3.1) Balancing our Time for Work Part 1

MISHNA: With regard to a Festival that occurs on Shabbat eve, one may not cook on the Festival with the initial intent to cook for Shabbat. However, he may cook on that day for the Festival itself, and if he left over any food, he left it over for Shabbat. The early Sages also instituted an ordinance: The joining of cooked foods [eiruv tavshilin], which the mishna explains. One may prepare a cooked dish designated for Shabbat on a Festival eve and rely on it to cook on the Festival for Shabbat. The tanna’im disagreed with regard to the details of this ordinance: Beit Shammai say: For the purpose of the joining of cooked foods one must prepare two cooked dishes, and Beit Hillel say: One dish is sufficient. And they both agree with regard to a fish and the egg that is fried on it that these are considered two dishes for this purpose. If one ate the food prepared before the Festival as an eiruv and none of it remained for Shabbat, or if it was lost, he may not rely on it and cook with the initial intent to cook for Shabbat. If he left any part of the eiruv, he may rely on it to cook for Shabbat. GEMARA: The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? What is the source of the halakha of the joining of cooked foods and of the halakha that one who failed to prepare such an eiruv may not cook on a Festival for Shabbat? Shmuel said that the source is as the verse states: “Remember the Shabbat day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8); from which he infers: Remember it and safeguard it from another day that comes to make it forgotten. When a Festival occurs on Friday, preoccupation with the Festival and the preparation and enjoyment of its meals could lead one to overlook Shabbat. Therefore, the Sages instituted an ordinance to ensure that Shabbat will be remembered even then. The Gemara asks: What is the reason that the Sages instituted this ordinance in particular to ensure that Shabbat would not be overlooked? Rava said: The Sages did so in deference to Shabbat, and they instituted an eiruv so that one will select a choice portion for Shabbat and a choice portion for the Festival. If one fails to prepare a dish specifically for Shabbat before the Festival, it could lead to failure to show the appropriate deference to Shabbat. Rav Ashi stated a different reason: The Sages did so in deference to the Festival, so that people will say: One may not bake on a Festival for Shabbat unless he began to bake the day before; all the more so, one may not bake on a Festival for a weekday. We learned in the mishna: One may prepare a cooked dish on a Festival eve and rely on it to cook for Shabbat. Granted, according to Rav Ashi, who said that the reason for an eiruv is so that people will say: One may not bake on a Festival for Shabbat; that is why on a Festival eve, yes, one may prepare the eiruv, but on the Festival itself, no, one may not do so, as it is a reminder that in principle one may not cook on a Festival for Shabbat. However, according to Rava, who stated that the reason for the eiruv is to ensure that one selects choice portions for both the Festival and Shabbat, why does the mishna discuss specifically preparation on a Festival eve? Even were one to prepare a dish for Shabbat on the Festival as well, it would guarantee that he accord the appropriate deference to Shabbat. The Gemara answers: Yes, it is indeed so; that objective could have been achieved even on the Festival. However, the Sages issued a decree that the eiruv must be prepared on the Festival eve lest one be negligent and fail to prepare one entirely. The Gemara comments: And a tanna cites the proof for eiruv tavshilin from here, the following verse: “Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Shabbat to the Lord. Bake that which you will bake and cook that which you will cook, and all that remains put aside to be kept for you until the morning” (Exodus 16:23). From here Rabbi Eliezer said: One may bake on a Festival for Shabbat only by relying on that which was already baked for Shabbat the day before, and adding to it; and one may cook only by relying on that which was already cooked. From this verse the Sages established an allusion to the joining of cooked foods from the Torah. § The Sages taught in a baraita: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer, who was sitting and lecturing about the halakhot of the Festival throughout the entire Festival day. When the first group left in the middle of his lecture, he said: These must be owners of extremely large jugs [pittasin], who apparently have huge containers of wine awaiting them as well as a comparable amount of food, and they have left the house of study out of a craving for their food. After a while a second group departed. He said: These are owners of barrels, which are smaller than pittasin. Later a third group took its leave, and he said: These are owners of jugs, even smaller than barrels. A fourth group left, and he said: These are owners of jars [laginin], which are smaller than jugs. Upon the departure of a fifth group, he said: These are owners of cups, which are smaller