We are continuing in siman 3, discussing putting up food before Shabbos to cook into Shabbos. We last discussed the concept of tosefes Shabbos, and the question that comes up regarding the fact that Chazal did not require one to ensure their food was edible by the time they accept Shabbos, but rather by shkia.
We learned that it is a machlokes whether tosefes Shabbos is deoraysa or derabanan. One approach is that, according to the Rambam, the mitzvah of tosefes Shabbos is derabanan, and Chazal chose not to institute this requirement during tosefes Shabbos. A second approach, based on Tosfos and others is that tosefes shabbos is deoraysa. However, possibly only the few minutes before shkia are tosefes Shabbos deoraysa, but adding more than that is derabanan, so again, Chazal did not institute this prohibition during this additional tosefes Shabbos time.
The third approach is that all time added for tosefes Shabbos is deoraysa. Nevertheless, Rav Akiva Eiger suggests that even if all tosefes Shabbos is deoraysa, it is only a mitzvas asei, based on the pasuk tishbesu shabbat’chem. There are no mitzvos lo saasei, no lav or kareis, associated with that time period. Therefore, since there is no kareis or other punishment, and it is a small amount of time, Chazal did not institute their issur.
The Chayei Adam brings down this third answer, and suggests to look in Tosfos in Kesubos 47a, where Tosfos discusses tosefes Yom Tov. Tosfos says that Tosefes Yom Tov is deoraysa, but the issur of marrying a woman on Yom Tov, which is derabanan, does not apply during the time of tosefes Yom Tov. Thus, we see a source for this concept that even if the time of the tosefes is deoraysa, Chazal did not necessarily extend their enactments to that time period.
There is a fourth possibility, suggested by the Levush, regarding how to understand tosefes Shabbos. He is based on the second opinion, that deoraysa the zman of tosefes Shabbos is a minimal amount of time, and is immediately prior to the time a person stops performing melacha, as explained before. The Levush understands that any additional tosefes Shabbos is not a mitzvah derabanan (as the second opinion understood), but rather a neder. Once a person takes upon themselves a neder, it is binding on a Torah level. However, it is not binding because of the concept of tosefes Shabbos, but because of that which they bound upon themselves. In this sense, one could take upon themselves the issurim of Shabbos on a Wednesday. There would be no kedushas Shabbos, but one would still be bound by their neder. If so, unless one were to explicitly include this takana of Chazal in their neder, it is not included.
Rav Akiva Eiger brings the second and third approaches we learned above. Practically, although the Chayei Adam leaves off with a question as to why the requirement of Chazal that the food be edible does not apply when a person accepts early Shabbos, he follows the opinion of the Magen Avraham that it does not apply. Therefore, halacha lemaaseh, if one is making early Shabbos, they do not have to ensure that their food is edible by the time they accept Shabbos, but only by sunset.
Summary
- In order to put up food before Shabbos which will cook into Shabbos, the food must be at least edible before sunset.
- However, if one makes early Shabbos, they do not have to ensure the food is cooked by the time at which they accept Shabbos, but rather by sunset.
