Greetings. I am not sure I understand the underlying logic for not folding a tallis as a preparation for the weekday according to the mishnah. Under ordinary circumstances folding involves no actual preparation, but simply putting the item into a state of good condition. Exactly like returning food to the refrigerator, which might be considered preparing for shabbos, but is simply conserving the item's condition. Plus, even if one assumes it involves tools that are prohibited on shabbos, why would a special prohibition be necessary since the use of that tool (an iron) would already be known to be prohibited on shabbos. Thanks.
David Goldman
David, it is really great to hear from an old friend again, after quite a while!
[ I think the title of this question should be Shabbos 113, since it is on the Mishnah 113a. Possibly it was titled 015 because it is on the 15th chapter of Shabbos].
David, I think you have Rabeinu Chananel on your side this time. This is printed on the side of the Gemara 113b. He writes that if one folds used clothes this restores them and makes them like new clothes, so it is considered a melachah. According to Rabeinu Chananel the prohibition is not because of preparation.
Here is, I hope bs'd, a better answer. The Shemiras Shabbos keHilchoso chapter 28 paragraph 83 (in the old edition) writes that one may do something for weekday purposes if this does not involve exertion, since if he would not do it now on Shabbos, he will not be able to do it on a weekday and will come thereby to a loss.
This is why one may return food to the refrigerator on Shabbos, since the food will spoil if left outside. The talis is different because it can be folded on a weekday just as effectively.
If it is close to the end of Shabbos, and the food will not spoil if left out and only returned after Shabbos, one should not return the food to the refrigerator.
Dovid Bloom
Thank you for your reply. Nice to be in touch again.
I had understood that the actual act of folding was involving a melacha because in those days they would use some kind of iron to fold.
According to the logic you mentioned, what practical difference would it make whether the tallis were folded along its normal lines or in some other way, even if it doesn't involved preparation? After all, folding could just be considered part of convenient storage so it isn't left out to get dirty or similar. Plus one's intention is NOT davka to do anything for the weekday, but merely to return to storage. No actual tikkun is intended or even performed.
Technically speaking food left out of the fridge might not result in spoilage, such as fruits and vegetables, and even if one were referring to something else, it wouldn't be a big loss to lose a part of a bottle of milk, etc. Only in the case of certain cooked foods might it be an issue, but even there it couldn't such a big loss to be of concern.
1) The proof that there is not actual melacha involved is from the fact that one may fold the tallis if one will wear it again this Shabbos. It is only if one is not intending to wear it on Shabbos; and therefore is folding it so that it should be ready after Shabbos; that there is a problem of preparing for a weekday.
2) To achieve convenient storage, one does not need to fold it on the proper folds. One can make temporary folds on Shabbos, and it is sufficeint that after Shabbos one returns it to its normal folds.
3) The reason one is allowed to return food to the refrigerator is not similar to what we sometimes find in Halacha that a special permission is given because of "Hefsed Merubeh"; a great loss. There is a different reason why one is allowed to return the food. This is because if one does not return it, the spoilng starts immediately. Therefore the action one is doing is for one's benefit immediately. It follows that one is not preparing for after Shabbos; one is preparing for now. Therefore even if only a small loss is involved one is still allowed to return the food, since this is not "Hachona" for Motzaei Shabbos; it is preparation for right now.
KOL TUV
Dovid Bloom
Thank you. But still I don't understand what the issue is for ordinary folding. A person is not miskaven to prepare for after Shabbos, simply to keep it nice in general (not wrinkled, etc. etc.). Or like making a bed just to have things look nice in general, wipe off shoes, and many other things.
1) The Beis Yosef on the Tur Orach Chaim #302 DH Mekaplin cites the Kolbo who writes that now the Minhag is that one folds all clothes. Kolbo writes that it is possible that this is because the folding that we do now is not similar to the folding that they did in the time of the Gemara, when they were very particular to open out the creases and put the clothes under the clothes-press, which we do not do now.
2) The Aruch Hashulchan 302:12 writes that in our times there are many people who fold their Talis on Shabbos, and one can say that they maintain that our folding does not represent a "tikun"; it does not improve the Talis.
3) However, those who are stringent and do not fold the Talis on Shabbos, reason that nowadays also it is good for the Talis to be put it into its fixed folds. If one was merely interested in keeping it nice in general one could fold it in any tidy way today, and then after Shabbos it would be sufficient to return it to its special folds.
Chag Sameach
Dovid Bloom