Beitzah 15b (טו:) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

1.

When Yom Tov occurs on the eve of Shabbat—

one may not initially cook;

one’s cooking may not be primarily intended as preparation

from Yom Tov for Shabbat.

However,

rather,

he cooks

the main part of his cooking

for Yom Tov,

without subterfuge.

And if he leaves over

some of his cooking, he has

left it over for Shabbat.

This permission stands on its own, without the need to resort to the enactment of an eruv tavshilin.

2.

And

one who wishes to make the main part of his cooking on Yom Tov for Shabbat:

he

makes a cooked dish

for the purpose of an eruv tavshilin

on the eve of Yom Tov, and relies upon it,

upon the eruv tavshilin that he placed, in order to cook the main part of his cooking from Yom Tov

for Shabbat.

3. What is an eruv tavshilin?

Beit Shammai say: Two cooked dishes.

And Beit Hillel say:

one

cooked dish is sufficient.

And they agree,

Beit Shammai agreeing with Beit Hillel,

with regard to a

roasted

fish with an egg upon it,

an egg roasted together with the fish after it has been spread over the fish—

that they

are considered

two cooked dishes,

and one fulfills the obligation of an eruv with two cooked dishes through them, even though they are roasted together and eaten as a single cooked dish.

4. And if

they ate

the eruv on Yom Tov before he cooked for Shabbat,

or it was lost,

the eruv—he

may not cook relying upon it

on Yom Tov

initially

for Shabbat.

And if he left any amount of it—he

may rely upon it

to cook on Yom Tov

for Shabbat.

Gemara:

We raise an objection:

From where are these matters derived?

Upon what did the Sages base the enactment of an eruv tavshilin, by virtue of which they permitted cooking from Yom Tov for Shabbat?

Shmuel said:

The Sages based it on that

which the verse says

(Exodus 20):

“Remember the day of Shabbat, to sanctify it.”

—This is to be understood only as an asmachta, a textual support:

Remember it,

make a remembrance for Shabbat,

from

the day

before—

which has come to make you forget it!

For when Yom Tov occurs on the eve of Shabbat and a person is then occupied with preparing the Yom Tov meal, he may forget about Shabbat and fail to prepare an appropriate portion in honor of the Shabbat meal, in keeping with the honor due to Shabbat.

Therefore, it is implied [as a mere textual support] from the verse that one should make a remembrance for Shabbat through an eruv tavshilin: one prepares and sets aside this cooked dish specifically for Shabbat and does not eat it on Yom Tov. Through the eruv tavshilin, which is, as stated, preparation for the Shabbat meal, a person remembers Shabbat even on Yom Tov.

Later, the Gemara will cite a beraita with another textual support.

The Gemara now explains:

What is the reason?

What is the reason that the Sages instituted an eruv tavshilin?

For Shmuel’s statement explains only the textual support for this: that a person should remember Shabbat even on Yom Tov by preparing an eruv tavshilin. But the verse itself does not deal with an eruv tavshilin, which is merely an enactment of the Sages; rather, it deals with the mitzva of remembering the day over wine.

However, this textual support does not indicate whether the reason for the enactment is concern for the honor of Shabbat, or concern for observing the law of Yom Tov, in which case they instituted that one remember Shabbat and thereby come to observe Yom Tov, as will be explained below.

Rava and Rav Ashi disagree over the reason for the enactment.

Rava said:

The Sages instituted an eruv tavshilin

so that he will select

for himself on Yom Tov

a choice portion for Shabbat and a choice portion for Yom Tov.

That is, the Sages required one to make an eruv tavshilin so that he would remember Shabbat and not forget on Yom Tov his obligation to prepare the Shabbat meal. Rather, he would take care that an attractive portion of the food he cooks on Yom Tov would remain also for Shabbat.