still. When a sixth group began to leave, he became upset that the house of study was being left almost completely empty and said: These are owners of a curse; i.e., they obviously do not have anything at home, so why are they leaving? He cast his eyes upon the students remaining in the house of study. Immediately, their faces began to change color out of shame, as they feared he was referring to them and that perhaps they should have departed along with the others instead of staying. He said to them: My sons, I did not say that about you but about those who left, because they abandon the eternal life of Torah and engage in the temporary life of eating. At the time of the remaining students’ departure at the conclusion of Rabbi Eliezer’s lecture, he said to them the verse: “Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). The Gemara clarifies this baraita. The Master said above: Because they abandon eternal life and engage in temporary life. The Gemara wonders at this: But isn’t the joy of the Festival itself a mitzva and therefore part of eternal life? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Eliezer conforms to his standard line of reasoning, as he said: Physical joy on a Festival is merely optional. As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: A person has no way of fulfilling the mitzva of a Festival correctly apart from either eating and drinking, thereby fulfilling the mitzva of joy in a completely physical manner, or sitting and studying Torah, thereby emphasizing only the spiritual; and those who did not engage in Torah study to the fullest extent acted inappropriately. Rabbi Yehoshua says: There is no need for such a dichotomy; rather, simply divide it: Half to God, Torah study, and half to yourselves, engaging in eating, drinking, and other pleasurable activities. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: And both of them derived their opinions from one verse, i.e., the two of them addressed the same apparent contradiction between two verses, resolving it in different ways. One verse states: “It shall be a solemn assembly for the Lord, your God” (Deuteronomy 16:8), indicating a Festival dedicated to the service of God, and one verse states: “It shall be a solemn assembly for you” (Numbers 29:35), indicating a celebratory assembly for the Jewish people. How is this to be reconciled? Rabbi Eliezer holds that the two verses should be understood as offering a choice: The day is to be either entirely for God, in accordance with the one verse, or entirely for you, as per the other verse; and Rabbi Yehoshua holds that it is possible to fulfill both verses: Split the day into two, half of it for God and half of it for you. § Since the baraita mentions the verse from Nehemiah, the Gemara poses the following question: What is the meaning of: “Send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared” (Nehemiah 8:10)? Rav Ḥisda said: Send to one who does not have food of his own prepared for Shabbat that follows the Festival because he did not prepare a joining of cooked foods and must therefore rely on others. Some say that he said the following: It is necessary to provide food for one who did not have an opportunity to prepare a joining of cooked foods on the eve of the Festival; but one who had an opportunity to prepare a joining of cooked foods and did not prepare one is negligent, and there is no obligation to care for him. The Gemara poses another question with regard to the same verse: What is the meaning of: “For the joy of the Lord is your strength”? Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Shimon: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Jewish people: My children, borrow on My account, and sanctify the sanctity of the day of Shabbat and the Festivals with wine, and trust in Me, and I will repay this debt. Apropos the statement attributed to Rabbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Shimon, the Gemara cites another statement that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Shimon: One who wants his properties to be preserved and protected from ruin should plant an eder tree among them, as it is stated: “The Lord on high is mighty [adir]” (Psalms 93:4). Due to the similarity of the words eder and adir, this is understood to mean that the eder tree bestows permanence. Alternatively: The eder tree will preserve one’s property, as implied by its name, as people say: What is alluded to in the name of the eder? Its name hints that it endures for many generations [darei]. This is also taught in a baraita: A field that contains an eder tree will be neither stolen nor forcibly removed from one’s possession, as the eder serves as a clear indication of its owner, and its fruit is preserved, as the unique odor of the eder sap wards off insects. § The Gemara returns to the previous issue: Rav Taḥlifa, brother of Ravnai Ḥoza’a, taught:

Rashi

