Torah Learning on Shabbat

לֹא נִיתְנוּ שַׁבָּתוֹת וְיָמִים טוֹבִים אֶלָּא לָאֲכִילָה וְלִשְׁתִייָה. עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהַפֶּה זֶה (טְרִיח) מֵרִיחַ הִתִּירוּ לוֹ לַעֲסוֹק בָּהֶן בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה. רִבִּי בְּרֶכְיָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר בָּא. לֹא נִיתְנוּ שַׁבָּתוֹת וְיָמִים טוֹבִים אֶלָּא לַעֲסוֹק בָּהֶן בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה. מַתְנִיתַא מְסַייָעָה בֵּין לָדֵין בֵּין לָדֵין. כֵּיצַד הוּא עוֹשֶׂה. אוֹ יוֹשֵׁב וְאוֹכֵל אוֹ יוֹשֵׁב וְעוֹסֶק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה. כָּתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר. שַׁבָּ֥ת הִוא֙ לַֽה'. וְכָתוּב אַחֵר אוֹמֵר. עֲצֶ֨רֶת֙ לַֽה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ. הָא כֵיצַד. תֵּן חֶלֶק לְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה וְחֶלֶק לֶאֱכוֹל וְלִשְׁתוֹת.

Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 15:3

MISHNAH: One may fold garments even four or five times and make the beds from Friday Night to the Sabbath Day, but not from Sabbath for after the Sabbath. Rebbi Ismael says, one folds garments and makes beds from the day of Atonement to the Sabbath. The fats of the Sabbath are brought on the Day of Atonement but those of the Day of Atonement are not brought on the Sabbath. Rebbi Aqiba says, neither are those of the Sabbath brought on the Day of Atonement nor those of the Day of Atonement on the Sabbath. HALAKHAH: 3. In the House of Rebbi Yannai they said, folding by two persons is forbidden. Rebbi Ḥaggai in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: On the Sabbath, two together may not fold. If one folds on a footstool it is as if two persons were folding. Rebbi Ḥaggai in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: Sabbaths and holidays were given only for eating and drinking. Since this mouth [is bothersome] (is smelling), they permitted him to be occupied with words of the Torah. Rebbi Berekhiah in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: Sabbaths and holidays were given only for being occupied with words of the Torah. A baraita supports either one of them: What does one do? Either he sits down and eats or he sits and studies words of the Torah. One verse says, it is a Sabbath for the Eternal, and another verse says, an assembly for the Eternal, your God. How is that? Give part of it to the study of Torah and part to eat and to drink. Rebbi Abbahu said, a Sabbath for the Eternal, rest like the Eternal. Since the Eternal rested from saying, you also should rest from saying. It happened that a pious person went to promenade in his vineyard on the Sabbath when he saw there a breach which he decided to repair after the Sabbath. He said, because I wanted to repair I shall never repair it. What did the Holy One, praise to Him, do for him? He prepared for him a tent of caper bush which grew there and mended it. From it he was fed and from there was his sustenance all his days. Rebbi Ḥanina said, with difficulty they permitted greeting on the Sabbath. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said, when Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai saw that his mother enjoyed talking much, he said to her, mama, today is Sabbath. It was stated: It is forbidden to pray for his needs on the Sabbath. Rebbi Zeˋira asked Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, may one say, “shepherd us, provide for us”? He answered him, these are formulas of benediction. It was stated: One rinses cups, pots, and plates from Friday Night to the morning, from morning to noon, from noon to afternoon. After afternoon it is forbidden, only for cups it is permitted since drinking has no fixed times. Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Zeˋira in the name of Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi: An intelligent woman rinses a cup here, a pot there, a plate there; the result is that she waters down her house on the Sabbath. Rebbi Zeˋira in the name of Rav Ḥisda, if the Day of Atonement falls to be on the Sabbath one does not blow, if after the Sabbath one does not make havdalah. Why? Following Rebbi Aqiba. But following Rebbi Ismael he makes havdalah since the fats of the Sabbath are brought on the Day of Atonement. Rebbi Ezra said before Rebbi Mana, even according to Rebbi Ismael he should not make havdalah, since one only makes havdalah to permit things which were forbidden to him. If he would burn the fats of the Sabbath on the Sabbath, would that not be permitted? Rebbi Samuel the brother of Rebbi Berekhiah said, he should make havdalah since by it he permits to rinse pickled and parboiled [food]. Rebbi Yose said, he only is permitted to rinse pickled and parboiled [food] from the time of afternoon prayers or later. Could he make havdalah from the time of afternoon prayers or later? As you take it, there is no cup, there is no light, how can he make havdalah? Rebbi Abun said, in prayer.

