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Many sources bring down an idea from the Maharil that one should fold their Tallis on Motzai Shabbos in order to immediately start the week with 'being involved in a Mitzvah'. (One such source is the last line of Mishna Berurah 299:40: מהרי"ל היה מקפל הטלית שלו בכל מוצאי שבת כדי להתעסק במצוה מידת, which is based on the Mahari"l at the very end of hilchos shabas that says, "מהר"י סג"ל היה לו טלית מיוחד לשבת והיה כופלו בכל [מוצאי שבת] כי אמר יש להתעסק במצוה בהתחלת ימי החול")

What Mitzvah exactly is one accomplishing by folding their Tallis?

WAF
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Salmononius2
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    Do you have the same question about his practice of building a Sukkah after Yom Kippur to start the year with a Mitzva? What mitzva is that? – Double AA Oct 25 '19 at 15:34
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    @DoubleAA Perhaps, but in my mind, building a Sukkah seems a lot more like a Hechsher Mitzvah than folding a Tallis. Seems to me like it's easier to view building a Sukkah as a Mitzvah than folding a Tallis. But if you're saying that folding the Tallis is some sort of Hechsher Mitzvah for the next time you use it (or some sort of Hiddur/Noi Mitzvah), then that sounds to me like an answer (especially if you can find a source that that's what the Maharil is referring to). – Salmononius2 Oct 25 '19 at 15:52
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    @DoubleAA Why not take the Tur at face value when he says that building a Sukkah is a Mitzvah (OC 625), and this seems to be the simplest reading of Rashi as well (Sukkah 48a מאי), versus the Smag (Asei 27) and Tosfos (Shevuos 25a) who explicitly say it isn’t (Asei 27) – DonielF Oct 25 '19 at 19:17
  • @Doniel because taking them at face value flies in the face of too much else. But anyway it's an even bigger stretch to say this was maharils intention by sukkah but not by tallit. – Double AA Oct 25 '19 at 19:19
  • This may be a "stretch" but perhaps there's a mitzvah of "mosif mekodesh al chol" (extending the holiness of Shabbat to the weekday)? I.e., by taking the tallit which you used on Shabbat and folding it after Shabbat, you're demonstrating this "extension" in a sense? Of ocurse, I don't know what would make the tallit, specifically, such an object for demonstrating this. – DanF Oct 25 '19 at 19:31
  • That line in the Mishna B'rura records a practice of the Mahari"l. It doesn't dictate following it. 2. Why do you equate "להתעסק במצוה" with accomplishing a mitzva? The former seems much more general than the latter. 3. Does the context in which this is raised imply that the folding is a fulfillment of a mitzva? You mentioned there are numerous examples of this. Perhaps a different one makes this point more clearly?
    • – WAF Oct 27 '19 at 17:52
  • @WAF 1. I assumed that if the Mishna Berurah recorded it, it was intended to be some sort of approval/recommendation of the practice. 2. Not sure what the distinction is, regardless, there has to be some 'Mitzvah' related aspect to it. My question is what is the 'Mitzvah' aspect for this action? 3.What reminded me to ask the question this time around was seeing it in Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchisa Vol. 2 63:12, although I believe I saw this custom quoted in the Aruch Hashulchan as well. I went with the M"B due to ease of quoting, but the SSK uses the language of "Minhag Yafeh". IMO, same question – Salmononius2 Oct 27 '19 at 20:12