not present in front of
him.
In light of this debate, Hacham Ovadia Yosef rules that a person in this
situation should, if possible, call his wife and have her prepare the Erub
Tabshilin. If a person has no one at home to prepare the Erub, then he may rely
on the lenient position and prepare the Erub in the synagogue, as discussed.
However, in order to satisfy all opinions, he should stipulate that if this
preparation of the Erub is ineffective, then he relies on the Erub Tabshilin
prepared by the local Rabbi. The “Gadol Ha’ir” (leader of the community) has
the entire community in mind when he prepares his Erub Tabshilin, and thus one
may rely upon the Rabbi’s Erub Tabshilin when the need arises. As such, if a
person remembers upon arriving in the synagogue that he had not prepared an
Erub Tabshilin, he should designate the Erub in the synagogue but stipulate
that if this is ineffective then he relies on the Rabbi’s Erub.
Summary: In a situation where an Erub Tabshilin is required, one who remembers
upon arriving in the synagogue that he had not prepared an Erub Tabshilin
should designate the Erub in the synagogue, having in mind food products in his
home that he designates as the Erub. He should then stipulate that if Halacha
follows the view that this method is ineffective, then he relies on the Rabbi’s
Erub. He may then cook on Yom Tov in preparation for Shabbat according to all
opinions
6-summer-time-table-5780-2020.pdf