טור, אורח חיים ר״צ

אמרה תורה לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע כשיכנסו ישראל לארץ זה רץ לכרמו וזה רץ לשדהו ואני מה תהא עלי אמר לה יש לי זוג שאני מזווג לך ושבת שמו שהם בטלים ממלאכתם ויכולין לעסוק בך ע"כ צריך שיקבעו מדרש להודיע לעם את חוקי האלקים ואת תורותיו ואסור לקבוע סעודה בזמן בית המדרש

Tur, Orach Chayim 290

...

תנא דבי אליהו רבה א׳

אמר להם הקב"ה לישראל לא כתבתי לכם בתורתי לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך (יהושע א׳:ח׳) אע"פ שאתם עושים מלאכה כל ששה ימים שבת יעשה כולו תורה. מכאן אמרו ישכים אדם וישנה בשבת וילך לבית הכנסת ולבית המדרש. ויקרא בתורה וישנה בנביאים ואח"כ ילך לביתו ויאכל וישתה לקיים מה שנאמר לך אכול בשמחה לחמך ושתה בלב טוב יינך.

Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah 1

(1) 1. And He drove (ויגרש) the Adom (Man) (Bereshis 3:24) - from here learn that The Holy One Blessed Be He gave to him (Adom) a divorce (גירושין) like a woman (that is like husband would give a divorce document to his wife whom he wishes to divorce). And He placed from the east (מקדם) of Gan Eden the Cheruvim (type of Angels) - from here learn that the Cheruvim came before (קדמו) of all of the Act of Creation. with a bright blade of a revolving sword - this is Gehinnom (Hell). to guard the way - this is Derech Eretz (literally the 'Way of the Land', different meanings, here Basic Human Decency, Proper Conduct or similar). of the Tree of Life - we learn that Derech Eretz comes before (i.e. has priority) over the Tree of Life. And there is no 'Tree of Life' except Torah, as is said it is a Tree of Life for all whose grasp on it (Mishlei 3:18).

(2) 2. Blessed is the Lord, blessed is He, who recognizes at the start what will be in the end. And He proclaims from the beginning the ending from before that He made (i.e. created). And He knows that which He made and what it would be destined to do. And He foresees for good and He does not foresee for evil. He is rich and is happy with His portion. And in His wisdom and His understanding, He created His world, and He prepared and afterward created in it a Man (Adom), and flung him before Him. And He calculated until the end of all the generations and foresaw that his (man's) descendants would be angering. He said if I were to guard in him the first debts (i.e. seek payback in regards to sins), the world would not stand. It is on me to overlook the first (sins), so He does. Where can you know this is so? When (The Nation of) Israel was in the Desert, they rotted in their actions (by the sin of Golden Calf). He stood to overlook all that They had done, as it says "And Hashem passed (ויעבור) in front of him (Moshe) [Shemos 34:6]. Do not read he passed (ויעבור) rather he forgave (ויעביר). Learn that He forgave all the evil in front of him. And it should be known to you that so was with Mordechai in the time that Esther spoke not properly; since she said "but I have not been called to come in to the king etc." [Esther 4:11]. And he (Mordechai) responded to her "For if you remain silent etc." [Esther 4:14]. And when she repented and spoke to him properly, "Go, gather all the Jews" [Esther 4:16]. He looked past her words (i.e. her original words, forgiving them) as it says "And Mordechai passed" [Esther 4:17]. (The verb עָבַר has multiple meanings, literally to pass or take away, here the meaning is its use in the following verse) and he said: "Who is like God, who forgives iniquity, and overlooks transgression (וְעֹבֵ֣ר עַל־פֶּ֔שַׁע)" [Micha 7:18]. "Your eyes did see my unshaped flesh (for in Thy book all things are written)" etc. [Psalms 139:16] that teaching says in the future The Holy One Blessed Be He will sit in the Big House of Study of His. And the Righteous (צדיקים) will sit before him, and He will say to them 'My children, this generation such Torah it did and such I did with them righteousness, but I will not mention their sins, and they do not go upon my heart', as it says "and the former things shall not be remembered" etc. [Isaiah 65:17]. (Continuing the interpretation of the cited verse) "These days were formed, but not one from them" [Psalms 139:16] (the verse ends as written ולא אֶחָד בָּהֶם not one from them, yet is read וְלוֹ אֶחָד בָּהֶם which means and to him one from them both connotate a unique day). This refers to the day of Shabbos for Israel. How so? A man does work all six days and rests on the seventh. He has amity with his children and the people of his house. Mans returns to do work in the face of his enemy all six days, and rests on the seventh, forgetting all pain, as it is so with the ways of man - a good day he forgets the bad day. A bad day he forgets the good day. The Holy One Blessed be He says to Israel did I not write to them in my Torah, "You should not remove this Book of Torah from your mouths" [Joshua 1:8] even though you do work all six days, Shabbos you should make fully Torah. From here, it is said a man should arise early and learn on Shabbos. And go to the Synagogue and to the House of Study. And he should read Torah verse, then learn in the Prophets, and afterward go to his house and eat and drink to fulfill that which it says "[But you, the righteous one,] go and eat your bread in joy, and drink your wine with a good heart, (for G-d has already accepted your good deeds) [Ecclesiastes 9:7]. Accordingly, there is no refreshment to the Holy One Blessed be He except only with those who make Torah, therefore that it says "For all those things has my hand made, (and so all those things came to be, says the Lord:) but to this man will I look, to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word." [Isaiah 66:2]. From here it is said what a man says (i.e. when learning Torah) he should grasp in his hand in order that he does not have to handle the embarrassment and shame at the time when they say to him 'Stand and arrange (וערוך) the Verses you said and arrange (וערוך) the Mishnayos you have learned. And so it is explicit in the Tradition by King David, "Hashem, in the morning you hear my voice, in the morning I arrange before you (אֶעֱרָךְ־לְךָ) and I hope" [Psalms 5:4].

