Early Acceptance of Shabbat

Topics of the article

Is it possible to accept Shabbat before the time when, according to halachah, it begins? Why do calendars list the time for accepting Shabbat earlier than sunset? Is there an obligation to begin Shabbat before sunset? How much earlier must one do so? From when may one accept Shabbat? Is the obligation of accepting Shabbat biblical? How does one accept Shabbat early? What must be done for Shabbat to take effect? What does early Shabbat obligate us in? Does it change the day itself, or does it only change the laws by which we must conduct ourselves? Is it possible to accept Shabbat or to blow the shofar after accepting Shabbat? Can one retract it? And how?

The source of the law of adding to Shabbat

The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 9a; Yoma 81b) states: “It was taught in a baraita: ‘And you shall afflict your souls on the ninth day…’ etc. — this teaches that one adds from the weekday onto the holy. I know this only with regard to its entrance; from where do I know it with regard to its departure? The verse says: ‘from evening to evening.’ I know this only with regard to Yom Kippur; from where do I know it regarding Shabbatot? The verse says: ‘you shall rest.’ From where do I know it regarding Festivals? The verse says: ‘your rest.’ How so? Wherever there is a requirement of rest, one adds from the weekday onto the holy.”

From these words of the Gemara we learn that there is an obligation of tosefet Shabbat — adding to Shabbat — both at the entrance of Shabbat and at its departure: one must begin Shabbat a little before the start of Shabbat, and likewise one should not end Shabbat immediately at the time, but should add a little more.

In its simple reading, the Gemara derives this obligation from verses, and therefore it is a Torah law. However, there are opinions that maintain it is rabbinic, and that the verses are only an asmakhta, a scriptural support. See Biur Halachah, 261, s.v. “yesh omrim.”

How does one accept Shabbat?

The question is: how does one accept Shabbat? Is there some action that we are required to perform in order to accept Shabbat? In practice, the Gemara does not explicitly clarify whether one must accept the addition to Shabbat specifically by verbal declaration, or whether by refraining from labor alone one accepts the addition upon oneself.

In the simple understanding, it appears from the Gemara that it is sufficient for one to refrain from labor and add from the weekday onto the holy, and one need not say so explicitly with one’s mouth. We will elaborate on this below.

The required amount of time for tosefet Shabbat

Another point not explicitly clarified in the Gemara is: how long before the beginning of Shabbat — that is, before sunset — must one refrain from labor?

The Rishonim disagree about this.

The opinion of Tosafot (Moed Katan 4a, s.v. “dai”; Rosh Hashanah 9a, s.v. “veRabbi Akiva”) is that any amount of addition is sufficient. This is also the view of Rabbeinu Yonah (Berachot 27a, s.v. “Rav tzali”; his words are cited below).

However, according to Tosafot in Beitzah (30a, s.v. “deha”) and the Rosh (Yoma, ch. 8, §8), there is a measure for the addition, but it has not been clarified to us what the measure of tosefet Shabbat is. According to them, it is at least two minutes before sunset.

The Mishnah Berurah (261:23) writes that one should not wait until the very last moment, and one who is stringent and refrains from labor half an hour, or at least 20 minutes, before sunset is praiseworthy, for by doing so he fulfills the opinion of all the Rishonim. For a detailed calculation of all the opinions, see Biur Halachah (261, s.v. “eizeh zman”) and Mishnah Berurah (261:22).

Tosefet Shabbat from plag haminchah, which is voluntary: is it accepted verbally, or is refraining from labor sufficient?

The Rishonim (Berachot 27a) noted that there are two different times for accepting Shabbat. There is the minimum time at which there is an obligation to refrain from labor for a short period before sunset — whether there is a defined measure of time or not. At the same time, if a person wants to accept Shabbat earlier, he may refrain from labor beginning from plag haminchah — one and a quarter halachic hours before sunset; the exact time appears in calendars — and from then on he fulfills the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat.

It appears that the obligatory tosefet Shabbat does not require formal acceptance, and this is also implied by the Gemara (Shabbat 148b; Beitzah 30a); so too writes the Chayei Adam (Hilchot Shabbat, rule 5). For example, if there is an obligation to refrain for even a moment, that moment does not require acceptance; and likewise, if the minimum measure is 2 minutes or 20 minutes, this time does not require verbal acceptance.

However, the question arises: when one decides to refrain from labor from plag haminchah, does one thereby fulfill the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat? Or only when one accepts Shabbat verbally? Or perhaps even verbal acceptance is ineffective and it is not considered acceptance of Shabbat until one prays the Shabbat prayer? We will explain the doubt in this matter.

