Eruvin 83 – Does one eat more or less on Shabbat?

The “eruv” in the sense of new residence area where one is allowed to walk, as we discussed before, can be made with any food. If he is making it for many people, then there should be enough for two meals for each. However, this does not mean complete food for two meals, but rather, if he uses, for instance, pies, there should be enough pies to go with two meals. This is true for every type of food.

How large is the size of a meal? Rabbi Meir says that we measure be average weekday meal, since on weekdays one eats less, and on Shabbat he eats more, due to the excellent taste of the food. However, Rabbi Yehudah says that we measure by Shabbat meals, since, on the contrary, on Shabbat one eats less, leaving room for the obligatory third meal of the day. We see that both Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah intended to have less food required for the eruv.

The Talmud continues with other opinions on the measures of the volume of a meal. Some are expressed depending on how much flour one can buy given a specific flour price per pound. Others are based on measures of volume. All are tied to the amount of the manna that was given to the Jews in the desert daily. This is calculated to be the volume of 43.2 average eggs, and it is considered a healthy amount for one’s meal.

Art: Grapes by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin 1878-1939