Kept in from last week: Sometime before Yom Tov, one takes a Challah or Matza and a cooked food (hard boiled egg, piece of gefilte fish, piece of chicken, etc.) which will be eaten on Shabbat (many eat the Eiruv up at Seuda Shlishit, but it only must last until Shabbat to be effective). With baked and cooked items in hand, one recites the bracha...and then makes the Eiruv declaration, which is in Aramaic - because this declaration must be understood and Aramaic was the vernacular of the time. It follows from this that one should make the declaration in whatever language is understood. It is still traditional to say it in Aramaic, but you should feel free to follow the Aramaic with Hebrew and/or English. With this EIRUV it becomes permitted for us to bake, cook, to
“hide” food (refers to packing food into an oven in such a way that not only
will heat be maintained, but increased as well), to light candles, and do all
other needs from Yom Tov to (for) Shabbat - for us and all Jews who live in this
city. What’s an Eiruv Tavshilin? What if tomorrow is Shabbat? MACHLOKET. Talmudic dispute. If this were the end of the story, we’d be allowed to cook on Friday for Shabbat and there would not be such a thing as ET. But the Sages came along and expressed a fear that people would make a mistake and cook on Yom Tov for a regular weekday, if they had permission to cook on Yom Tov for Shabbat. And they banned the cooking on Yom Tov for the following day EVEN when it is Shabbat. If this were now the end of the story, then there still would be no ET, and we would not be allowed to cook on Friday which is Yom Tov for Shabbat (nor even light candles for Shabbat). Since the rabbinic ban on cooking on Friday-Yom Tov for Shabbat was meant to protect Yom Tov from misuse, it is ironic that the effect of the ban is to slight Shabbat by not allowing cooking for Shabbat except “way back” on Erev Yom Tov. And remember, the Torah (according to this opinion, permits the cooking for Shabbat on Yom Tov). So the Sages said the following: Since it is really permitted to
cook on Yom Tov for Shabbat, we will relax our ban if one performs the Eiruv
Tavshilin ceremony thereby officially beginning Shabbat cooking on Erev Yom Tov
and “only” continuing the cooking and preparation on Friday. The Eiruv (as the
word means) merges the cooking of Erev Yom Tov with the cooking of Yom Tov in
honor of the Shabbat. Remembering that this was allowed in the first place
without an Eiruv, the Eiruv serves as a clear reminder that cooking on Yom Tov
for the next day is permitted ONLY when that day is Shabbat. The Sages are no
longer worried, so to speak, that people will make a mistake on a Yom Tov that
is not on Friday, because the Eiruv distinguishes the Friday-YomTov from Yom Tov
on other days of the week. But there is another opinion. That opinion says that the Torah gave us permission to cook on Yom Tov for that day only. Period. Even if the next day is Shabbat, with its higher K’dusha, cooking on Friday-YomTov is not permitted. According to this opinion, an Eiruv, which is a rabbinic mitzva/procedure would have no effect on a Torah prohibition. Rabbinic authority does not extend that far. So this opinion needs a different understanding of Eiruv. We first answer a related question before we get to Eiruv. You finished lunch on Friday-YomTov at 1:00pm. Can you cook food at 2:00pm for Shabbat? No. Answered that already. Can you cook food at 2:00pm for guests who unexpectedly knocked on your door and said they were very hungry? Yes, of course. It’s Yom Tov and cooking on Yom Tov is permitted for consumption on the day itself. May I cook on Yom Tov more food than I need for the day and eat the leftovers on the next day, Shabbat? Yes. (There are some limits to this, such as cooking all the food - for Yom Tov and leftovers - in the same pot. And more. But we’ll leave that discussion for another time.) Easy questions so far.Here’s the clincher. Can I cook at 2:00pm on Friday-Yom Tov for company that MIGHT unexpectedly drop by, or do I have to wait until they are in front of me? Well, the Torah would no longer forbid that cooking, because maybe hungry company will come on Yom Tov. But the Sages would still not allow