Source 1 · Acharonim
ExternalIgros Moshe OC 2:494
אגרות משה, או"ח ב׳:תצ״ד
Igros Moshe OC 2:494
Page 1
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Shabbatשבת
Eating and Drinking Before Shabbat
These sources discuss the halakhic permissibility of eating and drinking on Friday afternoon before Shabbat begins, including guidelines on tasting food in preparation and cautions against excessive consumption that might diminish one's appetite for the Shabbat meal.
טועמיה חיים זכו
6 sources · 4 verified
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What the sources say
Eating and drinking without establishing a formal meal on Erev Shabbat is permitted all day according to the law, as the Shulchan Arukh (Orach Chayim 249:2) rules explicitly, and Shulchan Arukh HaRav (249) confirms this remains permitted without restriction until bein hashemashos.
However, the Mishnah Berurah (249) cautions that drinking so much that one becomes satiated — which would ruin one's appetite for the Shabbat meal — is not included in this leniency, and from the ninth hour onward it is a mitzvah to refrain even from casual drinking.
The positive dimension of tasting before Shabbat is captured by the Mishnah Berurah (250), which records that it is a mitzvah to taste from every dish on Erev Shabbat in order to prepare them properly, and cites the allusion from the word טועמיה — 'those who taste it merited life' — as a scriptural hint to this practice.
Source 2 · Acharonim
ExternalIgros Moshe OC 4:74
אגרות משה, או"ח ד׳:ע״ד
Igros Moshe OC 4:74
Page 136
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Source 3 · Acharonim
VerifiedMishnah Berurah 250
משנה ברורה ר״נ
Mishnah Berurah 250
It is a mitzvah to taste from each dish on Erev Shabbat in order to prepare them properly as is fitting, and the Shulchan Shalom discusses how tasting on Shabbat from each type of food is certainly a mitzvah, with an allusion to this in the pasuk "toameha chayim zaku.
מצוה לטעום מכל תבשיל בע"ש כדי לתקנן יפה כהוגן ועיין בספר שלחן שלמה דהטעימה בשבת מכל מין בודאי היא מצוה ורמז לזה טועמיה חיים זכו:
Source 4 · Acharonim
VerifiedShulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 249
שולחן ערוך, אורח חיים רמ״ט — ד"ה אסור לקבוע בע"ש סעודה ומשתה שאינו
Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 249:2
This siman covers entering Shabbat and the timing of Friday afternoon restrictions and preparations, providing practical halakhic framework for eating and drinking before Shabbat begins.
אסור לקבוע בע"ש סעודה ומשתה שאינו רגיל בימי החול ואפילו הוא סעודת אירוסין מפני כבוד השבת שיכנס לשבת כשהוא תאב לאכול וכל היום בכלל האיסור. הגה וסעודה שזמנה בע"ש כגון ברית מילה או פדיון הבן מותר כנ"ל וכן המנהג פשוט. ולאכול ולשתות בלי קביעות סעודה אפילו סעודה שרגיל בה בחול כל היום מותר להתחיל מן הדין אבל מצוה להמנע מלקבוע סעודה שנהוג בה בחול מט' שעות ולמעלה:
On Friday, it is forbidden to partake of a celebratory feast that one would not ordinarily partake of on a weekday. [This is so] Even if it is an Erusin meal, because of the honor of Shabbat, so that one will enter Shabbos desiring to eat and partake of the Shabbos meal with an appetite. All day is forbidden. Rema: A Friday meal where one says zimun, such as a bris milah or pidyon ben it is permitted as seen above, and this is the simple custom. To eat and drink without partaking of the meal, even a meal that one ordinarily partakes of on the weekday, all day is permitted to begin according to the law. Nevertheless, it is a mitzvah to refrain from eating a meal from the ninth hour onward.
Source 5 · Acharonim
VerifiedShulchan Arukh HaRav 249
שולחן ערוך הרב, אורח חיים רמ״ט
Shulchan Arukh HaRav, Orach Chayim 249
This work treats the laws of preparing for Shabbat and the permissibility of eating and drinking on Friday afternoon, offering a practical halakhic lens on pre-Shabbat refreshments.
אֲבָל לֶאֱכוֹל וְלִשְׁתּוֹת בְּלִי קְבִיעוּת סְעֻדָּה — אֵינוֹ נִמְנָע בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וּבְעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב עַד שֶׁחֲשֵׁכָה, דְּהַיְנוּ עַד בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּתְבָּאֵר בְּסִמָּן רע"[א], חוּץ מֵעֶרֶב פֶּסַח, כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּתְבָּאֵר בְּסִמָּן תע"א:
Source 6 · Acharonim
VerifiedMishnah Berurah 249
משנה ברורה רמ״ט
Mishnah Berurah 249
One may eat and drink before Shabbat, but this does not include drinking so much of various beverages that one becomes satiated, as such excess spoils the appetite for food and the senses testify to this; sometimes intoxication may cause one to neglect the Shabbat meal entirely, therefore it is a mitzvah to abstain from this at least from the ninth hour onward.
(יד) ולאכול ולשתות וכו' - ואין בכלל זה אם הוא שותה כ"כ הרבה מיני משקה עד שיהא שבע כי הוא בודאי מקלקל תאות המאכל והחוש יעיד ע"ז ולפעמים יוכל להבטל ע"י שכרותו מסעודת שבת לגמרי וע"כ מצוה להמנע מזה עכ"פ מט' שעות ולמעלה:
- Akeidat Yitzchak 4:1unverified
- Asara Maamarot, Chakor Din 3:12unverified
- Berakhot 27bunverified
- Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah:43unverified