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The time to daven maariv on Motzoei Shabbos is some period (where I am it’s around 15 minutes) after the stars come out. This period is called tosefes Shabbos.

In many shuls, the shaliach tzibbur puts on a talis for maariv. On Motzoei Shabbos, he does this before Shabbos goes out so as to be ready to start on time.

I understand that the amount of tosefes Shabbos from the Torah need only be a moment. The remainder of the (say 15 minute) period is rabbinic.

It seems therefore that there is no problem of Hachono (preparing for the next day) by putting on the talis, during the rabbinic tosefes Shabbos.

Is that right and how do we know it?

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    Putting on a tallis for Mariv is not hachna, is getting a siddur for mariv a problem? One can daven mariv and still keep Shabbas.
    – sam
    Commented Jul 8, 2012 at 15:11
  • @sam Books are not muktzeh; clothing can be.
    – b a
    Commented Jul 8, 2012 at 17:19
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    Hachana does not have anything to do with muktza
    – Desert Star
    Commented Jul 8, 2012 at 17:49
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    I'm with @sam. You're allowed to daven maariv and say havdalah on shabbat afternoon so it can't be a hachana problem.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Jul 8, 2012 at 18:20
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    In addition, hachana means I am preparing now for use later. When I put on a talis, I am using it now.
    – YDK
    Commented Jul 8, 2012 at 20:11

4 Answers 4

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He is allowed to put it on because Maariv is taking place still during Tosefet Shabbat. Tosefet Shabbat only ends when saying Atta Chonantanu, Havdala or Baruch Hamavdil Bein Kodesh Lechol. The Talmud (Berachot 27b) even says:

רבי יאשיה מצלי של מוצאי שבת בשבת.‏
Rabbi Josiah prayed Saturday night['s maariv] on Shabbat.

So the Chazzan is putting on the Tallit for use on Shabbat and is thus not a problem of preparing.

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    The fact that Rabbi Josiah prayed when it was still Shabbos does not answer for those that pray when it is after Shabbos.
    – Gershon Gold
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 18:01
  • @GershonGold The question was about people who are praying on Shabbat not after Shabbat. That's exactly what my answer said!
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 18:13
  • On Motzoei Shabbos, he does this before Shabbos goes out so as to be ready to start on time.
    – Gershon Gold
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 18:14
  • @GershonGold They indeed daven after Tzeit but it still Shabbat because they haven't ended Shabbat. When did anyone end Shabbat? Again, this is exactly what my answer said.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 18:15
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In the Mishna (Shabbat 23:3), a machloket is presented between Abba Shaul and the tana qama. The Mishna states that it is forbidden to wander out to the Shabbat boundary during the day in order to hire workers or tend to your vineyards the moment that it gets dark. Abba Shaul, however, permits wandering out during the day if it is in preparation for something that you would be allowed to speak about on Shabbat: כל שאני זכאי באמירתו, רשאי אני להחשיך עליו ("Anything that I might merit to speak about, I am permitted to prepare for" - lit. 'for it to get dark on me about').

The following mishna (23:4) provides two examples of this: tending to the needs of a bride and burying the dead, while Shabbat 24:5 further permits making measurements, in order to determine whether objects are large enough to convey (or dispel) impurity, and whether or not a miqveh might be of the requisite size.

In the gemara (Shabbat 150a), Abba Shaul's statement is taken as halakha, and is interpreted to mean that you are allowed to prepare anything on Shabbat that is for the sake of a mitzvah - so long, of course, as the act of preparation neither involves melakha nor dealing with objects that are muqtzeh:

אמר קרא ממצוא חפצך ודבר דבר חפציך אסורים חפצי שמים מותרין

The verse says: "[If you refrain from...] pursuing your own affairs and speaking words" (Isaiah 58:13): your own affairs are forbidden; affairs of heaven are permitted.

The Rambam sums all of this up in Hilkhot Shabbat 24:5, in which he says that it is permitted to prepare for the mitzvot that you will observe as soon as it gets dark. His two examples, as per the mishna, are tending to the needs of brides and of the dead. So too the Shulchan Arukh (Orach Chaim 306:6-7), which also permits preparing for mitzvot that will be performed after Shabbat, and even making the necessary measurements.

None of these sources speak directly about ma'ariv, and there might even be scope for debate over whether ma'ariv is to be considered a davar mitzvah or a reshut, but nobody considers a tallit to be muqtzeh and I haven't found any source that even implies that putting it on in preparation would be improper. Always best to consult a rabbi (rather than a website), and if anybody wishes to correct my understanding of these texts - please do so.

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According to Rabbi Falk zt"l all Hachono is allowed in Tosefes Shabbos. His reasoning and sources are given at the end of the above linked Sefer here.

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    It would be better to summarize his arguments, links can get broken rendering your answer less useful
    – mbloch
    Commented Aug 20, 2023 at 9:19
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Per Shmiras Shabbos K'Hilchoso 25:81 - HaRav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach Zatzal holds that any act normally done as a matter of course without one's really thinking about or considering its later purpose is permissible on Shabbos even if it is in truth an act that is only preparatory for after Shabbos.

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  • He is putting on the talis not for the moment but in order to pray maariv. I can prove this: if he were not going to lead maariv he would not have put on the talis.
    – Avrohom Yitzchok
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 13:33
  • I found the following site dafdigest.org/shabbos/Shabbos%20157.pdf where hachono is discussed and extracted: The Sages forbade any extra effort or minor preparation during Shabbos for a weekday even if the effort involves no melacha or Rabbinic ordinance. This "Hachono", was meant to preserve the serenity and restful character of Shabbos. Therefore, any effort or even mild "bother" that is expended on Shabbos or Yom Tov for the sake of a weekday can come under this prohibition, even if the effort is a very lightweight activity and is completely unrelated to any melacha
    – Avrohom Yitzchok
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 16:38
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    Do people put on talleisim as a matter of course?? How is the Chazzan not thinking of a later purpose??
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 17:32

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