Halacha: When Should You Start Preparing for Shabbat?

Rav Turetsky

It often takes a lot of time to prepare for Shabbat. With the clock now changed and our Fridays busier, what follows is a brief review of some important halachot regarding when one should ideally begin one’s Shabbat preparations.[1]

The Talmud in Beitzah (16a) writes that Shamai would begin his Shabbat preparations early in the week. If he found meat to eat in the beginning of the week, he would designate it for Shabbat. Only upon finding better food to set aside for Shabbat would he eat the original piece. Hillel acted differently. Because of his trust in Hashem, he would always wait until closer to Shabbat to purchase his Shabbat food. Mishna Berurah (250:2) notes that many Poskim understand that even Hillel fundamentally agrees to Shamai. Hillel had a very high level of trust in Hashem, which enabled him to have confidence quality food would be available later. For others, though, it would be appropriate to follow Shamai and begin preparing for Shabbat much earlier in the week.[2]

Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 250:1) writes that one should wake early on Friday to prepare for Shabbat.[3] Mishna Berurah (ad loc:2) explains that it’s better to prepare on Friday than Thursday, as one’s Friday preparations are more clearly being done for Shabbat. The Mishna Berurah, though, writes that things that require significant preparation should be purchased on Thursday. He also adds that during the winter months when there is less time on Friday, it is certainly better to prepare as much as possible on Thursday. 

Piskei Teshuvot (ibid) adds an important caveat. Our ability to refrigerate and freeze food cooked in advance allows us to prepare earlier. As such, there is less of a need to delay preparations until Friday, as Shulchan Aruch stated. An additional important point is mentioned in Piskei Teshuvot (ad loc:1). He writes that purchasing food at supermarkets takes up significant time and one would surely be encouraged under such circumstances to purchase food earlier in the week rather than wait. This is only true, though, if one’s food will remain fresh and of sufficient quality.

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[1] For practical halakha, please consult your Posek.

[2] See Mishna Berurah there for a brief discussion regarding purchasing foods earlier in the week that may not be available at a later point. Aruch HaShulchan (ad loc:2) writes that one should purchase food on Friday even if it is significantly more inconvenient than purchasing earlier in the week. It is not clear to me that all Poskim accept Aruch HaShuchan’s ruling. See below in the name of the Piskei Teshuvot.

[3] This is based on the Talmud in Shabbat (117b). See Ran (ad loc) that preparations should specifically performed during the day on Friday, and not the night before.