Preparing for the Second Seder on the First Day of Yom Tov

QUESTION

I understand that the halakha is that I cannot begin any of the preparations for the second seder on the first day of Yom Tov, including setting the table and warming up the food, until it is nightfall (tzeit ha’kokhavim). This invariably means that the second seder starts quite late, which is a challenge for the whole family, and in particular the kids. Is there any way that I can start preparing things a little bit earlier?

ANSWER

You are correct that the general approach is to not begin any preparations (hakhana) from the first day or Yom Tov to the second day (which is not truly Yom Tov on a Torah level) until nightfall. This ruling can be found in Levush (Rabbi Mordecai Yoffe, 1530-1612, Prague) who writes (OH 488:3):

ושוהין בין מנחה למעריב עד הלילה כדי שלא יעשו מלאכה מיום טוב זה ליו”ט זה מבעוד יום לצורך הלילה, דשמא שני חול הוא, ואסור להכין מיו”ט לחול, ואפילו להביא יין וכה”ג אסורים עד הלילה עד שיאמר ברכו

And we wait after mincha [on the first day of Yom Tov] to begin ma’ariv until it is night, so that people will not do melakha from the first day of Yom Tov for the sake of the next day of Yom Tov. For the second day of Yom Tov might, in fact, be a weekday and it is forbidden to prepare on Yom Tov for a weekday, even to deliver wine or the like until nightfall, until they say Barkhu.

Mishnah Berurah (299:40) rules similarly, and only permits preparations for the second day of Yom Tov once it becomes fully night:

ולהביא יין ביום טוב שני אחר שחשכה אף שלא התפלל עדיין וגם לא קידש אפ”ה שרי דהא אין בזה משום מלאכה רק משום הכנה מיו”ט לחבירו וכיון שנתקדש היום שרי.

And it is permissible to bring wine on the second day of Yom Tov, once it has become dark, even if one has not yet davened ma’ariv and not made kiddush. Nevertheless, this is permitted because no melakha is being done, and it is only non-melakha preparations from the first day of Yom Tov to the next. Thus, since the second day of Yom Tov has already begun, it is permitted (although ma’ariv has not yet been said).

The simple meaning of these texts is that preparations can only begin once it is fully dark (tzeit ha’kokhavim). Nevertheless, Rav Moshe Sternbuch (b. 1926, Jerusalem) in Teshuvot ve’Hanhagot (3:150) rules that preparations that are not melakha, such as setting the table or the like, are permitted once barkhu of ma’ariv has been said—even before nightfall.

האמת יורה דרכו, שהמ”ב מיירי בזמן שחשכה אבל עדיין אינו צאת הכוכבים, ובזה כיון שאסור להכין לי”ט שני אם לא שיתפללו קודם, שבזה מקילין הפוסקים להכין ליומו…דהכנה קיל ומותר אף שאינו צאת הכוכבים, ואפילו עדיין יום טוב ראשון כיון שקיבלו יום טוב שני מותר.

The truth will out, for when Mishnah Berurah permitted preparations once “it becomes dark” he meant even before the stars have come out (tzeit ha’kokhavim), and intended to say that it is only forbidden to prepare for the second day of Yom Tov before ma’ariv has been recited. In this case, poskim are lenient and allow one to prepare for the day [beginning that evening]… For [non-melakha] preparations are of lesser weight and are permitted even before tzeit ha’kokhavim. Although it is still objectively the first day of Yom Tov, once one has accepted upon himself the second day of Yom Tov [through the recitation of ma’ariv], such preparations are permitted.

This position makes a great deal of sense. Once you have designated the day as the second day of Yom Tov through the recitation of ma’ariv, any preparations that you are doing now would be considered preparing for the day you are in, that is, the second day of Yom Tov. It would be permissible to set the table for the second day of Yom Tov even though it is not yet fully dark, because you have already declared it to be the second day of Yom Tov! This would not, of course, apply to anything that is a melakha, since that would still constitute doing a melakha on a day that is objectively Yom Tov (the first day) for the sake of a day that is not objectively Yom Tov from a Torah perspective (the second day).

Most shuls, however, do not have an early ma’ariv on the second day of Pesach, because they want people to wait until tzeit hakokhavim before beginning the seder. We have discussed elsewhere that this may not be necessary (see www.yctorah.org/early–seder). For our purposes, it is worth noting that even if a person did not bring in the second day of Yom Tov early, there is room to be lenient and allow non-melakha preparations after sunset:

1. The halakha is that even on Shabbat, during bein ha’shemashot—the time between sunset and tzeit ha’kokhavim which has a status of possible day/possible night—a person may do acts that are rabbinically forbidden on Shabbat for the sake of a mitzvah (SA OH 342). Magen Avraham limits this to the Friday bein ha’shemashot, when one is moving from the weekday into Shabbat. He holds that the Saturday bein ha’shemashot is more strict because one is moving from Shabbat to a weekday, and therefore this period is considered a continuation of Shabbat. By contrast, Mishnah Berurah (342:2), following many Achronim, rules that the Saturday beit ha’shemashot period has the same status, and this is without a doubt the simple meaning of Shulchan Arukh.

