Hilchos Shabbos Table Learning
A Weekly Guide to Shabbos Laws for Personal Study and Family Discussion
✨This weeks Topic✨
🍞🕯️ Eating Between Kiddush and Hamotzi
✅ What’s the Issue?
After Kiddush, one is meant to proceed directly to Hamotzi, which begins the meal.
The question is: May one eat anything in between?
The answer depends on why you’re eating the food and whether it belongs to the meal.
🍽️ 1️⃣ Eating Foods You Also Plan to Eat During the Meal
If the food is something you will be eating during the meal anyway, then:
🚫 It is forbidden to eat it between Kiddush and Hamotzi.
Why?
- It creates unnecessary extra blessings, which Chazal prohibit.
• It violates the halachic requirement that Hamotzi must be the first blessing of the meal over food meant for the meal.
• Bread is meant to take precedence — eating “meal foods” beforehand undermines that structure.
🍇 2️⃣ Foods You Specifically Do Not Want to Eat During the Meal
If the food is something you deliberately prefer to eat before or after the meal — and do not plan to include it in the meal:
✅ It may be eaten before Hamotzi.
Since it is not considered part of the meal, it does not compete with Hamotzi’s halachic priority.
🕯️✨ Shabbos Consideration
Even though some foods are technically permitted before Hamotzi, there is a special Shabbos value:
🌟 It is a mitzvah to eat the Shabbos meal with appetite.
Since bread is the centerpiece of the meal:
➡️ It is praiseworthy not to eat anything at all between Kiddush and Hamotzi — even small snacks.
This preserves hunger for the Shabbos seudah and honors the bread as the meal’s foundation.
🤝 3️⃣ Someone Who Is Lenient
If a person does choose to eat something before Hamotzi:
🙂 They are not to be chastised,
—even if the food is something they’ll eat during the meal, and even if their reason is simply to “increase blessings.”
While not ideal, it is not treated with strict rebuke.
📚 Sources:
Admur 249:10-11
🛠️ Melacha Corner 🛠️
🕯️🚫 Preparing on Shabbos? The Laws of Mimtzo Cheftzecha
🌅✨ The General Prohibition
📜 Source Verse – Yeshaya 58:13–14
The Navi instructs us not to pursue our weekday affairs, speak mundane speech, or walk “in our ways” on Shabbos.
From here, Chazal taught:
💡 General Rule:
It is forbidden on Shabbos to speak or walk in a way that prepares for forbidden after‑Shabbos activities — even if the act itself does not break any melachah.
Examples of prohibited preparation:
• Walking somewhere specifically to do forbidden work after Shabbos
• Telling someone to do something for you after Shabbos that is assur on Shabbos
But — as with many halachos — there are exception categories.
✨ Three Cases of Exception
1️⃣ For the Sake of a Mitzvah
When the post‑Shabbos activity is a mitzvah, one may prepare verbally or by walking.
✨ Example:
Miriam discusses with her friend organizing a charity drive right after Shabbos.
Since it is for a mitzvah, this preparatory speech is permitted.
🟦 Key Idea:
If the speech or walking is clearly for a mitzvah, it is allowed — even if the actual task involves weekday activities.
2️⃣ When the Preparation Is Not Recognizable
If the walking does not appear to be preparation, it is allowed — even if that is the person’s true intention.
💡 Major Principle:
The prohibition applies only when an observer would recognize that the person is preparing for prohibited activity.
✨ Examples:
• Yaakov takes a relaxed Shabbos stroll. After Shabbos he helps a friend with repairs. Since no one would have guessed his intent, the walk is permitted.
• Rachel walks toward her mother’s area on Shabbos and later helps her cook after Shabbos. Since the walk looked like a normal stroll, it is not considered preparation.
3️⃣ When Preparing for a Permitted Post‑Shabbos Activity
If the after‑Shabbos activity is something that could be done on Shabbos, the preparatory speech or walking is allowed.
✨ Examples:
• Studying for a math test — technically allowed on Shabbos, so mentioning it is fine.
• Setting up chairs for a Torah shiur — also permitted on Shabbos, so discussing it is fine.
🔍 Note:
There is a separate prohibition against performing actions to prepare for after Shabbos (like setting items out for later).
But this does not apply to simple speech or walking.
📌 General Practical Examples
🚫 Prohibited:
• Walking to a car‑rental center when it’s obvious you intend to rent immediately after Shabbos
• Walking to a bus stop with intent to board after Shabbos
• Going to the office before Shabbos ends so you can start working instantly
• Telling a contractor during Shabbos to begin repairs right after Shabbos
✅ Permitted:
• Going to a bus stop for shade or rest
• A stroll that incidentally brings you near a location needed after Shabbos but does not look like preparation
📝 Summary
Preparation through speech or walking is forbidden under mimtzo cheftzecha when all of these are true:
- It prepares for an activity that would be forbidden on Shabbos
- The purpose of the action is recognizable to observers
- It is for personal, not mitzvah, purposes
Additionally:
Any action done on Shabbos to prepare for after Shabbos is generally forbidden — even if the future activity itself is permissible.
But simple speech and walking can be allowed when they do not fall under the recognition‑based prohibition.
