Today we finished the first chapter of our massekhet with daf TB Khullin 26. It concludes with a discussion concerning blowing the shofar on the onset of Shabbat and holidays and reciting Havdalah at the conclusion of Shabbat and holidays. The Rabbis describe a series of six blasts blown shortly before sunset, with each alert serving a specific, practical purpose for the community as they wrapped up their weekly tasks:
·
1st Blast: Signaled workers in the distant fields to cease their
agricultural labor and begin making their way back to the city.
·
2nd Blast: Alerted shopkeepers and innkeepers in town to wrap up
business, clear out, and close their stores.
·
3rd Blast: Instructed households to finish their food preparation and
light the Shabbat candles.
· The Final 3 Blasts: A sequence of Tekiah, Teruah, and Tekiah (one long blast, a series of staccato notes, and another long blast) signaled the exact, final instant before Shabbat began. At this point, the shofar blower would cease blowing and put the instrument down, as carrying or blowing a shofar is forbidden once Shabbat has started. (TB Shabbat 35a)
Even today the shofar is blown in Jerusalem erev Shabbat.
Our Mishna of
teaches: “Any situation where there is a shofar blast sounded on the eve
of Shabbat or a Festival to stop the people from performing labor and to
demarcate between the sacred and the profane, there is no havdala
recited at the conclusion of the Shabbat or Festival in prayer and over a cup
of wine. And any situation where there is havdala recited, there
is no shofar blast sounded.
“How so? On a
Festival that occurs on Shabbat eve, one sounds the shofar to stop the
people from performing labor that is permitted on the Festival and prohibited
on Shabbat and to demarcate between one sacred day and another; and one does
not recite havdala, as that is recited only when the transition is
from a sacred day to a profane day or from a day of greater sanctity to a day
of lesser sanctity. The sanctity of Shabbat is greater than the sanctity of the
Festival, and therefore havdala is not recited in this case. On a
Festival that occurs at the conclusion of Shabbat, one recites havdala,
but one does not sound the shofar.
“How does one recite havdala in that case; i.e., what is the
formula of the blessing? It concludes: Who distinguishes between sacred and
sacred, as opposed to the standard blessing at the conclusion of Shabbat:
Who distinguishes between sacred and profane….” (Sefaria.org translation)
A standard
blessing has a beginning (in Hebrew a petikha-פְּתִיחָה)
starting with “Barukh atah Hashem”
and a conclusion (in Hebrew a khatima-חֲתִימָה)
with “Barukh atah Hashem”. When
reciting Havdalah going from a Yom Tov to Shabbat we recite “Who distinguishes between sacred and sacred”
in the khatima. “The Gemara asks: Where
does one recite the formula in question? Rav Yehuda said: He recites
the formula at the conclusion of the blessing. But in the body of the
blessing one recites the same formula as in every conclusion of Shabbat: Who
distinguishes between sacred and profane, between light and darkness, etc. And
likewise, Rav Naḥman said: He recites the formula at the conclusion of
the blessing.” Sefaria.org translation)
What is the
conclusion of Havdalah when it falls in the middle of the week is the next
question the Gemara answers. “Rabbi Zeira said: At the conclusion of a
Festival that occurs in the middle of the week, one recites: Who distinguishes
between sacred and profane, and between light and darkness, and between Israel
and the nations, and between the seventh day and the six days of labor,
even though it is not Shabbat. What is the reason for that practice? He
is enumerating the series of distinctions that the Sages instituted and not
specifically the distinction unique to that particular day.” (Sefaria.org
translation)
Here is the
final blessing of Havdalah at the conclusion of Shabbat. “Blessed are You, Lord
our God, King of the universe, who distinguishes between the holy and the
profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between
the seventh day and the six working days. Blessed are You, O Lord, who
distinguishes between the sacred and the profane.” (Sefaria.org translation)
Here is the
final blessing of Havdalah when Yom Tov falls on erev Shabbat: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe,
who distinguishes between the holy and the profane, between light and darkness,
between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six working
days. Blessed are You, O Lord, who distinguishes between the sacred and the
sacred.” (Sefaria.org translation)
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