Extending Shabbat
Question
A friend invited me to her house on Saturday night 12/21 at 7:00pm and asked me to bring challah for Shabbat. I told her Shabbat was over, but I could still bring the challah. She told me that it’s okay to extend Shabbat until Tuesday if you wanted to. I find it hard to believe that you can just change the rules just because you feel like it.
She insists that you can end Shabbat whenever you want up until Tuesday night. I would think you’d need a better reason that just because you feel like it.
What’s the Jewish law about choosing your own end time for Shabbat?
Answers
What you were told is not really accurate. Although Havdalah can be recited up to and including Tuesday for someone who was not able to make Havdalah earlier, this does not mean that it is still Shabbat. Once Ma’ariv has been prayed, it is no longer Shabbat. If a person wishes to extend Shabbat late into the night on Saturday, it is permissible if the Laws of Shabbat are still observed, but Ma’ariv must be prayed at some point, which brings Shabbat to an end.
Havdalah is the ceremony that brings Shabbat to a formal close and it needs to be said, but being able to make Havdalah up to Tuesday is not the optimal way to perform Havdalah. It should be made on Saturday night. If, for whatever the reason, it is not possible to make Havdalah on Saturday night, it is recited whenever possible, but it is said only over a cup of wine and without the spices and fire.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team