Pesachim 105b — the Talmud in English

He says over it

on Friday night

the Kiddush of the day,

and he should not leave it until tomorrow to drink it in honor of the day in the middle of the meal.

Because the Kiddush of the day takes precedence over the honor of the day.

And if it is so

that it is possible to recite Kiddush throughout the entire day—

let him leave it,

let him leave the cup

until tomorrow, and let him perform two [mitzvot] with it!

Let him recite Kiddush over it, and thereby also fulfill the mitzva of honoring the day [to some extent, even though he does not drink it during the meal]?

He said to him,

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak:

A mitzva is beloved in its time!

For we find that on the altar, on Shabbat, they offer the limbs of the communal offerings of Shabbat, even though according to the basic law it is possible to offer them also at the conclusion of Shabbat.

And here too, it is preferable that he recite Kiddush at night, which is its principal time, rather than wait until tomorrow, despite the fact that he will then also fulfill the mitzva of honoring the day.

And Ravina raises an objection:

And do we say: A mitzva is beloved in its time

with regard to a blessing?

But it was taught in a beraita: One who enters his home at the conclusion of Shabbat

and makes Havdala over the cup—

he recites the blessing over the wine

first, the blessing “Who creates the fruit of the vine,” because the blessing over wine is more frequent than the other blessings.

And

afterward he recites a blessing

over the luminary and over the spices [

according to the words of Beit Shammai. And Beit Hillel hold that the spices come before the luminary, as is our custom].

And afterward he says Havdala over the cup.

Since it is a long blessing, whereas the others are short blessings, he therefore says it last.

And if he has only one cup

and no wine will remain for the cup of the Grace after Meals after his meal at the conclusion of Shabbat—

he sets it aside

for the cup

until after the meal, and combines them

he joins them

all

all the blessings

after it,

for he says all of them after the Grace after Meals over that same cup.

And

it is demonstrated that

we do not say: A mitzva is beloved in its time!

For it is not preferable to make Havdala immediately at the conclusion of Shabbat, before the meal, even though that is the time of Havdala.

He said to him,

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak:

I—

I am not a sage!

I did not say this from my own reasoning, that a mitzva is beloved in its time.

And I am not a seer!

I am not one who tells the future,

and I am not an individual

I did not say this in the name of one individual.

Rather, I am a memorizer,

this is what I heard in the academy,

and I am an arranger

I always arrange teachings [laws] before my teachers,

and this is how they instruct in the beit-midrash, in accordance with me.

And to resolve your difficulty from Havdala, one may say:

I distinguish for us between the entering of the day,

the Kiddush at the entry of the day of Shabbat,

and

between

the departure of the day,

the Havdala, which is at the departure of Shabbat.

For with regard to

the entering of the day—

the earlier we advance it, the better.

And we make it beloved

to advance and perform the Kiddush specifically on Friday night and not on the following day, because a mitzva is beloved in its time, and the zealous rise early for a mitzva.

But with regard to

the departure of the day—

we postpone it!

When there is some pretext, such as where he has only one cup, we postpone the Havdala until after the meal,

so that it should not be for us like a burden!

so that Shabbat should not appear to us as a burden, from which we hurry to free ourselves.

Derive from this beraita eight

eight laws:

a.

Derive from it: One who makes Havdala in the prayer,

who says “You have graciously granted us knowledge,”

must make Havdala

also

over the cup.

For the beraita teaches: “One who enters his home at the conclusion of Shabbat recites a blessing over the wine,” even though ordinarily people make Havdala in the prayer.

b.

And derive from it: A blessing,

the Grace after Meals,

requires a cup.

For it teaches that he sets aside the cup after the meal in order to recite the blessing over it.

c.

And derive from it: A cup of blessing—

requires a measure,

that there be at least a quarter-log in it.

For if not, he could divide the cup that he has into two, and he would be able to make Havdala at the proper time, and wine would still remain for another cup over which he could afterward recite the Grace after Meals.

d.

And derive from it: One who recites a blessing

over the cup

must taste

from it!

For if not, he could first make Havdala and leave the cup full for the Grace after Meals.

e.

And derive from it: His tasting—

invalidates it!

For if he tasted from the cup, it is disqualified for a cup of blessing.

For if not, he could make Havdala and taste a cheekful from it, and a quarter-log would still remain for the Grace after Meals [and this is the case being discussed here: that he has more than a quarter-log in the one cup. “He has only one cup” means that it contains less than two quarter-logs. Tosafot, s.v. “Derive from it: His tasting”].

f.

And derive from it: One who tasted—

makes Havdala!

One who ate before Havdala can still make Havdala in the evening, and need not wait until tomorrow and make Havdala before eating [for there is one who says that he holds this way, below, 106b]. For here he eats his meal first, and afterward makes Havdala.