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Shabbos 38

1) "IF ONE TRANSGRESSED AND DID SHEHIYAH"

QUESTION: What is the Gemara asking when it says, "What [is the status of the food] if one transgressed and did Shehiyah?" The Gemara just concluded a lengthy discussion, answering that very question!

The Gemara said that if the food was not cooked yet, whether one purposely left it on the stove or inadvertently left it there, it is forbidden b'Di'eved. If the food was cooked, then Rebbi Meir permits it (even if it was purposely left on the stove) and Rebbi Yehudah forbids it (if it is a food that will become tastier as it gets more cooked -- "Mitz'tamek v'Yafeh Lo"). The Halachah, we see, was clearly spelled out by the Gemara. What, then, is the Gemara asking now?

ANSWERS:

(a) TOSFOS (DH Avar) explains that the Gemara is asking what the Halachah would be according to Rebbi Yehudah, who says that cooked food that was left on the stove is forbidden if it was Mitz'tamek v'Yafeh Lo. Does Rebbi Yehudah forbid the food only if it was left on the stove on purpose but not if it was inadvertently left there, or does he forbid the food even if it was left there *inadvertently*? (Rebbi Yehudah did not specifically mention that the food is prohibited even if it is left on the burner b'Shogeg, perhaps he was discussing only a case where it was left there purposely.)

According to Tosfos, though, we have another question. The Gemara says that if one *forgot* and left food on the stove, the Rabanan penalized him and forbade the food. This Gezeirah was made after the time of Rebbi Yehudah. If so, what difference does it make if Rebbi Yehudah permits the food if one left it on the stove inadvertently; Rebbi Yehudah's opinion is irrelevant since nowadays it is forbidden by the Gezeirah!

(1) TOSFOS answers that the Gemara was just curious what Rebbi Yehudah's original opinion was, before the Gezeirah.
(2) TOSFOS ROSH explains that the Gezeirah forbidding the food that was accidentally left on the stove is only on the person who forgot and left the food there; to everyone else, the food might be permitted. The Gemara is asking whether the food indeed is permitted to *everyone else* or not.
(3) The RA'AVAD cited by the RASHBA explains that there is a difference between "forgetting" (Shochei'ach) the food on the stove and leaving the food on the stove b'Shogeg. When he left it there b'Shogeg, we are lenient, because he was completely unaware that it was Shabbos (or that it is forbidden to do so on Shabbos) at that point. In the case of one who *forgot*, however, he *was* aware that Shabbos was coming when he placed the food on the stove, but he forgot to remove it before Shabbos came. Therefore, the Rabanan were stringent and decreed that he may not eat the food.
(4) The RAMBAN adds that perhaps the penalty was made only for food that was not *entirely* cooked. If it was entirely cooked, though, the Rabanan did not prohibit it (because there is no concern that people will purposely place a fully cooked dish on the stove and claim that they did so inadvertently, merely to get the cooked dish a little tastier on Shabbos).

(b) RABEINU YONAH cited by the RASHBA and the RAMBAN says that the Sages who asked the question "What [is the status of the food] if one transgressed and did Shehiyah?" were unaware of the previously quoted Beraisa, in which Rebbi Meir and Rebbi Yehudah argue over that point. They were asking what the Halachah is if one *purposely* left a fully cooked dish on the stove which is Mitz'tamek v'Yafeh Lo -- did the Rabanan decree that it is forbidden? (The Rashba says that this is also Rashi's intention.)

(c) TOSFOS HA'ROSH explains that the question of the Gemara is what the Halachah would be if someone leaves food which gets tastier as it gets drier on the stove, and that food is *already* as dry as it will get. Did the Rabanan make their decree in such a case, or is it to be compared to hot water, since leaving it on the stove did not improve its taste?

(d) The RITVA says that the Gemara is referring to a case where one removed the pot from the stove *before* it had a chance to improve. Did the Rabanan decree that the very act of placing it on the stove (when there is a chance that it will improve) makes the food forbidden, even if in the end it does not result in any improvement, or did they only decree that the food is forbidden when it actually undergoes some improvement. (When the Gemara attempts to answer the question from the case of "dried out eggs," it is referring to a case where one removed the eggs from the stove before they had a chance to become more dried out.)

38b

QUESTION: Rav Sheshes and Rav Oshiya say that one may return a pot of cooked food to the stove (Chazarah) "even on Shabbos." What are they adding? The concept of Chazarah is only relevant for Shabbos! When else would there be a question whether one may return food to the stove?

ANSWERS:

(a) RASHI explains that the Gemara is teaching that even during Shabbos *day* one may do Chazarah. We might have thought that Chazarah may be done only at night, because when one removes the pot from the stove during the day there is no indication that one's intention is to put it back on the stove.

(b) TOSFOS (36b, DH Beis Hillel) says that the prohibition of Chazarah when the stove's coals are not cleared away applies *on Friday before Shabbos*. If it is Friday and the food is cold and there is not enough time for it to become hot before Shabbos, it is forbidden to put it back on the stove, because one might try to stoke the coals to warm it up on Shabbos. (Even if it is still warm, it might be forbidden to put it back if there is not enough time for it to become warm *had it been* cold, because someone might think that it is permissible to put it back on the stove when it is cold, and he might forget and stoke the coals to make it warm.) According to Tosfos, then, Beis Hillel means that one may do Chazarah not only on Friday but even *on Shabbos* (which is what our Gemara is teaching here) when the coals are covered. (Beis Hillel agrees, though, that if the coals are not covered, then *even on Friday* it is prohibited to do Chazarah).

(c) The RAN explains that the last argument in the Mishnah between Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel is an argument concerning the prohibition of doing an action which will lead to Melachah being done by itself on Shabbos. Both Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel here are consistent with their opinions elsewhere. Beis Shamai requires that in order to place food on the stove before Shabbos, there must be enough time for the food to become hot before Shabbos (19b); the Melachah must begin before Shabbos, or else there is a fear that people may think that it is permissible to do Melachah on Shabbos (this is according to one opinion in Beis Shamai, and not the opinion that Beis Shamai forbids Melachah before Shabbos because of Shevisas Keilim, see the Gemara earlier, 18a). Here, Beis Shamai prohibits Chazarah *on Friday right before Shabbos* (like Tosfos understood as well), when the food will only become hot on Shabbos, so that people should not think that it is permissible to heat up food on Shabbos (this reason for prohibiting Chazarah on Friday is not like Tosfos' reason). Beis Hillel *permits* Chazarah on Friday, because he does not hold that the Rabanan prohibited actions before Shabbos that would cause Melachah to be done on Shabbos. However, we might have thought that doing Chazarah *on Shabbos* is prohibited according to everyone, even Beis Hillel, because it looks as if one is cooking on Shabbos. Therefore the Gemara teaches that Beis Hillel permits Chazarah even on Shabbos.

HALACHAH: It is best to be stringent like Tosfos and not put any food on a stove whose coals are uncovered on Friday close to Shabbos, if there is not enough time for the food to get hot by the time Shabbos arrives (REMA OC 253:2).