Halachos of Yom Tov

Erev Shavuos Which Falls on Shabbos (5782)

Yom Tov Preparations on Shabbos

1. One may not prepare things on Shabbos for Yom Tov since the kedushoh of Shabbos is greater than that of Yom Tov, and it is like preparing on Shabbos for a weekday (ע”פ מ”ב סי’ ש”ב סקי”ט), unless the preparations are also somewhat for Shabbos.
2. Washing dishes. Washing dishes after the Shabbos seudoh for the upcoming night seudoh is like preparing on Shabbos for Yom Tov and is ossur (שו”ע סי’ שכ”ג ס”ו). If the wife is finicky and dirty dishes in the sink greatly bother her and she generally does not leave dirty dishes in the sink for a long time even during the week, she may wash the dishes in the sink since doing so is also for Shabbos itself (שלחן שלמה שם סק”ג), but she has to be honest with herself.
3. Similarly, she may wash dishes on Shabbos if there is an ant infestation in the kitchen or the like, even if she will not be using them until Yom Tov.
4. Setting the table. One may clean the table after the Shabbos seudoh or seudoh shlishis since a clean, neat table is part of kevod Shabbos. One may not bring dishes to the table to set it up for the Yom Tov seudoh; that is preparing on Shabbos for Yom Tov (רמ”א סי’ תרס”ז ובמ”ב סק”ו).
5. Non-Jew. One may ask a non-Jew to do any Yom Tov preparations which may not be done by a Jew on Shabbos due to the effort involved if they do not involve melochoh. Thus, one may ask a non-Jew present in his house to wash dishes or set the table for the Yom Tov seudoh (פמ”ג סי’ תק”ג א”א סק”א, אורחות חיים סי’ תצ”ד סק”ג).

Donning Yom Tov Clothes on Shabbos

• Yom Tov clothes should be nicer than Shabbos clothes (שו”ע סי’ תקכ”ט ס”א). When Erev Yom Tov falls on Shabbos, lechatchiloh one should wear his Yom Tov clothes from the beginning of Shabbos so as not to degrade Shabbos (הגר”ח קנייבסקי, מבקשי תורה יו”ט עמ’ רי”ב). If he did not put them on before the start of Shabbos, he should at least put them on before Shabbos is over with kevod Shabbos in mind as well, or don them after dark with kevod Yom Tov in mind. He should not don them at the end of Shabbos as that looks like preparing (כפה”ח סי’ תקכ”ט סכ”ג).

Toiveling in a Mikveh for Yom Tov

• Some write that toiveling in a mikveh on Shabbos afternoon in honor of Yom Tov is not an issue of preparing (ספר ע”פ שחל בשבת פי”ב הע’ נ”ג). However, others write that one may not toivel on Shabbos in honor of Yom Tov (מו”ר בעל קנה בשם ח”ג סי’ כ”ב וכ”ג). Therefore, when toiveling Shabbos morning, one should also have kevod Yom Tov in mind.

Hadlokas Neiros

• A woman may only light Yom Tov candles when it is definitely night; this depends on each person’s minhag regarding the definition of night with respect to Motzei Shabbos. This is for the aspects of both issur Shabbos and the Yom Tov of Shavuos (לוח א”י) if she makes a Shehecheyonu when lighting.
• “Neironim” – candles in a glass. Those who use for hadlokas neiros wax candles which turn into liquid when lit may remove the foil disc remaining at the bottom of the glass from the Shabbos candles on Yom Tov night to prepare it for the Yom Tov lighting; this is not an issue of muktzeh (אורחות שבת פי”ט אות ר”ח). If one can remove it with a knife, that is preferable (מו”ר מרן גאב”ד ירושלים).
• Wicks. One may also remove the wicks from the Shabbos candles and put in new wicks on Yom Tov night since lighting them is for eating purposes and moving muktzeh is mutar for ochel nefesh (הג’ רע”א לט”ז סי’ תק”א סק”ז). Lechatchiloh, one should pour them directly into the garbage without actually moving them with his hands (שו”ת באר משה ח”ח סי’ קס”ח).