(3) Alternatively, "These days were formed, but not one from them" [Psalms 139:16] is refering to Yom Kippur for (the nation of) Israel. {continuing}

פסחים ס״ח ב

רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר: אֵין לוֹ לְאָדָם בְּיוֹם טוֹב אֶלָּא, אוֹ אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה, אוֹ יוֹשֵׁב וְשׁוֹנֶה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר: חַלְּקֵהוּ, חֶצְיוֹ לַאֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּה, וְחֶצְיוֹ לְבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ. אָמַר רַבָּה: הַכֹּל מוֹדִים בְּשַׁבָּת דְּבָעֵינַן נָמֵי לָכֶם. מַאי טַעְמָא? ״וְקָרָאתָ לַשַּׁבָּת עוֹנֶג״.

Pesachim 68b

We learned in the mishna that when the eve of Passover occurs on Shabbat, burning the fats of the Paschal lamb overrides Shabbat. The Gemara notes that it was taught in the Tosefta: Rabbi Shimon said: Come and see how dear is a mitzva performed in its proper time. For burning the fats and limbs and inner fats is valid all night and it would have been possible to wait until the conclusion of Shabbat and burn them at night, but nonetheless we do not wait with them until nightfall; rather, we burn them immediately, even on Shabbat. The mishna also taught that carrying the Paschal lamb through a public domain, bringing it from outside the Shabbat limit and cutting off its wart do not override Shabbat. The Gemara raises a contradiction from another mishna in tractate Eiruvin, which teaches: One may cut off a wart by hand on Shabbat in the Temple but not in the rest of the country outside the Temple. And if the wart is to be removed with an instrument, it is forbidden both here, in the Temple, and there, outside the Temple. From here we see that in the Temple cutting off a wart, at least by hand, is permitted. Two amora’im, Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina, disagreed about how to resolve this contradiction. One of them said: Both this mishna in Pesaḥim and that mishna in Eiruvin speak of cutting off the wart by hand. This mishna that forbids cutting it off refers to a moist wart, which is considered like the flesh of the animal. It is therefore prohibited by rabbinic decree to cut off the wart; and since it could have been removed before Shabbat, the decree applies even in the Temple, where rabbinic decrees are generally not applicable. That mishna that permits cutting it off refers to a dry wart, which breaks apart by itself, and so there is no prohibition even by rabbinic decree to cut it off. And the other one said: Both this mishna and that mishna speak of cutting off a moist wart, and it is not difficult. This mishna that says it is permitted talks about removing the wart by hand, which is prohibited only by a rabbinic decree that was not applied to the Temple; whereas that mishna that says it is prohibited talks about removing the wart with an instrument, which is prohibited by Torah law and forbidden everywhere. The Gemara asks: And according to the one who says that this mishna speaks about cutting off the wart by hand and that mishna speaks about cutting it off with an instrument, what is the reason that he did not state like the other amora that this and that talk about cutting off the wart by hand, and it is not difficult; this mishna speaks of a moist wart, while that mishna speaks of a dry wart? The Gemara answers that he could have said to you: A dry wart breaks apart by itself, and so there would be no need to teach us that it may be removed. Both mishnayot must therefore refer to a moist wart, and the difference between them is whether the wart is being removed by hand or with an instrument. The Gemara reverses the question: And according to the one who says that both this mishna and that mishna talk about removing the wart by hand, and it is not difficult; this speaks of a moist wart while that speaks of a dry wart. What is the reason that he did not state like the other amora that this and that are discussing a moist wart and it is not difficult; this mishna in Eiruvin speaks about cutting off the wart by hand and that mishna in Pesaḥim speaks about cutting it off with an instrument? The Gemara answers that he could have said to you: The case of cutting off the wart with an instrument is taught there in Eiruvin in that very same mishna: If the wart is to be removed with an instrument, it is forbidden both here, in the Temple, and there, outside the Temple. Therefore, there would be no reason to repeat the same halakha here in this mishna, as it is stated explicitly in the other mishna. The Gemara asks: And the other amora, how does he account for the repetition according to his explanation? The mishna here teaches the law with regard to an instrument because it comes to teach us the dispute between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua; for according to our mishna, Rabbi Eliezer permits cutting off a moist wart even with an instrument in order to render the animal fit to be brought as a Paschal offering. We learned in the mishna that Rabbi Eliezer said that if slaughter, which is ordinarily forbidden on Shabbat as a biblically prohibited labor, nevertheless overrides Shabbat when performed for the sake of the Paschal lamb, then activities that are prohibited by rabbinic decree should certainly override Shabbat when performed for that purpose. Rabbi Yehoshua disagreed, arguing that the law governing a Festival proves otherwise. Rabbi Eliezer countered that the law governing an optional activity, such as preparing food on a Festival, cannot be brought as proof with regard to the mitzva of offering the Paschal lamb. The Gemara notes that Rabbi Yehoshua follows his regular line of reasoning, for he said that rejoicing on a Festival is also a mitzva, and therefore whatever one does in order to enhance one’s enjoyment of the Festival is considered an act performed for the sake of a mitzva, just like the offering of a sacrifice. For it was taught in a baraita that these two tanna’im disagreed about this matter: Rabbi Eliezer says: A person has nothing but to choose on a Festival; he either eats and drinks or sits and learns the entire day, but there is no specific mitzva to eat on the Festival. Rabbi Yehoshua, on the other hand, says: Divide the day, half of it for eating and drinking and half of it for the study hall, for he holds that eating and drinking are obligatory on the Festival. