Spaniards are famous for eating dinner quite late; on the second night of Shavuot, Jews can compete. The Spanish-like timing of this seudah stems from the fact that one may not even begin to prepare for the nighttime meal until after dark (which is around its latest occurrence in the northern hemisphere around Shavuot), since preparing on the first day of Yom Tov for the second is forbidden. But is there any way to permit eating the repast at a more comfortable hour?
On a regular Friday night, we are familiar with the option to eat early via davening Maariv and making Kiddush after plag hamincha (one and a quarter hours before sunset/nightfall) (Berachot 27a; although a less popular option, Maariv could also be prayed at night after the meal according to most opinions). While one might wish to follow this procedure for the second evening of Shavuot as well, the permissibility of doing so is not straightforward. When one makes an “early Shabbat,” one adds to the holiness of Shabbat at the expense of a mundane Friday. If one were to make an “early second night Yom Tov,” one would be sanctifying the rabbinically-ordained second day of the festival while it is still technically the afternoon of the biblically-mandated first day.
Since the case of “early second night Yom Tov” involves infringing on a holier day for the sake of a less holy one, it seems more analogous to davening Motzaei Shabbat Maariv and reciting havdalah after plag on Shabbat afternoon. Although the Talmud does mention such a possibility, almost all authorities rule that one may do this only in extraordinarily exigent circumstances. (See my “May One Daven Maariv Early on Motzei Shabbat?” from 2020 on The Jewish Press website.)
Rabbi Yosef Teomim (author of the Pri Megadim) indeed makes this comparison, writing that the precept of tosefet Yom Tov (adding additional time to Yom Tov), which applies on a biblical level to the first day of the festival, requires one to delay Maariv and Kiddush for the second night of Yom Tov until after tzeit hakochavim (Noam Megadim 20; cf. Tosafot, Shabbat 27b s.v. tzalei shel Shabbat).
Earlier sources, however, contradict Rabbi Teomim’s analysis. The Maharil notes that the reason for not davening second night Maariv before nightfall is simply because people erroneously believe that it is Maariv, not tzeit hakochavim, that permits one to begin cooking for the nighttime meal (Seder Tefillot Shel Pesach, see also Minhagei R. Isaac Tirnau Pesach and Matteh Efraim 599:2). Although the Maharil reports that waiting until nightfall was the prevalent practice, he also uncritically cites the dissenting custom in Mainz to daven Maariv immediately after Mincha without waiting for tzeit hakochavim. The fact that not all communities waited until nightfall to daven, and those that did only meant it as a tactic to prevent desecration of the first day of Yom Tov, makes clear that davening early is not an intrinsic disparagement of Yom Tov Rishon the way that davening Motzaei Shabbat Maariv early is a slap in the face to Shabbat.
But why? What’s the distinction between “early second night Yom Tov” and “early Motzaei Shabbat?” The Motzaei Shabbat liturgy is a regular weekday davening which is entirely inappropriate for Shabbat; additionally, the added tefillah of Attah Chonantanu as well as havdalah explicitly reference the end of the holy day and the transition back to the mundane. Mentioning this theme while it is still technically Shabbat shows a distasteful haste to leave the Sabbath holiness (even though, of course, the Shabbat rules remain in effect until nightfall regardless). In contrast, the liturgy and Kiddush of Yom Tov Sheini are identical to those of Yom Tov Rishon (see Responsa Lehorot Natan 9:60). Granted, one’s intention is to recite these prayers for Yom Tov Sheini; nevertheless, the words themselves simply praise the holiday and cannot be taken as explicitly referencing the conclusion of the first day of Yom Tov.
But what about the concern that an early Maariv will lead people to prepare for the second night too early? This was not a universal concern, as the Mainz custom shows; today, the concern that people will err is further lessened (admittedly, not eliminated) by the presence of clocks and calendars in every home.
Furthermore, too-early preparation is really only likely when Maariv is prayed toward the end of the day, because then one might cook immediately (while it is still afternoon) but not consume the food until after nightfall. But when davening shortly after plag, there is time to prepare and cook for the meal after Maariv and still begin consuming the food during the daytime. After all, on a biblical level, it is still Yom Tov Rishon until nightfall; the timing of Maariv and Kiddush is irrelevant. Indeed, one may even prepare for this meal earlier in the day, since the cooking of this meal as well as its consumption will be taking place entirely within the biblical confines of Yom Tov Rishon, i.e. during daylight hours1. Of course, one may cook only those dishes that one sincerely plans to start eating before sunset2. One may also light the Yom Tov candles before the meal since they are for the honor of the seudah. (See Ben Ish Chai Year 1, Bemidbar 2, and Responsa Rav Pealim 4, OC 23.)
Nevertheless, there is no escaping the fact that “early Yom Tov Sheini” is a novel idea and does create complicated scenarios regarding the timing of food preparation on Yom Tov. Thus, those without a strong preference to eat earlier should follow the more common practice of waiting until nightfall to daven and recite Kiddush on the second night of Yom Tov3. It should be noted that although the temptation to make “early Yom Tov Sheini” is greatest on Shavuot, one can also theoretically take in the second night of Rosh Hashana or the eighth night of Pesach early as well (the fact that the two days of Rosh Hashana are, to a certain extent, considered one unit of holiness bolsters the possibility of “early Yom Tov Sheini,” although Rav Hershel Schachter has ruled to the contrary). The other holidays pose complications regarding making Kiddush early (but not Maariv per se), as one may not do so at the Seder or the first nights of Sukkot; on Shmini Atzeret, one must consider the transition to dwelling in the sukkah without a beracha and then, on the second day (Simchat Torah), avoiding the sukkah entirely.