Taking Food out of the Freezer on Shabbos for Yom Tov

1. Some say one may not take food out of the freezer on Shabbos to thaw for Yom Tov since that is considered preparing on Yom Tov for Shabbos (הגרש”ז, שש”כ פ”י הע’ ל”ג, הגריש”א, אשרי האיש ח”ג פ”ג הע’ קל”ב).
2. However, others say the issur of doing preparations which involve effort is only if they are being done just to save time on Yom Tov; something which cannot be done on Yom Tov night and may cause a loss is not ossur (ח”א כלל קנ”ג ס”ו הובא במ”ב סי’ תרס”ז סק”ה).
3. Based on this, the poskim write that given no other choice, one may remove things from the freezer on Shabbos for Yom Tov, since if he would wait until Yom Tov, he would need to wait several hours, which could lead to a loss (מו”ר בשו”ת שבט הקהתי ח”א סי’ קנ”ח). Still, he should remove them with plenty of time left in the day in a way that is not clear that he is doing it for Yom Tov (מ”ב שם).

Heating Up Food for Yom Tov

1. When heating up food on a hot plate, in the oven, etc. for the Yom Tov seudoh, one must make sure to put it in after tzeis according to his minhag. Doing so beforehand, even in a way permitted on Shabbos, is preparing for Yom Tov on Shabbos.

Havdoloh on Motzei Shabbos Which is Yom Tov

1. When Motzei Shabbos falls on Yom Tov night, Havdoloh is said in Kiddush. The mnemonic for the order of the brochos is YaKNeHaZ – Yayin [Borei Pri Hagofen]; Kiddush; Neir [Borei Me’orei Ho’eish]; Havdoloh; and Zman [Shehecheyonu].
2. The Havdoloh brochoh ends, “המבדיל בין קודש לקודש.” If one mistakenly concluded, “המבדיל בין קודש לחול” and did not correct himself within toch kedei dibur, he is not yotzei and must make havdoloh again (שו”ת שבט הלוי ח”ח סי’ קי”ח). It is unclear if he has to repeat Borei Pri Hagofen so he should not say it again (שש”כ פס”ב הע’ מ”ז).
3. One does not make a brochoh on besomim in this havdoloh (מ”ב סי’ תע”ג סק”ג). Similarly, one does not pour out some wine for a siman brochoh as usual (רמ”א סי’ רצ”ו ס”א) since it is degrading to Yom Tov to worry about making money, which is ossur on Yom Tov (הגרשז”א, שש”כ פס”ב סט”ו).
4. Forgot Havdoloh. If one forgot to make Havdoloh in Kiddush, he must stop his seudoh whenever he remembers, make Havdoloh over a cup of wine, and make a brochoh on the neir and Hamavdil; as long as he is mid-seudoh, he should not repeat Hagofen. If he only remembered the next day, he should make Havdoloh over a cup of wine without a brochoh on the neir (שש”כ שם סי”ט).

Shabbos Clock

Heter to Use a Shabbos Clock

1. One may only use a Shabbos clock on Shabbos and Yom Tov for things which they are already commonly used for and are for the honor and enjoyment of Shabbos, e.g., to turn on lights, heat, air conditioning, a hot plate, an oven, etc.; it is degrading to Shabbos to use Shabbos clocks for other electric appliances. If the appliance makes noise, e.g., a sound system, or radio, even if it serves as an alarm clock, there is an additional issur of ‘avsho milso’ [causing something which creates noise on Shabbos]. [In a time of danger or war, ch”v, follow the Rabbonim’s instructions.]