that cooking... unless you had made an ET on Erev Yom Tov. And there you have it. ET according to the first opinion, allows cooking on Friday-YomTov for Shabbat (which is really allowed by the Torah anyway). ET, according to the second opinion allows cooking on Yom Tov for company that may or may not drop by, and the leftovers (which is all the food, if no company actually showed up) are there for Shabbat. (This too is really permitted by the Torah.) According to both opinions, one may cook food on Friday-YomTov afternoon and that food may be eaten on Shabbat. So the ET works for both opinions. But there is a difference in practice between the two opinions. According to the first opinion, one is allowed to cook on Friday late afternoon, right up to candle lighting time. But according to the second opinion, there has to be enough time after the cooking for the potential unexpected company to eat the food. It is therefore a good practice not to go down to the wire with the cooking on Friday, but to finish with a solid hour (suggestion) before candle lighting. This will satisfy both opinions. And there is one more technical difference. According to the first opinion, lighting Shabbat candles (which is essentially for Shabbat) can be done, courtesy of an ET, with no problem (other than remembering not to strike a match, not to extinguish the fire you use to light the candles). According to the second opinion, the lighting should be for some use on Yom Tov itself, since transferring of fire on Yom Tov is permitted only for the benefit of the day itself, not the next day, even when it is Shabbat. Reading by the light of the candles or examining something that needs the extra light can satisfy the second opinion. According to Tradition, ET is a rabbinic mitzva instituted by
the Sanhedrin of Shlomo HaMelech. This year is the 4th time in five years that Shavuot is Thusday night - Friday. The last 5-year period like this one was 71 years ago. The next one is scheduled for 176 years from now. So that’s four out of five years with EIRUV TAVSHILIN for Shavuot. Last week’s issue of TT had a guide to Eiruv Tavshiln. GREENERY There is a long-standing custom to decorate the shul and one’s home with greenery - grasses and branches (flowers is less part of this minhag and more a borrowing from other cultures) on Shavuot. Several reasons are given for this custom. Immediately prior to and during Matan Torah, people and their cattle and flocks were strictly forbidden to touch Har Sinai. The inclusion of animals in the ban indicates that Har Sinai was nicely adorned with vegetation, and the implication is that this was so in honor of its function as the venue for Matan Torah. Decorating with tree branches is a reminder that the world is judged by G-d on Shavuot concerning the fruit of the tree. It is appropriate to pray on Shavuot for bountiful yields of fruit. Moshe Rabeinu was born on 7 Adar and hidden for three months. He was placed in a waterproof basket, floated on the Nile, hidden among the reeds on the day that was to become Shavuot, 80 years later. Bikurim baskets were adorned and decorated in various ways. Shavuot is Yom HaBikurim. Dairy Foods Shavuot is a Yom Tov. On Yom Tov we have the mitzva of Simcha. One of the traditional forms of Simchat Yom Tov is festive meals with meat and wine. (Note for veggies and others who prefer not eating meat: Meat as Simcha is subjective - if you don't like meat, then you need not have it on Yom Tov; if you enjoy eating meat dishes, THEN it is proper to honor and enjoy Yom Tov in that way. This is when we have no Beit HaMikdash. In the time of the Beit HaMikdash, Simcha is associated with the korban called Shalmei Simcha.) Additionally, we all know of the custom of eating dairy foods on Shavuot. Some people will have a dairy meal on Yom Tov night and a meat meal for lunch. This has a certain logic, since the nighttime is "more specifically Shavuot" and the day is "more generically Yom Tov". Other families will have meat at night and dairy during the day. Still others will make Kiddush and HaMotzi, have some dairy dish (blintzes, perhaps), then bench. Following a short break and a change in table covering, they will wash again, this time for