Of course, the above discussion is only relevant when the festival is not immediately adjacent to Shabbat. When either day of Yom Tov falls on Friday, it is not only permitted but preferred to take in Shabbat early in deference to its greater holiness and to ensure that all preparations (which are permitted on Yom Tov for Shabbat via an eiruv tavshilin) are completed well before sunset (cf. Magen Avraham intro to 527). Conversely, when either day of Yom Tov falls on Motzaei Shabbat, one may not daven Maariv or make Kiddush/havdalah until after nightfall, as on any Saturday night4.
Some have expressed reservations about making “early Yom Tov Sheini” on Shavuot specifically. After all, the custom is to wait until tzeit hakochavim to recite Kiddush on the first night of Shavuot, and some delay Maariv as well (of course, there is no intrinsic problem in davening Maariv early on the first evening of any Yom Tov unless it is Motzaei Shabbat). Does this custom apply to the second night of Shavuot as well? If so, that would mean that one should never take in Yom Tov Sheini of Shavuot early, even when it falls on Shabbat!
The originators of the custom to delay Kiddush on the first night of Shavuot base this practice on a novel understanding of Torah’s requirement that the seven weeks of the Omer be “complete” (Vayikra 23:15), maintaining that if one recites the Shavuot liturgy early, that would inappropriately eat into the last day of the Omer. According to this understanding, there would be no problem with davening and making Kiddush early for the second night of Shavuot, since the counting of the seven weeks of the Omer has already been completed a day earlier (Pri Megadim, Mishbetzot Zahav 494, introduction)5. The Netziv, however, explains the custom via his own biblical exegesis, ruling that Kiddush on Shavuot must intrinsically take place after tzeit hakochavim (Haamek Davar, Vayikra 23:21); this would require a post-nightfall Kiddush on both nights of the festival. Since the former understanding is the classical one, and in any event the entire concept of refraining from early Shavuot has no basis in Chazal and the Rishonim, practically speaking there is no need to avoid “early Yom Tov Sheini” on Shavuot particularly.
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- Rabbi Serayah Deblitzky rules that it is rabbinically prohibited to cook on the first day of Yom Tov for an “early Yom Tov Sheini” meal (letter printed at the beginning of Hilchot Chag BeChag, Yom Tov, vol. 2). This is difficult, however, because it would mean that the permissibility to cook during the first day of Yom Tov for a late-afternoon meal that very day depends on whether one plans to make Kiddush before that meal, which could obviously be subject to change. Indeed, it seems that the consensus of the poskim who permit “early Yom Tov Sheini” is not in accordance with Rabbi Deblitzky.
- Seemingly, one could complete the entire meal before sunset. When making early Shabbat, many are stringent to extend the meal past tzeit hakochavim, but this is because there is a requirement to eat three meals, which perhaps must be consumed on the actual calendar day of Shabbat. On Yom Tov, although we feast during the evening and the daytime, there is no prescribed number of meals per se (see Rabbi Deblitzky’s letter cited in the last footnote, but see Rav Hershel Schachter’s “Zeman tefillas Arvis, leil beis d’Shvauos,” part of his Covid-19 teshuvos). Nevertheless, there may be room to be stringent to eat some meat and/or drink some wine after nightfall to fulfill the concept of simchat Yom Tov during the actual nighttime. A full analysis of simchat Yom Tov, including whether it applies at night, is objective or subjective, and if it requires having meat and/or wine each day of the holiday, requires its own article.
- Regardless of the hour, some people find eating numerous consecutive festive meals difficult. Such individuals could arguably count an “early Yom Tov Sheini” meal both as the daytime meal of the first day and the night meal of the second, since the two days are conceptually identical and ultimately only one of them is the true day of the festival. Contrast this to when Purim or Yom Tov falls on Friday: even when making the Shabbat Kiddush early, one declares that any subsequent seudah is in honor of Shabbat; one cannot count that meal for Friday as well, which is an entirely distinct day requiring an independent feast.
- One could, however, employ the technique of pores mappah umkaddesh. One extends Shabbat’s afternoon meal until nightfall, whereupon one recites yaknehaz and continues the meal as the Yom Tov night seudah (note that when beginning a meal on a weekday and continuing into Shabbat or Yom Tov, one must pause one’s meal at sunset until one recites Kiddush; in this case, one need not and should not pause for yaknehaz until Shabbat is over. See Hilchot Shabbat beShabbat chap. 7 n. 7). Pores mappah umkaddesh is also a viable option between the two days of Yom Tov instead of “early Yom Tov Sheini,” but most would prefer to complete their prayers with the congregation before beginning the meal.
- One could challenge this argument: By keeping a second day of Shavuot, we conduct ourselves as if the first day could potentially be the 49th day of the Omer (although we do not explicitly count it as such), hearkening back to a time where not all Jewish communities knew the correct date of Pesach, throwing the timing of Shavuot into doubt. As such, on some level, the Omer has not been certainly completed until tzeit hakochavim on the second night of Shavuot. In truth, however, even when the date of the new month was announced by messenger, confirmation of the true date of Pesach would have reached even far-flung Jewish communities by Shavuot. Chazal decreed two days of Shavuot not because there was ever really a doubt as to its date but merely to avoid the confusion of celebrating other holidays as two days but Shavuot as one (cf. Rambam, Hilchot Kiddush Hachodesh 3:12).