Adjusting a Shabbos Clock on Yom Tov

• Gromo. Analog Shabbos clocks have pins representing every 15 minutes or half hour. Just moving these pins does not cause an immediate change in their operation. Many poskim hold that moving the pins to cause the device to turn on or off sooner or later is a gromo, not a true action (שו”ת מנחת שלמה ח”ב סי’ כ”ג אות ב’). A gromo is still ossur, however, and only allowed in specific circumstances, as will be detailed. [Adjusting a digital Shabbos clock in any manner is ossur.]
• To turn on sooner. When the timer is in the “off” position, adjusting the pins to make the device turn on sooner than it was set to is considered a “gram hadlokoh,” which is ossur on both Shabbos and Yom Tov, unless it is for a choleh – even one not in danger –, to prevent a loss, or for another pressing need (ע”פ הרמ”א סי’ של”ד סכ”ב ובביאה”ג שם, שו”ע הרב סי’ תקי”ד סכ”א, שש”כ מהדו”ח פי”ג אות כ”ח). Some allow this on Yom Tov even if it is not for a choleh since the melocho of hav’oro is mutar mide’oraiso (שש”כ שם אות ל”א).
• To turn off sooner. When the timer is in the “on” position but set to turn off at a certain time, adjusting the pins to make the device turn off sooner is considered a “gram kibui,” which is ossur on Shabbos, unless it will prevent a loss or fulfill a pressing need, as stated above. The Mechaber holds gram kibui on something which is burning is ossur on Yom Tov just like Shabbos (שו”ע סי’ תקי”ד ס”ג); some say gram kibui is mutar on Yom Tov (רמ”א שם) even if it is not to prevent a loss (שעה”צ שם סקל”א).
• Extending the current status. However, if the timer is in the “off” position, one may adjust the pins to make the device stay off longer than it otherwise would have; the same applies when it is on and one wants to extend the amount of time it will stay on (שו”ת חלקת יעקב ח”א סי’ נ”ח, שש”כ פי”ג הע’ צ’).
• If the timer is currently off and set to turn on for some time and then off again, one may adjust the pins before it goes on to make it turn off again earlier than it was set to, even according to the Mechaber; this is not considered extinguishing something which is burning. Similarly, if it is on and set to go off and back on, one may adjust it while it is on to make it go on sooner after turning off.
• Changing it to timer mode. If one set a timer before Shabbos to turn a device off after some time but left it on its weekday setting, i.e., it will stay on continuously, he may not change it to its Shabbos setting even if it is set to be on at that moment. In a very urgent situation, he may change it to the Shabbos setting with a shinui if it will stay on for the time being and only turn off later (שש”כ שם אות ל”ה).
• Muktzeh or boneh? Some say a Shabbos clock is inherently muktzeh (שו”ת מנח”י ח”א סי’ נ”ח) or involves an issue of boneh or tikun kli (חזו”א, חוט שני שבת ח”א קונטרס החשמל). According to them, one may not adjust a Shabbos clock even in the manners described above. However, most poskim disagree since this is the normal way to use a Shabbos clock; they hold it is not muktzeh since there is a mutar way to adjust it.
• Bottom line. Since some fear there is an issur to adjust a Shabbos clock, and even the mekilim only allow it if there is a need, one should not regularly adjust Shabbos clocks; lechatchiloh he should try to set them up in advance for Shabbos and Yom Tov [including Yom Tov Sheini for Chutznikim] in a way that he will not need to adjust them at all. If, despite all that, a need arises to adjust one on Yom Tov, one may be meikel in the aforementioned manners, taking great care not to accidentally adjust the sensitive clock mechanism, causing an instant change.
• Non-Jew. One may have a non-Jew adjust a Shabbos clock in any way that will not cause an immediate status change since there is no issur gromo through a non-Jew (שו”ת מנח”י ח”ג סי’ ל”ז).
• Child. One may also ask a child below Bar Mitzvoh age to adjust a Shabbos clock to enhance the honor or enjoyment of Shabbos or Yom Tov since this is a matter of machlokes among the poskim and it is a chumroh not to do so (ע”פ רמ”א סי’ רנ”ט ס”ז, מקור חיים לחו”י).