a meat meal. Each according to his/her/their custom. There are many “reasons” for the custom of dairy dishes on Shavuot. Keep in mind that some of the reasons might have produced the custom, while others might be merely additional symbolisms after the fact. Furthermore, some reasons explain why we eat dairy, while others make sense only in the context of having BOTH dairy and meat dishes. The pasuk in Shir HaShirim (4:11) alludes to Torah as “honey and milk under your tongue” (Some mix honey and milk - yogurt or sour cream do well - to match the pasuk.) To commemorate the first Shavuot celebrated in the Midbar when our ancestors ate only dairy dishes. This is because eating kosher meat after receiving the Torah requires much preparation... Mount Sinai is called Har Gavnunim (T'hilim 68:16) and the word GAVNUNIM is similar to G'VINA (cheese). The numeric value of the word CHALAV (milk) is 40, alluding to the forty days and nights Moshe spent on Har Sinai receiving the Torah. Having both dairy and meat dishes as mentioned above requires strict attention to the laws of separation of milk and meat. These laws, of course, are based on the Torah's prohibition of "meat in milk" as presented by the phrase "Do not cook a goat in its mother's milk". This phrase (twice) follows, in the same pasuk, the command to bring Bikurim to the Beit HaMikdash. Shavuot is Yom HaBikurim. Therefore, we eat both dairy and meat dishes, with proper attention to the strictures of halacha, specifically on Shavuot. Halachically (especially when handling food with our hands), it is improper to use the same loaf of bread for both meat and dairy meals because of the food residue that might adhere to the bread. Therefore, a dairy meal and a meat meal will require two loaves of bread, reminiscent of the Two Loaves offering of Shavuot. Some suggest that having a dairy dish and a meat dish is like the "two cooked foods" of the Pesach Seder. Shavuot is not only its own Holiday; it is also the culmination of Pesach - hence, "two foods" on Shavuot as well as Pesach. According to tradition, Moshe Rabeinu was born on the seventh of Adar and was successfully hidden by his parents for three months. It was on the future Shavuot that baby Moshe was placed in the basket on the river and found by the daughter of Par'o. We are taught that Moshe refused to nurse from an Egyptian wetnurse. This led to Miriam's suggestion that Yocheved, Moshe's mother, be asked to nurse him. He, who was to teach all of Israel the Torah, could not drink "mother's milk" from a non-Jew. We commemorate this with dairy dishes on the day of Matan Torah. It might also be suggested that the day of the receiving of the Torah is like the birth of the Nation of Israel, and we have milk to symbolize the spiritual infancy of the People of Israel. The Torah commands us to bring in the Beit HaMikdash a Mincha Chadasha LaShem B'Shavuoteichem. The initial letters of this phrase spell the word MICHALAV - "from milk". This, too, is considered one of the origins of the custom. How about this one? Sources tell us that Bnei Yisrael refused to drink milk or eat dairy at all, fearing that milk was EIVER MIN HACHAI, limb from a living animal (which is forbidden to all people). It was receiving the Torah and its explanations that clarified the issue and taught them that milk was permitted. We celebrate this discovery of our ancestors with dairy dishes on Shavuot. Whether it is cheese blintzes, ½% cottage, yogurt with honey, cheesecake, or lasagna — dairy dishes on Shavuot provide us with much food for thought. Megilat Ruth Many communities read Megilat Ruth on Shavuot morning before Torah reading (outside of Israel the custom is to read it on the second day). Some communities read it in the afternoon. (A recent trend in Vatikin (pre-sunrise) minyanim is to read it before davening.) When read from a kosher megila (Minhag Yerushalayim), the reading is preceded by the brachot ...AL MIKRA MEGILA and SHE'HE'CHEYANU. When it is read from a printed page, no brachot are recited. Several varied reasons combine to make Ruth the perfect reading for Shavuot. The text itself tells us that its story takes place at the time
