Question:
What are the general halachos relevant to the preparation for Shabbos?
Answer:
This mitzvah of preparing for Shabbos applies to everyone. Even an important person should prepare for Shabbos and not consider it degrading because in fact it is an honor to honor Shabbos.Work should be minimized on Fridays in order to allow for plenty of time to properly prepare for Shabbos.
It is the husband’s job to ensure that the Shabbos candles are in place and ready for lighting each week.
Even if one had many helpers or family members preparing for Shabbos one should make an effort to personally be involved in preparing for Shabbos. One should endeavor to purchase flowers in honor of Shabbos. A person should try to review his deeds from the past week and resolve to correct his mistakes on Fridays.
Even if it means minimizing one’s amount of Torah learning on Friday, one should still personally be involved in preparing for Shabbos.
The amount of money one receives from Hashem for the year does not include the money that he spends for Shabbos. Although one shouldn’t force himself to borrow money to buy extra Shabbos foods, one should spend according to his wealth and whoever adds is praiseworthy.
One should begin one’s Shabbos preparations as early as possible on Friday,see the Gemara in Shabbos 117b, Rosh Shabbos 16:5, Tur and Shulchan Aruch 250:1.
One should make sure to buy one’s food for Shabbos on Friday and not before One shouldn’t even buy the food on Thursday night.
This comes from the Gemara in Shabbos 117b that writes that a person should get up early on Friday to prepare for Shabbos. This is also the opinion of Shulchan Aruch 250:1. Mishna Brurah 250:2 (based on Magen Avraham 250:1) explains that the reason is that by purchasing food for Shabbos on Friday it’s more recognizable that one is preparing for Shabbos than if one were to buy the food on Thursday. So rules the Aruch Hashulchan 250:2, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:4 and Elya Rabba 250:1.
Therefore if However there is a fear that one won’t be able to buy one’s food on Friday or that the food will not be ready in time if bought on Friday, then one may do so on Thursday. On a short friday, one may do his shopping earlier.
One must pray before going to buy one’s food for Shabbos and if one regularly learns one should not change one’s practice and only buy the food afterwards unless there’s a fear that one will loose the opportunity to buy the food in which case one should delay one’s learning.
If there’s a fear that if one waits until after davening one may loose the opportunity to buy one’s food for Shabbos before prayer but one should at least say Shema beforehand.
When buying food for Shabbos, it is praiseworthy to verbally state to oneself that the food is for such purpose. Indeed, one should endeavor to do something every day of the week in honor of Shabbos, as did Shammai. Whenever Shammai would go shopping and come across a tasty piece of meat, he would purchase it in honor of Shabbos. If later in the week he came across an even more attractive piece of meat, he would eat the first one and save the nicer one in honor of Shabbos.Even if one has already prepared Friday morning preferably one should prepare just before Shabbos starts. The custom is to knead a Shiur Challah of dough when baking Challah on Friday for Shabbos, this comes from the Rema. One shouldn’t begin a a task after mincha on Friday, some say this refers to 6.5 hours into the day, and some say this refers to 9 hours into the day. Any activity which is permitted on Chol HaMoed is permitted on Friday after mincha,see the Shulchan Aruch 251:1, Mishna Brurah 251:5. |