• Beitza 33b

A- Making the brachah on B’samim at the Havdalah of Shabbos, as opposed to the Havdalah of Yom Tov:

(1)  On Motzoei Shabbos, we make the brachah on B’samim, however on (2) Motzoei Yom Tov, (followed by a weekday,) we do not.

(3) On Motzoei Shabbos that is followed by a Yom Tov, we do not; we only recite יקנה”ז.

So here is the issue:

Assuming the reason for reciting the Brachah on Motzoei Shabbos (1) is because of the departing Neshomo Yeseira –  הנשמה היתרה –  does Yom Tov have a Neshamah Yeseira or not?

If we say that there is NO Neshomo Yeseira on Yom Tov, then it would explain the reason why we do not recite the Brachah on Motzoei Yom Tov (2) because there is no Neshomah Yeseira on Yom Tov.

But then the question is why don’t we recite it on Motzoei Shabbos that is followed by a Yom Tov (3)? The  Neshamah Yeseira of Shabbos expires and there is no Neshamah Yeseira of Yom Tov to replace it?

If we say that there is indeed a Neshamah Yeseira on Yom Tov, that explains why on Motzoei Shabbos that is followed by a Yom Tov (3) , we don’t recite Besomim because the expiring Neshamah Yeseira of Shabbos is replaced by the Neshamah Yeseira of Yom Tov.

But then the question is why don’t we do it on a plain Motzoei Yom Tov, that is followed by a weekday (2), when the NeshamahYeseira of Yom Tov expires?  

B- The explanation:

Tosfos’ opinion is that there is NO Neshamah Yeseira on Yom Tov. The reason why we don’t do it on Motzoei Shabbos that is followed by a Yom Tov (although when Shabbos ends it is not replaced by a new Neshamah Yeseira of Yom Tov) is because the “special food and delicacies that one has for Yom Tov placates his anguish at losing the Shabbos Neshamah Yesira that leaves then”.

[In discussing this, Tosfos also mentions the reason for Besamim being that the fires of גיהנום, which are extinguished on Shabbos, is re-ignited on Motzoei Shabbos and the ‘stench’ is alleviated by the Besomim]

On the other hand, the Rashbam in (Psachim 102, b) says that a person does have a Neshamah Yeseira on Yom Tov.

פירש רשב”ם דטעם בשמים משום איבוד נשמה יתירה וביום טוב נמי איכא נשמה יתירה.

So the question on the Rashbam is why don’t we do it on a plain motzoei Yom Tov, that is followed by a weekday, (2) when the Neshomo Yeseira of Yom Tov expires.

C- We mentioned the Sicha of the Rebbe, (LK”S 31, Siso 2) that explains the Rashba”m.

In short, the Rebbe quotes the Ran whose opinion is similar to the Tosfos in that there is no Neshamah Yeseira on Yom Tov. But his reason for not doing Besomim from Shabbos to Yom Tov is (not due to the food delicacies as per the Tosofs, but rather) because ‘on a regular Shabbos when a person leaves from a total state of rest (Shabbos) to a week day one needs to ease the transition with Besomim. But on Shabbos to Yom Tov the transition is lessened since on Yom Tov too there is a level of rest. And on a regular Yom Tov to a weekday there too the change of status is not that great since on Yom Tov one may do a מלאכה for אוכל נפש’.  

So, the Rebbe continues, we see that the Ran’s explanation of Neshamah Yeseira is a non-mystical one.

There is a difference according to נגלה as to the meaning of נשמה יתירה which means ‘rest’ as opposed to נסתר where it literally means an ‘extra’ נשמה. (Which the Zohar states that it definitely exists not only on Yom Tov but on Rosh Chodesh too!)

In the world of  Niglah , נשמה יתירה is a rather a simple idea of ‘state of rest for the Neshamah’. Neshomo Yeseirah = rest from work. So when this state is changed drastically (1) one needs Besamim. When the change is gradual (2 and 3) Besamim is not needed.

So perhaps this explanation of Neshamah Yeseira can be applied to the Rashbam as well. True, there is a Neshamah Yeseira on Yom Tov just like there is one on Shabbos. But they are different, corresponding to the מלאכות permitted. On Shabbos when work is not permitted at all one is in a state of a ‘high Neshamah Yeseira’ – total rest, as opposed to Yom Tov when it is a lower state of rest due the permissibility of some מלאכות.

Therefore when going from Shabbos to Yom Tov or from Yom Tov to a weekday being that  the change is not drastic Besamim is not used.

D- In passing we mentioned the footnote (15) in the Sicha that mentions another example of נגלה  as opposed to נסתר. The Alter Rebbe [242, 7] in his שולחן ערוך   writes that one should boycott the fish wholesalers if they hike the price of fish even if it means having no fish for Shabbos. That is in the world of נגלה. 

This despite the importance of eating fish on Shabbos according to נסתר.

There is a lot more to this. Please see Sicha at length.

D- We mentioned the Radva”z who says that the reason for not making the Brachah on Besamim Motzoei Shabbos that is followed by a Yom Tov is because it would ‘embarrass’ the Yom Tov if in the middle of Kiddush we would proclaim that Yom Tov lacks a Neshsmoah Yeseira what Shabbos has.

E- We learned the Rashi on “Mustiki”, where one glues shards of a broken barrel with  mustiki…

Mastic Tree

וקורין אותו ריישינ”א וריחו דומה לריח לבונה ובלשון ערבי קורין אותו מוסתק”י ומדבקין בו קערות חרס הנשברים כך אמר לי רבי שמואל המכונה חסיד מן ברבשט”א וכיון דרעועה היא ליכא למגזר בה שלא יתכוון לעשות כל

a reference to Reb Shmuel from Barbastro – a city in Aragon, Spain.

F- Last week when discussing the issue of forming a toothpick from hard or soft wood the Gemara mentions the rule that food which is not a material that can be formed into a כלי’.

On the other hand we learned (28a) that on Yom Tov a butcher should not make a hole in a piece of meat to hang it in his store to display it.  

We spoke about the old מנהג to make a hole in the Afikomen to hang it on the wall. See Alter Rebbe Shulchan Aruch 477, 11.

יא הנוהגין לנקוב חתיכת אפיקומן ולתלותה אין בזה איסור משום נוקב ביו”ט לפי שאיסור עשיית נקב אפילו בשבת אינו שייך באוכלין אלא בעצים ואבנים ומתכות וכיוצא בהםסו (משאר דברים הראוים לעשות מהן כלים עיין סי’ שי”ד):

 

בחיי בשלח. שלישי להולדת האדם.