Rav Ashi said:

The reason for the enactment is not concern for the honor of Shabbat, but concern for Yom Tov. They instituted that a person remember Shabbat on Yom Tov through an eruv tavshilin,

so that people will say

the following:

If

one does not bake from Yom Tov for Shabbat,

unless he placed an eruv tavshilin—that is, one may not begin cooking for Shabbat unless he had already begun engaging in the preparation of Shabbat needs on the eve of Yom Tov [for the eruv tavshilin is the beginning of the preparation of Shabbat needs on the eve of Yom Tov],

then

by a kal va-chomer

one does not bake

from Yom Tov for an ordinary weekday!

The Gemara raises an objection to Rava’s statement from our Mishna:

We learned: He makes a cooked dish on the eve of Yom Tov—

and relies upon it for Shabbat.

Granted, according to Rav Ashi, who said

that they instituted an eruv tavshilin for the honor of Yom Tov,

so that people will say

that if

one does not bake

the beginning of the baking and cooking

from Yom Tov for Shabbat,

unless he began cooking and baking on the eve of Yom Tov, by preparing the eruv tavshilin—

that is,

it is understandable

that

only

on the eve of Yom Tov

it is not—one must prepare the eruv tavshilin, thereby demonstrating to people that one may not begin cooking and baking for Shabbat on Yom Tov.

But

on

Yom Tov one

may not

place an eruv tavshilin, since the entire essence of the eruv tavshilin is to begin cooking for Shabbat on the eve of Yom Tov.

But according to Rava,

who says that the Sages instituted an eruv tavshilin for the honor of Shabbat, so that one would not forget to select an attractive portion also for Shabbat,

why specifically

should one place an eruv tavshilin

on the eve of Yom Tov?

After all,

even on Yom Tov itself

he could make it, before preparing the meal, so that he would select through it an attractive portion for Shabbat!

And we answer:

Indeed, that is so:

According to Rava, there would be reason to say that one should place the eruv tavshilin on Yom Tov itself. But the reason they instituted that one prepare the eruv on the eve of Yom Tov is

only a decree, lest he be negligent

and forget to make the eruv on Yom Tov because he is preoccupied.

The Gemara now cites the other textual support for an eruv tavshilin:

And the tanna

in a beraita

cites it—

the textual support for an eruv tavshilin—

from here:

It is written in the portion of Beshalach [Exodus 16]:

“What you will bake, bake; and what you will cook, cook.”

And from the repetition of the wording, “What you will bake, bake,” and likewise, “What you will cook, cook,” we learn:

From here Rabbi Elazar said: One may not bake

on Yom Tov for Shabbat

unless

only as an addition

to

the beginning of

what was baked

on the eve of Yom Tov for Shabbat.

And one may not cook

from Yom Tov for Shabbat

unless

as an addition

to what was cooked

on the eve of Yom Tov for Shabbat.

From here the Sages derived support from the Torah for the laws of an eruv tavshilin.

The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer, who was sitting

on Yom Tov in the beit-midrash

and expounding

to his students

throughout the entire day on the laws of Yom Tov.

While he was sitting and expounding,

the first group went out

of students in order to eat the Yom Tov meal in their homes.

He said

Rabbi Eliezer about them:

These

are owners of

large wine jars.

They had prepared large barrels of wine for themselves to drink, and their desire to drink draws them away from hearing words of Torah, and they are unwilling to toil in it.

The

second group went out.

Rabbi Eliezer said:

Rabbi Eliezer said:

These are

owners of small barrels,

he said.

The

third group went out.

He said: These are owners of jugs,

which are smaller than barrels.

The

fourth group went out.

He said: These are owners of laginim.

Small containers, smaller than jugs.

The

fifth group went out.

He said: These are owners of cups.

The sixth group began to leave.

Rabbi Eliezer said

about them:

These are accursed people!

They are accursed because of the emptying they are now causing in the beit-midrash, for it is disgraceful for the beit-midrash to become so empty now. And the matter was distressing to Rabbi Eliezer.

Rabbi Eliezer cast

his

eyes upon the students

with an angry look!

The faces began

of the students who remained

to change.

