ET at home - that's Eruv Tavshilin, showing in your kitchen this Erev Rosh Hashana

The issue (briefly stated): This year, Rosh Hashana falls on Thursday and Friday leading directly into Shabbat. How do you prepare food for Shabbat?

Factors: (1) On Yom Tov (including Rosh Hashana), Halacha (Jewish law) prohibits preparing (hachana) for events after Yom Tov. This Talmudic prohibition is Rabbinic in origin, to make sure that we treat Yom Tov as such, rather than abandoning it's precious time for alternative pursuits. (2) Halacha also prohibits cooking on Shabbat, as it is one of the melachot, categories of creative labour that are proscribed on Shabbat so that we recognise G'd's control of the world and can appreciate, through abstaining, all of the creativity that we display in the week.

Yom Tov is a different kind of day with a different purpose. 'Half for G'd, half for you' (Talmud Pesachim 68b) http://www.e-daf.com/index.asp. As such, it has aspects of Shabbat and aspects which are unique to Yom Tov, which perhaps will be the subject of another post.

The solution?... Enter the 'Eruv Tavshilin' - ok, now you are on your chairs cheering, and here's why by way of a brief explanation explaining the why and how.

The Why (If you just want the 'how', skip to the conclusion below)

We can cook food on Yom Tov for consumption on Yom Tov. This is one of the main differences between Shabbat and Yom Tov and is called 'Ochel Nefesh' (see Shemot 12:16 http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0212.htm). As the Mishna http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/Mishnah.html puts it, (Megila 1:5) 'ein bein Shabbat veYom Tov ela ochel nefesh bilvad' - the only difference between Shabbat and Yom Tov (regarding melacha/prohibited labour) is ochel nefesh.

Or, as the Egged bus company puts it, 'Ein bein Yerushalayim u'Bnei Brak ela shemona esrei shekalim bilvad! (The only thing beween Jerusalem and Bnei Brak is 18 shekels!)

Paranthetically, Ochel Nefesh is also the important in understanding why carrying items from one domain to the other, such as from your house into the street ('carrying'), is permitted on Yom Tov even in a place that has no 'Eruv' (the Eruv that allows carrying is an Eruv Chatzeirot, colloquially called an 'Eruv').

Anyway, back at the ranch...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/J.R..JPG

sorry, I could not resist that!

...whilst the Rabbis applied the prohibition of hachana, they could also set its paramaters. They ruled that if you begin to prepare a meal before Yom Tov, then it is clear that you are simply continuing to prepare that meal on Yom Tov Friday afternoon for Shabbat. The Rabbis felt that this gave people sufficient notice to realise that Yom Tov was not being infringed since the preparations for Shabbat had already started prior to Yom Tov.

In addition, this helps us fulfill the reqirement to eat well on both Yom Tov and Shabbat, while not wasting the sanctity of both, especially as food prepared on Wednesday is unlikely to be as good as it should be if it remains uneaten until Friday night. Eruv Tavshilin allows us to honour both Yom Tov and Shabbat.

The name 'Eruv Tavshilin' alludes to this, as it means a mixture of foods, for both Yom Tov and Shabbat. (See Raivid's comments to, Hilchot Yom Tov 6:2). To complete the circle, the Eruv Tavshilin food is eaten on Shabbat. As we will see below, it makes sense to use food which will keep until Shabbat.

(For a fuller summary, see Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin's Moadim beHalacha, also available in English as The Festivals in Halacha (It's in the Shul library) http://www.artscroll.com/Books/fesh.html whose presentation I found very useful. There is lots more to say on this, as anybody who learnt Masechet Betiza in the Talmud will tell you).

Conclusion: The How (see Artscroll Siddur page 654, Green Siddur page 643)

• Some time on Wednesday afternoon, the eve (erev - again, nearly the same word! Why that's the case, we'll examine another time all being well!) of Rosh Hashana, take a challa or matza along with another piece of cooked food, such as egg, meat, or fish. Hold the foods up (on a plate if necessary) and recite the beracha (blessing) and declaration in the Siddur. You can say this declaration in English if you like but why not challenge yourself with the Aramaic if necessary. The declaration was originally in Aramaic to help people understand, just like a Ketuba...!!


• Make sure that you make the Eruv Tavshilin before you light candles. The latest time for lighting candles is 7.08pm.


• Eat the Eruv Tavshilin foods on Shabbat.

Ps - make sure that you have a 48 or longer candle to light before you light the Yom Tov lights on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, take a long match or taper, set it alight fromthe 48 hour candle and use the match or taper to light your Yom Tov candles on Thursday (after 8.07pm) and your Shabbat candles on Friday (before 7.03pm).

Shana Tova! /Good new year