A person’s entire livelihood is allocated to him during the period from Rosh HaShana to Yom Kippur. During that time, as each individual is judged, it is decreed exactly how much money he will earn for all his expenditures of the coming year, except for expenditures for Shabbatot, and expenditures for Festivals, and expenditures for the school fees of his sons’ Torah study. In these areas, no exact amount is determined at the beginning of the year; rather, if he reduced the amount he spends for these purposes, his income is reduced and he earns that much less money in that year, and if he increased his expenditures in these areas, his income is increased to ensure that he can cover the expense. Therefore, one may borrow for these purposes, since he is guaranteed to have enough income to cover whatever he spends for them. Rabbi Abbahu said: What is the verse from which this dictum is derived? The source is: “Blow the shofar at the New Moon, at the concealed time for our Festival day” (Psalms 81:4). On which Festival is the new moon concealed? You must say that it is Rosh HaShana, which occurs on the first of the month, when the moon is not yet visible, while the moon is visible during the other Festivals, which occur in the middle of the month. And it is written in the next verse: “For it is a statute [ḥok] for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob” (Psalms 81:5). The Gemara explains: From where may it be inferred that this word “statute [ḥok]” is a term relating to food? As it is written: “And they ate their allotment [ḥukkam], which Pharaoh gave them” (Genesis 47:22). Mar Zutra said: One can learn that ḥok is referring to food from here: “Feed me with my allotted [ḥukki] bread” (Proverbs 30:8). It is taught in a baraita: They said about Shammai the Elder that all his days he would eat in honor of Shabbat. How so? If he found a choice animal, he would say: This is for Shabbat. If he subsequently found another one choicer than it, he would set aside the second for Shabbat and eat the first. He would eat the first to leave the better-quality animal for Shabbat, which continually rendered his eating an act of honoring Shabbat. However, Hillel the Elder had a different trait, that all his actions, including those on a weekday, were for the sake of Heaven, as it is stated: “Blessed be the Lord, day by day; He bears our burden, our God who is our salvation; Selah” (Psalms 68:20), meaning that God gives a blessing for each and every day. That is also taught in a baraita in more general terms: Beit Shammai say: From the first day of the week, Sunday, start preparing already for your Shabbat. And Beit Hillel say: “Blessed be the Lord, day by day.” § Apropos the statements about honoring Shabbat, the Gemara cites another statement on the same topic. Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: One who gives a gift to his friend need not inform him that he has given it to him, and he need not concern himself that the recipient might not realize who gave it to him. As it is stated: “And Moses did not know that the skin of his face was radiant” (Exodus 34:29); Moses received this gift unawares. The Gemara raises an objection to this. Isn’t it written: “Nevertheless, you must keep My Shabbatot, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord Who sanctifies you” (Exodus 31:13), which the Sages expounded as follows: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Moses, I have a good gift in My treasury, and its name is Shabbat, and I wish to give it to the Jewish people. Go and inform them of this intention of Mine. And from here Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: One who gives a gift of a piece of bread to a child must inform his mother of his actions, so that the child’s parents will be aware of the giver’s fond feelings for them, thereby enhancing friendly relations and companionship among Jews. This appears to be in direct contradiction to Rabbi Ḥama’s statement. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult; this case, where one need not inform the recipient, is referring to a gift that is likely to be revealed, such as Moses’ shining face, which everyone would point out to him; that case, where one must inform the recipient, is referring to a gift that is not likely to be revealed in the natural course of events. The Gemara challenges: Isn’t Shabbat also a gift that is likely to be revealed, as the Jews would eventually be instructed with regard to the time and nature of Shabbat? The Gemara answers: Nevertheless, its reward is not likely to be revealed. Therefore, God told Moses to inform the Jews of the gift of Shabbat and its reward. The Master said earlier that from here Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: One who gives a piece of bread to a child must inform his mother. The Gemara asks: What does he do to him; how does he inform the child’s mother? He rubs oil on him and paints his eyes blue, so that when the child arrives home his mother will ask him who did this to him and he will reply that it was a person who also gave him a piece of bread. The Gemara comments: And nowadays, when we are concerned about witchcraft, i.e., that painting the child’s eyes might have been performed as an act of sorcery, what should one do? Rav Pappa said: He rubs on the child a little of that same type of food that he put on the bread, such as butter or cheese, and this will cause the child’s mother to notice that he received a present. The Gemara cites a further statement with regard to the gift of Shabbat to the Jewish people. Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: All the mitzvot that the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave to the Jewish people, He gave to them in public [parhesya] except for Shabbat, which he gave to them in private. As it is stated: “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever” (Exodus 31:17), meaning that in a sense, it is a secret between God and the Jewish people. The Gemara challenges: If it is so that it was given in secret so that not everyone knew about it, the gentiles should not be punished for not wanting to accept it; they are liable to receive punishment for refusing to accept the other mitzvot of the Torah. The Gemara answers: The Holy One, Blessed be He, did inform them of the concept of Shabbat, but He did not inform them of the reward for the fulfillment of the mitzva. And if you wish, say instead that He also informed the gentiles of its reward, but about the idea of the additional soul given to each person on Shabbat He did not inform them. As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, gives a person an additional soul on Shabbat eve, and at the conclusion of Shabbat removes it from him, as it is stated: “He ceased from work and was refreshed [vayinafash]” (Exodus 31:17). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish expounds the verse as follows: Since he ceased from work, and now Shabbat has concluded and his additional soul is removed from him, woe [vai] for the additional soul [nefesh] that is lost. It was taught in the mishna that a person may prepare a cooked dish on a Festival eve and rely on it for Shabbat for the joining of cooked foods. Abaye said: They taught that the joining of cooked foods allows one to cook on a Festival for Shabbat only when it is made from a cooked dish; however, if it is composed of bread alone, no, this is not sufficient. The Gemara asks: What is different about bread that makes it not fit for this purpose? If we say that we require something that accompanies bread, and bread does not accompany itself, the following difficulty arises: Porridge also does not accompany bread, as Rabbi Zeira said: Those foolish Babylonians eat bread with bread, referring to their custom of eating bread with porridge. This shows that porridge is no better accompaniment to bread than bread itself, and yet Rav Neḥumi bar Zekharya said in the name of Abaye: One may establish an eiruv with porridge. Rather, one must say as follows: We require something that is not routine, so that it will be clear that one is setting it aside for the purpose of an eiruv, and bread is routine, whereas porridge is not routine. Some say a different version of this discussion: Abaye said: They taught that a joining of cooked foods allows one to cook on a Festival for Shabbat only when it is made from a cooked dish; however, if it is composed of bread, no, that is not sufficient. The Gemara asks: What is the reason for this? If we say that we require something that is not routine, and bread is routine, the following difficulty arises: Isn’t porridge not particularly routine? And yet Rav Neḥumi bar Zekharya said in the name of Abaye: One may not establish an eiruv with porridge. Rather, one should say as follows: We require something that accompanies bread, and bread does not accompany itself, and porridge, too, does not accompany bread, as Rabbi Zeira said: Those foolish Babylonians eat bread with bread, from which it is clear that like bread, porridge does not accompany bread and consequently cannot constitute an eiruv. Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: With regard to lentils that remain at the bottom of a pot on the eve of a Festival, one may rely on them for the joining of cooked foods. Although they were not prepared with this purpose in mind, they are nevertheless considered a cooked dish. And this applies only if there is an olive-bulk of lentils in total. Similarly, Rav Yitzḥak, son of Rav Yehuda, said: With regard to fat of meat and the like that is on a knife, one may scrape it off the knife and rely on it for the joining of cooked foods; and this applies only if there is an olive-bulk of fat in total. Rav Asi said that Rav said: Small salted fish that a gentile then cooked are not considered the cooked food of gentiles because cooking does not prepare them to be food any more than they already were, as they can be eaten in their salted state. Rav Yosef said: And even if a gentile roasted them, a Jew may rely on them for the joining of cooked foods, as they are not considered the cooked food of a gentile and are indeed already edible. However, if the gentile made them into fish fried with oil and flour [kasa deharsena], it is prohibited to eat them. In this case they are considered the cooked food of a gentile, since his actions have made them into noteworthy food. The Gemara challenges: It is obvious that this is the case; it need not be taught. The Gemara answers: The justification for teaching it is lest you say that