Dishwasher

• Even though modern dishwashers are very quiet and almost imperceptible when in use, it is degrading to operate them on Shabbos or Yom Tov and one may not do so (שו”ת אג”מ או”ח ח”ד סי’ ס’). Also, many types of dishwashers involve potential gromo of bishul when closing the door or issur shehiyoh when the cold water heats up in the machine, which also applies to water used to wash dishes (מג”א סי’ רנ”ד סקכ”ו, ארחות שבת ח”ג פכ”ט הע’ כ”ד).
• One may put dirty dishes in a dishwasher to store them there until Motzei Shabbos or Motzei Yom Tov since it is normal to store dirty dishes there during the week as well (שו”ת אג”מ או”ח ח”ד ס”ס ע”ד). However, one may not rinse them a bit before putting them in to make it easier to clean them since that is preparing for the week.
• Similarly, one may open the dishwasher door to remove clean dishes if he needs them since a dishwasher is a kli shemelachto le’issur, which is mutar letzorech gufo or mekomo. He may also close the door after taking out or putting in dishes since the open door interferes with use of the kitchen and closing it is letzorech mekomo (ארחות שבת פי”ט אות נ”א). However, one must be sure that opening the door will not cause a light or display screen to go on.

Select Hilchos Yom Tov

Oven

• One may insert or remove things from an electric oven on Yom Tov, but one may not turn it on or off. One should verify that it will go on through a Shabbos clock or the like.
• Thermostat. Most ovens have a thermostat which activates the heating mechanisms when the door is opened and cold air enters. Sometimes this happens right when the door is opened. Thus, if one has an old type of oven which has a red light when the heating mechanism is active, he may only open the door when the heating mechanism is already on to avoid activating it by opening the door.
• If the oven does not have a light indicating the operation of the heating mechanism, one may not open the oven door when it is on since doing so may activate the heating mechanism, unless he knows it is not very sensitive and opening the door will not immediately activate it. In such a case, he may rely on the mekilim who allow opening the door if it is not a psik reisho, in the same way they hold one may open a refrigerator door.
• Convection [“turbo”]. Some convection ovens have a fan which goes off when the door is opened and back on when it is closed. One may not open the door of this type of oven while it is on.
• Shabbos mode. Some ovens have a Shabbos mode endorsed by a kashrus body. This generally prevents the fan from going off or the thermostat or light from going on when the door is opened. Thus, one may use this type of oven on Shabbos mode on Yom Tov.

Urn

• One may add cold water to an urn on Yom Tov. This is even mutar in an electric urn with a thermostat that may cause a light or heating mechanism to go on when a lot of water is added as long as it is not a psik reisho that it will go on right away. This is because “gram hav’oro” is mutar for ochel nefesh (הגרשז”א, שש”כ פ”ב הע’ כ”ג).

Reading a List

• Menu. When there is more than one day of Yom Tov, e.g., when it is right before or after Shabbos, women will often make a menu on paper before Yom Tov to remind them which dishes to serve, what needs to be removed from the freezer, etc. The Shulchon Oruch (סי’ ש”ז סי”ב) writes that one may not read a written list lest he come to erase or write. Another reason given is that he may come to read shtorei hedyotos (מ”ב שם סקמ”ז). In view of this, the poskim discuss whether one may read a list of courses.
• Some say a woman may glance at it to remind herself of the order of the courses (הגרשז”א, שלחן שלמה בשולי הגליון סק”ו), but she may not scrutinize it lest she come to erase or jot down a change.
• Someone else. Some recommend she ask someone else who does not have the authority to change anything on the menu to read it to her. This way, there is no fear that he will erase or change anything. Also, since he is reading it for the seudas mitzvoh of Yom Tov, there is no fear this will lead to reading shtorei hedyotos (הגר”נ קרליץ, איל משולש שטרי הדיוטות פ”ג הע’ ל”ה).
• List of kibudim at a bris. Due to the above reason, someone making a bris may not look at a list of kibbudim he prepared for the bris since it is common to erase or edit things if an honoree is not present. Still, he may give the list to the mohel or another person to read out loud since the mohel is not allowed to make changes to the order of the kibbudim and it is for a mitzvoh purpose, as above. This is like the case of the shamash discussed by the the Mishnoh Beruroh (שם).