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: And both of them derived their opinions from one verse, i.e., the two of them addressed the same textual difficulty, resolving it in different ways. For one verse says: “It shall be an assembly for the Lord your God; you shall do no labor” (Deuteronomy 16:8), which indicates that the day is set aside for Divine service, and another verse says: “It shall be an assembly for you; you shall do no servile labor” (Numbers 29:35), which indicates a celebratory assembly for the Jewish people. Rabbi Eliezer holds that the two verses should be understood as offering a choice: The day is to be either entirely for God or entirely for you. And Rabbi Yehoshua holds that it is possible to fulfill both verses: Split the day into two, half of it for God and half of it for you. Ayin, beit, mem is a mnemonic consisting of the first letter of Atzeret, the middle letter of Shabbat and the final letter of Purim. Rabbi Elazar said: All agree with regard to Atzeret, the holiday of Shavuot, that we require that it be also “for you,” meaning that it is a mitzva to eat, drink, and rejoice on that day. What is the reason? It is the day on which the Torah was given, and one must celebrate the fact that the Torah was given to the Jewish people. Rabba said: All agree with regard to Shabbat that we require that it be also “for you.” What is the reason? Because the verse states: “If you proclaim Shabbat a delight, the sacred day of God honored” (Isaiah 58:13). Rav Yosef said: All agree with regard to Purim that we require that it be also “for you.” What is the reason? Because it is written: “To observe them as days of feasting and gladness” (Esther 9:22). The Gemara relates: Mar, son of Ravina, would spend the entire year fasting during the day and eating only sparsely at night, except for Shavuot, Purim, and the eve of Yom Kippur. He made these exceptions for the following reasons: Shavuot because it is the day on which the Torah was given and there is a mitzva to demonstrate one’s joy on that day; Purim because “days of feasting and gladness” is written about it; the eve of Yom Kippur, as Ḥiyya bar Rav of Difti taught: “And you shall afflict your souls on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:32). But does one fast on the ninth of Tishrei? Doesn’t one fast on the tenth of Tishrei? Rather, this comes to tell you: One who eats and drinks on the ninth, the verse ascribes him credit as if he fasted on both the ninth and the tenth of Tishrei. The Gemara relates that Rav Yosef, on the day of Shavuot, would say: Prepare me a choice third-born calf. He said: If not for this day on which the Torah was given that caused the Jewish people to have the Torah, how many Yosefs would there be in the market? It is only due to the importance of Torah study that I have become a leader of the Jewish people, and I therefore have a special obligation to rejoice on this day. A somewhat similar story is told about Rav Sheshet, that every thirty days he would review his studies that he had learned over the previous month, and he would stand and lean against the bolt of the door and say: Rejoice my soul, rejoice my soul, for you I have read Scripture, for you I have studied Mishna. The Gemara asks: Is that so, that Torah study is beneficial only for the soul of the person who has studied? But didn’t Rabbi Elazar say: If not for the Torah and its study, heaven and earth would not be sustained, as it is stated: “If not for My covenant by day and by night, I would not have set up the laws of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25). It is the Torah, the eternal covenant that is studied day and night, that justifies the continued existence of the world. The Gemara answers: This is indeed correct, but at the outset when a person does this mitzva, he does it for himself, and only afterward does he have in mind the benefit that will be brought to the entire world. Rav Ashi said: And even according to what Rabbi Eliezer said, that rejoicing on a Festival is optional, there is a refutation: If on a Festival, when a biblically prohibited labor, such as slaughtering, baking, or cooking, is permitted even when it is performed for an optional activity, nonetheless a rabbinic decree that is with it is not permitted, and we do not say that since they permitted an optional activity they permitted everything associated with it; how much more so on Shabbat, when a biblically prohibited labor is only permitted when it is performed for a mitzva, isn’t it right not to permit a rabbinic decree that is with it? Activities that are forbidden due to a rabbinic decree should thus be prohibited on Shabbat even for the purpose of a mitzva, against the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer.