According to this, the prohibition of hakhana would not apply Saturday night starting at sunset when the preparations are being done for the sake of a mitzvah, even if such preparations would involve something that is rabbinically forbidden on Shabbat itself. This would likewise be true when it comes to preparing for the second seder during the period after sunset at the end of the first day of Yom Tov, since such preparations are certainly for the sake of a mitzvah.

1. When it comes to Yom Tov, Shulchan Arukh (OH 503:1) writes that one may not cook or bake to prepare from the first day of Yom Tov to the second day. Shulchan Arukh does not directly address whether this would also be forbidden during the bein ha’shemashot period between day 1 and day 2.  Pri Megadim, one of the classical commentators on Shulchan Arukh, considers this possibility. He writes (Mishbetzot Zahav, OH 503:1):

ובין השמשות של יום ראשון יש לומר דאסור ולא אמרינן ספק דרבנן לקולא לכתחילה. ועוד דאיקבע איסורא.

And when it is bein ha’shemashot of the first day [leading into the second], it would seem that it is nevertheless forbidden to make preparations. We would not say that when it is a rabbinic prohibition we can be lenient in cases of doubt (such as bein ha’shemashot, which might have the status of the day beginning that evening), to permit something le’khatchilah. Moreover, the act’s forbidden status has already been established (i.e., is the current status quo).

Although we are talking about doing acts that are de’oraita melakhot for food preparation, Pri Megadim refers to them as rabbinic prohibitions. This is because from a de’oraita perspective, it is actually not forbidden to cook food from the first day of Yom Tov for the second day since the food could in theory be eaten on the first day itself. (This is known as the principle of hoyil.) This possibility suffices to make the act no longer a de’oraita violation.

Thus, given that doing melakhot related to preparing food for the second day is only forbidden rabbinically, we should permit doing them during the bein ha’shemashot period—a time which may already be considered night—based on the principle of safeik de’rabbanan le’kula, we are lenient in cases of doubt when it comes to a rabbinic prohibition.

Pri Megadim rejects this argument for two reasons: (1) we don’t allow safeik de’rabbanan when it is a le’khatchila case, that is to say, when it can be avoided and, (2) in the time before sunset, when it was clearly the first day Yom Tov, it was prohibited rabbinically to prepare for the second day. This prohibition should thus be treated as the default status, and should be considered to remain in force until it is unquestionably nighttime.

To bolster this last point, Pri Megadim directs us to Magen Avraham 342. This is the same Magen Avraham, mentioned above, who ruled that, unlike the bein ha’shemashot of Friday night, a person could not do things rabbinically forbidden on Shabbat for the sake of a mitzvah during the bein ha’shemashot of Saturday night. This distinction of Magen Avraham reflects similar reasoning, namely, that once it is established that the day is Shabbat and the rabbinic prohibitions are in effect, these restrictions remain fully in force during the bein ha’shemashot period that follows.  Nevertheless, Mishnah Berurah ruled against this distinction, as noted above, and the same should be true in our case.

As to Pri Megadim’s second point—that we cannot permit a case of safeik de’rabbanan when it can be otherwise avoided—this is actually a matter of debate among the poskim. Even for those who, following Pri Megadim, might otherwise be strict, an argument could be made to permit in cases of need (sha’at ha’dechak ke’bi’dieved dami). Nevertheless, given that we are dealing with something that begins as a de’oraita melakha, we should be strict in these cases absent great need.

All of this discussion of Pri Megadim’s position relates to the question of doing a de’oraita melakha during bein ha’shemashot. When it comes to preparing food, which is only prohibited rabbinically, all should agree that it would be permitted during bein ha’shemashot of the first day for the sake of the second day.

CONCLUSION

What emerges is the following:

1. Actions that are rabbinically prohibited are permitted after sunset on Shabbat or Yom Tov for the sake of a mitzvah (SA OH 342:1 and Mishnah Berurah no. 2).
2. The ruling of Shulchan Arukh (OH 503:1) that one cannot prepare from the first day of Yom Tov to the second should logically not apply once it is bein ha’shemashot, even when talking about a de’oraita prohibition, since the principle of hoyil would mean that even a de’oraita food-preparation melakha would be only be forbidden rabbinically (Pri Megadim). While there are reasons to be strict regarding a Torah-level melakha, other preparations would definitely be permitted during this period.
3. Thus, on motzei Shabbat or motzei Yom Tov after sunset, it is permissible to do preparations for the sake of a mitzvah, so long as such preparations do not involve a melakha.
4. Similarly, for the sake of preparing for the second day of Yom Tov (and other mitzvah needs), one can do preparations that do not involve any de’oraita melakhot once it is after sunset on the first day.

Bottom line:

After sunset, a person may set the table, put already-cooked food on the fire to reheat, and any other activity to prepare for the evening meal that does not involve a de’oraita melakha.

One may not transfer flame or put uncooked food—or soup or other liquid, even if it has already been cooked—on the fire until after tzeit ha’kokhavim.