of the "cutting of the wheat". Shavuot is CHAG HAKATZIR. Akdamot Milin On Shavuot morning, after the Kohen is called to the Torah, but before his bracha and before the reading begins, it is the Ashkenazic custom to responsively recite AKDAMUT, a 90-line poem praising G-d, His Torah and His People. Written by Rabbi Meir of Worms (one of Rashi’s teachers), the poem conveys the spirit of love of G-d and Judaism even in adverse conditions. Rabbi Meir's son was killed by Crusaders and he himself died soon after a "forced debate" with the Christian clergy of his town. The poem celebrates Torah. Each line of Akdamut ends with the syllable TA, which is spelled TAV-ALEF, the last and first letters of the Alef-bet. Some see this as a reminder of the nature of the Torah itself - as soon as we complete reading or learning the Torah, we immediately begin it again. S'faradim do not read Akdamut, but they have the custom of reading a poem called the KETUBA, composed by Rabbi Yosef Najara, celebrating the marriage, so to speak, of G-d and Bnei Yisrael, or the Torah and Bnei Yisrael. They read the KETUBA when the Ark is opened, before the Torahs are taken out. SHIR SHEL YOM According to Minhag Yerushalayim, based on the opinions of the Vilna Gaon, on Yom Tov, a different Psalm replaced the "regular" Psalm of the Day in the Beit HaMikdash. On Shavuot, it’s T’hilim 19. On Shavuot morning, some will say only Friday's chapter. Some will say only Psalm 19, as per Minhag Yerushalayim. Some will say both. Whichever... remember: Shavuot is the yahrzeit of the composer
of T’hilim. The reading begins with the famous pasuk: “In the third month since the Exodus, on THIS day, they (Bnei Yisrael) came to Midbar Sinai.” Rashi’s two comments on “THIS day” are: [1] it was Rosh Chodesh Sivan that the People arrived at Sinai, and [2] the Torah uses the term THIS rather than THAT to teach us that Matan Torah should not be thought of as a “once upon a time, a long time ago” experience, but rather “words of Torah should be fresh in our eyes as if we received it today.” This is such an important concept that it bears constant repeating and constant attention and effort to actualize. Especially when there are so many detractors who proclaim the Torah and its Mitzvot as antiquated, out-dated, and irrelevant, we must be enthusiastic proponents of the opposite view. EITZ CHAYIM HI... the Torah is the living, fresh, vibrant, and complete source of the way of life that allows us to live in this world and to invest everything we do and are with spirituality and value. The second pasuk is no less famous. VAYICHAN SHAM YISRAEL... Israel, as one being with one heart and a singular purpose, camped opposite the mountain. The unparalleled experience of Jewish Unity that gave standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai its everlasting significance becomes one of our special goals of Jewish Life. See the Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading column for some details of the ASERET HADIBROT portion of the Shavuot morning Torah reading. Maftir is the Musaf of Shavuot from Parshat Pinchas (Bamidbar
28:26-31). When Shavuot falls on Friday, in Chutz LaAretz, the second day is Shabbat. We in Israel read Parshat HaShavua (Naso) and go one week ahead of Chu"L. They combine Chukat & Balak to catch up. For 6 Shabbatot we're off each other In addition to the various names and nicknames of Shavuot, it is significant to point out that in the main presentation of the cycle of holy days of the year, Vayikra 23, Shavuot has no name of its own, but is presented as the culmination of Pesach-Omer period. Wordplay on the name: SHAVUOT. With a KAMATZ under the SHIN, pronounced SHAVUOT, the name means WEEKS, as in counting seven weeks from Pesach. With a SH'VA under the SHIN, pronounced SH'VUOT, the name means OATHS, as in the mutual oaths of commitment between G-d and Israel. Remember: Shavu’ot is many things: Dairy foods, Decorations, Learning all night, Megilat Ruth, Akdamut, Aseret HaDibrot - But it is something else too. It is Yom Tov. And that comes with a serious Torah commandment: SIMCHA. Try to include that in your Shavu’ot observance. CHAG SAMEI'ACH [The Shavuot -
Parshat Naso Homepage]
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