They were frightened of him, but this was a mistake, for they thought that he was casting his angry eyes upon them because they were not leaving to eat the Yom Tov meal.

He said to them: My sons, I am not speaking to you

when I say that these people are accursed.

Rather, I mean those who left

before you, because

they

are

forsaking eternal life,

the study of Torah,

and engaging in temporal life,

the eating of Yom Tov.

At the time of their departure,

when they took leave of him,

he said to them

Rabbi Eliezer the verse from Nehemiah [8:10]:

“Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and send portions

to one for whom nothing is prepared, for the day is holy to our Lord. And do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

The Master said

in the beraita:

“They forsake eternal life and engage in temporal life.”

We raise an objection:

But the joy of Yom Tov—

it is a mitzva,

and is it not an engagement in “temporal life”?

And we answer:

Rabbi Eliezer

follows

his own reasoning, for he said: The joy of Yom Tov

is not an obligatory mitzva, but a mitzva of

optional character.

As it was taught in a beraita, Rabbi Eliezer says: A person has nothing to do on Yom Tov except

to fulfill the mitzva of rejoicing on Yom Tov throughout the entire day in one of two ways:

Either

the entire day he will

eat and drink,

rejoicing in his eating and drinking.

Or

he will

sit and study

throughout the entire day, rejoicing in the words of Torah study.

Rabbi Yehoshua says: Divide it

the day of Yom Tov:

half for the Lord,

for the synagogue and the beit-midrash,

and half for you,

for eating and drinking.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: And both of them—

expounded a single verse.

One verse says

[Deuteronomy 16]:

“A solemn assembly

for the Lord your God.”

And another verse says

[Numbers 29]:

“There shall be a solemn assembly

for you.”

How can this be understood?

Rabbi Eliezer holds:

The choice of the form of rejoicing is left to the person, and he may do:

either all of it for the Lord, or all of it for you.

And Rabbi Yehoshua holds:

The mitzva of rejoicing is:

Divide it

the day of Yom Tov into two parts, and rejoice through both forms of rejoicing—

half for the Lord and half for you.

The Gemara explains the verse in the Book of Nehemiah cited in the beraita:

What is the meaning of

“Send portions”

to one for whom nothing is prepared?

Rav Ḥisda said: To one who did not set aside an eruv tavshilin,

and therefore cannot prepare for the Shabbat that follows Yom Tov.

Some say:

To

one who was unable to set aside an eruv tavshilin

because he was preoccupied—for example, his lost property had gone missing and he was searching for it.

But one who was able to set aside an eruv tavshilin and did not do so—

he is negligent,

and one should not assist him.

And

what is the meaning of “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 Israel: My children! Borrow from Me

for the needs of the joy of Yom Tov,

and sanctify the sanctity of the day, and trust in Me, and I will repay.

That is, the joy with which you rejoice for the sake of God is your strength, and by virtue of this God will help you repay your debt.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Shimon: One who wishes his possessions to endure—

should plant an adar among them,

a significant tree. Because of the tree’s importance, its presence among his possessions publicizes his ownership of them: everyone knows that the place where the adar grows belongs to him, and they will not come to seize it when he leaves for a foreign country.

And the textual support for understanding adar as an expression of strength and endurance is from the verse:

as it is stated

[Psalms 93]:

“The Lord is mighty on high.”

Alternatively, “adar”—

according to its name,

as people interpret the name of this tree, called adar.

As people say: What is

the meaning of the name of the tree adar, which is called in Aramaic

“adra”?—

It endures for generations upon generations.

Since its presence publicizes that it grows among his possessions, they will endure for generations, for him and for his heirs.

It was taught likewise,

that an adar preserves a field for its owner:

As it was taught:

A field in which there is an adar—

is neither robbed nor seized,

from its owners by force [or through payment], because its presence publicizes that it belongs to its owners.

And its produce is safeguarded [^See Rashi’s two explanations. One of them is that here the reference is to a herb and not to a tree, and that the scent of this herb drives away pests that damage grain.