Eruv Tavshilin: The Jewish Solution for Holiday to Shabbat Preparations

When a festival (Yom Tov) occurs immediately before Shabbat, the sages prohibited cooking or preparing food on Yom Tov for Shabbat, as doing so would appear to diminish the sanctity of the festival.

To address this, the sages instituted the practice of Eruv Tavshilin. By setting aside specific foods before the festival begins, a person demonstrates that the preparations for Shabbat already began before Yom Tov. Any cooking done on the festival is therefore considered merely a continuation and completion of those preparations.

For this reason, when a festival falls on Thursday and Friday, anyone who wishes to cook for Shabbat must prepare an Eruv Tavshilin beforehand.

Who Is Exempt?

The primary purpose of the Eruv Tavshilin is to permit cooking and baking on Yom Tov for Shabbat.

When All Food Was Prepared Before Yom Tov

If all Shabbat food was already cooked before the festival and nothing remains to be prepared, an Eruv Tavshilin is not required.

If someone wishes to perform the mitzvah anyway, the eruv may be set aside without a blessing, as blessings are not recited in cases of doubt.

If one wants to fulfill the mitzvah fully, it is preferable to leave at least one dish to prepare on Yom Tov. For example, one may place uncooked eggs into the Shabbat cholent on Yom Tov. Since some cooking is still being done for Shabbat, the blessing on the eruv may be recited.

Guests in a Hotel

Families staying in a hotel or guesthouse who do not cook any food themselves for Shabbat are exempt from making an Eruv Tavshilin.

Guests in Someone Else’s Home

Guests staying with friends or relatives do not need to prepare their own eruv. They rely on the Eruv Tavshilin of the host and may participate in cooking and preparations as members of the household.

How to Make an Eruv Tavshilin

On the eve of the festival, one sets aside:

• A cooked, roasted, or pickled food that is normally eaten with bread

• A baked item in the amount of at least a kezayit (approximately 27 grams)

Many people use a boiled egg together with bread.

Being that modern refrigeration preserves food well, it is considered especially proper to use a respectable food such as meat or fish for the mitzvah.

The Blessing and Declaration

When setting aside the eruv, one recites the blessing: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the mitzvah of Eruv.”

After the blessing, the traditional declaration is recited in Aramaic. If one does not understand Aramaic, it may be said in Hebrew or another language.

Aramaic Text Translation

“With this eruv it shall be permitted for us to bake, cook, light a candle, and do all our needs from the festival for Shabbat.”

It is recommended that the wife hear the blessing and declaration from her husband, as the eruv primarily permits the household cooking that she usually performs.

Nevertheless, if she did not hear it, the eruv remains valid and she may cook and bake as usual.

Time of Preparations

The eruv permits cooking from Yom Tov for Shabbat, but not beforehand.

It is best not to delay cooking until late Friday afternoon. Ideally, the food should be ready early enough that if guests were to arrive on Friday, the food could already be served.

If necessary, however, Shabbat preparations may be done throughout Friday as long as the eruv still exists and has not been eaten.

Other Permitted Preparations

Once an Eruv Tavshilin has been prepared, many other Shabbat preparations may be done on Friday during Yom Tov, including:

• Rolling the Torah scroll after the reading on Yom Tov in preparation for the Shabbat reading

• Washing dishes

• Setting the Shabbat table

• Arranging the house for Shabbat

All of these fall under the declaration made when establishing the eruv, which includes permission “to take care of all our needs.”

Eating the Eruv Food

It is preferable to eat the bread and cooked food used for the eruv during the Shabbat meals. Being that one mitzvah has already been performed with them, it is fitting to perform another mitzvah by eating them on Shabbat.

If Someone Forgot to Make an Eruv Tavshilin

Ideally every household should prepare its own eruv.

However, if someone forgot, they may still cook for Shabbat. In many communities the local rabbi establishes an Eruv Tavshilin on behalf of the entire community, allowing others to rely on it.

Even if someone forgot several times, they may still rely on the rabbi’s eruv, since it is usually intended to include such cases.

Intentional Neglect

If someone deliberately chose not to prepare an eruv, the sages penalized them by prohibiting cooking from Yom Tov for Shabbat.

Nevertheless, they may cook a large pot of food for Yom Tov even if part of it will remain for Shabbat.

If the Eruv Was Lost

If the eruv was lost before cooking for Shabbat, one may rely on the rabbi’s communal eruv.

Helping Others Fulfill the Mitzvah

Someone who wishes to help another person fulfill the mitzvah should ideally have that person repeat the blessing word for word.

Afterward the declaration may be recited mentioning that individual specifically, stating that through this eruv they are permitted to bake, cook, light candles, and prepare their needs from Yom Tov for Shabbat.

If the person cannot recite the blessing at all, the rabbi may say it on their behalf.

Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (the Chida) records that in Jerusalem it was once customary for scholars to go door to door helping those who were unfamiliar with the mitzvah establish an Eruv Tavshilin.

Setting a Shabbat Timer

It is permitted on Yom Tov to set a non-digital Shabbat timer for lights or appliances to turn on and off for Shabbat.

Although on Shabbat itself the timer may only be adjusted in ways that extend the current setting (such as delaying turning off), on Yom Tov it is more lenient because the prohibition of kindling is rabbinic. It is therefore permitted to advance the time that the device will turn on.