שולחן ערוך, אורח חיים ר״צ

(ב) אחר סעודת שחרית קובעים מדרש לקרות בנביאים ולדרוש בדברי אגדה ואסור לקבוע סעודה באותה שעה: הגה ופועלים ובעלי בתים שאינן עוסקים בתורה כל ימי שבוע יעסקו יותר בתורה בשבת מתלמידי חכמים העוסקים בתורה כל ימי השבוע ותלמידי חכמים ימשיכו יותר בעונג אכילה ושתיה קצת שהרי מתענגים בלמודם כל ימי השבוע: [ב"י סי' רפ"ח בשם ירושלמי]:

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 290

(1) On Shabbos, One Should Complete [the Quota] of 100 Blessings [by Reciting Blessings] on Fruits, 2 Seifim: 1. One must amply partake of fruits and sweets, and enjoy various fragrances if he possesses them, in order to reach the sum of 100 blessings. RAMA: If one is accustomed to sleeping during the afternoon during the week, he should not neglect [this practice] on Shabbos, because it is pleasurable for him. (Tur)

(2) 2. After the morning meal, we establish learning, to read in Prophets and expound on Agadah. And it is forbidden to establish a meal during that time. RAMA: And workers and homeowners who do not toil in Torah during all the days of the week, should toil more in Torah on Shabbos than Torah scholars who toil in Torah all days of the week. And the Torah scholars should engross more in the enjoyment of eating and drinking, a bit, because they pleasure in their studies all days of the week. [Beis Yosef Siman 288 in the name of the Yerushalmi]