The Gemara (Berachot 27a) states: “Rabbi Chiyya bar Avin said: Rav would pray the Shabbat prayer on Friday afternoon; Rabbi Yoshiyah would pray the prayer of Saturday night while it was still Shabbat. Rav would pray the Shabbat prayer on Friday afternoon. Does he recite sanctification over the cup, or does he not recite sanctification over the cup? Come and hear: Rav Nachman said in the name of Shmuel: A person may pray the Shabbat prayer on Friday afternoon and recite sanctification over the cup. And the halachah follows him.” This means: Rav prayed the Friday night Amidah before Shabbat. Rabbi Yoshiyah prayed the Maariv prayer of Saturday night on Shabbat itself. The Gemara was uncertain: when Rav prayed the Friday night prayer before Shabbat itself, did he also make kiddush over the cup? The Gemara brings that Rav Nachman, in the name of Shmuel, said that a person may pray the Friday night Maariv prayer on Friday afternoon and may make kiddush over the cup, and this is the halachic ruling.

The Gemara does not explicitly state from what time on Friday afternoon one may already pray Maariv, but the Rishonim there explain that the Gemara means that immediately from plag haminchah one may pray Maariv, and after having prayed one fulfills the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat. At that time one may already recite kiddush over the cup.

The Ritva (Shabbat 35a, s.v. “vekatav”; Rosh Hashanah 8b, s.v. “eizehu”; Taanit 12b, s.v. “ve’achar”) maintains that tosefet Shabbat is only through the Shabbat prayer or kiddush.

This is also implied by Rabbeinu Yonah (his commentary to the Rif, Berachot 27a), who understood from the Gemara that Shabbat can be accepted only through prayer. For this reason, Rav needed to pray the Shemoneh Esrei of Maariv from plag haminchah. Although it was still not possible to recite Shema, and he could not connect geulah to tefillah — meaning to say the Shema and its blessings immediately before the Amidah — nevertheless, since by doing so he fulfilled the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat, it was permitted for him to do so, and this is preferable to the virtue of joining geulah to tefillah. It implies that had Rav not prayed the Shabbat Amidah after plag haminchah, he would have had no way to accept Shabbat earlier.

However, many Rishonim hold that accepting Shabbat verbally is also effective, and some hold that even acceptance in one’s heart is effective.

As a matter of halachah, the Mishnah Berurah (261:21) rules that if a person accepted Shabbat verbally and said, “I hereby accept upon myself tosefet Shabbat,” he is then forbidden to perform labor. It appears that he also fulfills the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat.

However, regarding acceptance in one’s heart without verbal declaration, the Mishnah Berurah (there; 608:15; 553:2) cites that although the Rema holds that acceptance in the heart is ineffective, the view of the Bach and the Gra is that it is effective.

Nevertheless, in practice it appears that the dispute concerns only whether acceptance in the heart is effective such that one cannot retract it, and whether, if one accepted Shabbat in one’s heart, one must refrain from labor even if one regrets the acceptance. But it seems that one fulfills the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat even if he could retract, so long as he refrains from performing labor because he wishes to add from the weekday onto the holy. See Pesachim 50b. This is aside from the opinion of Rabbeinu Yonah and the Ritva, who maintain that if one did not accept Shabbat in prayer, one has not fulfilled any mitzvah thereby.

Is tosefet Shabbat biblical?

Rabbeinu Yonah (in his commentary to the Rif, Berachot 27a) was uncertain whether, when one accepts Shabbat earlier than plag haminchah, beyond the minimum required by the essential law, this addition is biblical or only rabbinic. In practical halachah, the poskim disagree about this.

The Magen Avraham (253:26) writes that the addition is considered Shabbat only rabbinically. Rabbi Akiva Eiger (glosses to Shulchan Aruch 253:2, Magen Avraham 26) wondered about this, for seemingly it is Shabbat by Torah law, except that the prohibition of desecrating the added time is a lighter prohibition, a positive commandment, and does not carry the punishment of karet like desecrating Shabbat after nightfall. However, Rabbi Akiva Eiger writes that it is possible to say that the addition beyond the minimum is rabbinic, as the Levush (263) wrote that it is based on the law of a vow; but he notes that the Mordechai (Megillah, §798) wrote that the entire addition is biblical.

The Mishnah Berurah (Biur Halachah 261:2, s.v. “miplag”) cites in the name of the Pri Megadim that if one accepts Shabbat upon oneself from sunset until nightfall according to Rabbeinu Tam, then even according to the side that it is not yet Shabbat, nevertheless one can accept Shabbat upon oneself biblically during this time and fulfill the positive commandment of accepting Shabbat. However, from plag haminchah until sunset, the acceptance of Shabbat is only rabbinic.

