Cooking on Shabbos vs. Cooking on Yom Tov
QUESTION: I know people cook on Yom Tov. What is the difference between cooking on Yom Tov which is permitted and cooking on Shabbos which is prohibited?
ANSWER: Almost all of the melachos – categories of actions that are prohibited on Shabbos – are prohibited on Yom Tov as well (Shulchan Aruch OC 495:1). However, the Torah (Shemos 12:16) teaches us that there is one significant difference between Shabbos and Yom Tov. On Yom Tov, certain melachos that are necessary for preparing Yom Tov food are permitted. However, not all melachos are permitted for the sake of food preparation. Only those that are absolutely necessary, or that were deemed by the Rabbis to significantly enhance the quality of the food, may be performed on Yom Tov. It is advisable to become familiar with the guidelines of which melachos are permitted, since not everything is permitted on Yom Tov for the sake of food preparation.
For example, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l (Shmiras Shabbos K'Hilchaso III Ch. 55, f.n. 35) writes that there is a type of baking that is not permitted on Yom Tov. If one has a challah or matzah that is missing a piece, and one wants to char the edge to create a crust so that it should have the status of a shaleim (complete loaf to be used for lechem mishnah), Rav Auerbach writes this may not be done on Yom Tov. Although baking is permitted on Yom Tov, he argues that fixing the bread in this manner falls under the category of "tikun mana" (fixing a broken utensil) and this is not considered a necessity of Yom Tov. He explains that doing something for the necessity of a mitzvah is not enough, it must be a necessity of Yom Tov.
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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.