One who prays Minchah close to the onset of Shabbat: how does he fulfill the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat?

Another issue that must be considered is that in some cases, once one accepts Shabbat, one can no longer pray the Friday Minchah prayer, and therefore one must pray Minchah before accepting Shabbat in such a manner.

We will list the cases in which one who accepted Shabbat can no longer pray Minchah:

1. Accepting Shabbat with the community. As the Shulchan Aruch writes (263:15), one who accepted Shabbat with the community can no longer pray Minchah. However, if the community in the place where he is located accepted Shabbat but he did not accept Shabbat with them, and there are no additional minyanim that have not yet accepted Shabbat, he is forbidden to perform labor from the time the community accepted Shabbat upon itself, but he may still pray Minchah.

2. A woman who lit Shabbat candles. The Mishnah Berurah (263:43) rules that a woman who lit candles cannot pray Minchah and should pray Arvit twice. Although a woman is exempt from the Arvit prayer (Mishnah Berurah 106:4), in this case she is obligated to pray Arvit twice in order to make up the Minchah prayer that she missed.

3. Verbal acceptance of Shabbat. The Mishnah Berurah (108:25) writes that if one accepted Shabbat by saying “Mizmor Shir LeYom HaShabbat,” he should pray Maariv twice. It appears from his words that in any form in which one accepted Shabbat verbally — whether he said, “I hereby accept Shabbat,” or said “Bo’i Kallah” at the end of Lecha Dodi, or recited the psalm “Mizmor Shir LeYom HaShabbat,” or answered Barechu together with a minyan for the Friday night Maariv prayer — all of these are forms of accepting Shabbat, and he can no longer pray Minchah.

However, the responsa Zera Emet (vol. 3, §27) maintains that an individual who accepted Shabbat may pray Minchah afterward. Only when he accepted Shabbat together with the community can he no longer pray Minchah. The explanation of the Zera Emet’s words is based on the words of the Dagul Mervavah (261), that there are two forms of tosefet Shabbat: one form is accepting only the addition to Shabbat and not the essence of Shabbat itself; the second form is accepting the essence of Shabbat. When the community accepts Shabbat, the essence of Shabbat takes effect, and not merely the law of tosefet Shabbat. But an individual can only accept upon himself the law of tosefet Shabbat and the prohibition of labor, while the day itself does not become Shabbat; therefore he may still pray Minchah. The Dagul Mervavah explained in this way why the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 261:4) writes that one may not make an eruv after the community has said Barechu, even though it is still early, whereas the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 393:2) permits making an eruv after one has accepted Shabbat: in the first case there is acceptance of Shabbat with the community, and the day has changed into the day of Shabbat, while in the second case only the prohibition of labor and the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat take effect, since it concerns an individual’s acceptance of Shabbat, and therefore one may still make an eruv. So too writes the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, 261, in the Kuntres Acharon; and Biur Halachah 261:4, s.v. “ein me’arvin.”

In practice, it appears that if one has not yet prayed Minchah and already wants to accept Shabbat, he should not accept Shabbat verbally, but should merely refrain from labor; by doing so he fulfills the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat and may pray Minchah even according to the Mishnah Berurah.

Can one regret an early acceptance of Shabbat?

The Levush (Orach Chaim 263:17) holds that early acceptance of Shabbat is binding by virtue of the law of a vow, and therefore if a person regrets it, he can request release from it, like any vow that can be annulled before a sage. His words are cited in Pri Megadim 263, Mishbetzot Zahav 3, and by Rabbi Akiva Eiger, 261.

The Taz (Orach Chaim 600:2) discusses a community that did not have a shofar on Rosh Hashanah that fell on Thursday and Friday; the community accepted Shabbat, and afterward a shofar arrived in the city. He ruled there that they may blow it even though they had already accepted Shabbat, for two reasons: 1. The community did not accept Shabbat with the intention that if a shofar arrived they would still be bound by that acceptance. 2. In this case, the acceptance would nullify the mitzvah of shofar, and therefore it does not take effect. It appears from the Taz that he disagrees with the Levush, for he did not suggest that they annul the vow and request release from their acceptance of Shabbat. This requires further analysis.

According to the Taz, there is room to say that if a person accepted Shabbat and then remembered that he had not yet prayed Minchah, the acceptance did not take effect, and it was an acceptance made in error. However, there is room to distinguish between the cases, and in practice this requires further analysis.

Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 261); Azmera Lishmecha (issue 99).