Follow ChabadInfo & Never Miss an Update!

Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our WhatsApp status and broadcast Follow us on Tiktok Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on Google News Subscribe on YouTube

BEGIN WITH A GRIN

Two men walk into a restaurant. The first man orders a glass of tea. The second man orders the same and says to the waiter, “And make sure the glass is clean.”

When the waiter returns with the two glasses of tea, he asks, “Which one of you asked for the clean glass?”

JUST A TASTE

There’s a common Jewish saying that everything in Judaism is connected to food. Every holiday has its own food, and every event has its own accepted menu. Shabbos too, is directly connected with food, and lots of food. Every Shabbos, we are commanded to eat (not one meal, not two… but) three meals. In the Talmud (Shabbos 117b), we find that the source for the mitzva to eat three meals on Shabbos comes from Parshas Beshalach. In our parsha, regarding the manna, it states: “And Moshe said eat it today, for today is a Shabbos to the L-rd, today you will not find it in the field.” From the threefold repetition of the word “today” in the verse, our Sages derive the obligation to eat three meals on the Shabbos ‘day.’

Every Chabad Chassid knows that the Chabad custom is not to wash for bread for the third meal. This longstanding custom, sourced in the words of our Rebbeim, raises questions. “How is it possible that Chabad Chassidim, who are meticulous in minor and major matters, who are precise to the smallest detail, would be lenient regarding an explicit law in the Shulchan Aruch?”

It’s clear that these customs (and others) are based on solid foundations and have solid sources both in Nigleh and Nistar of Torah, but what is the source? And why is this custom specifically prevalent among Chabad Chassidim and not in other communities? And of course, what’s the connection between (not) eating bread at the third meal and the true and complete Geula?

Indeed, in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch (291:7), several opinions are brought regarding the obligation to eat this meal: “One must break bread over two complete loaves like in the first meals… but some are more lenient, that one can fulfill the third meal with any food… over which one recites borei minei mezonos. Some are even more lenient that one can fulfill it with… meat and fish but not fruits, and some are even more lenient that even with fruits one can fulfill it.” So at least we have one or two opinions to rely on, but nevertheless, the Alter Rebbe explicitly rules that “one should not rely on any of this at all,” so how is it possible that specifically Chabad Chassidim, who follow the Alter Rebbe’s guidance, are lenient with this psak?!

In a wonderful sicha, the Rebbe MH”M brings the words of the Levush which shed light on this custom. The third meal is learned from the third time the word “today” appears in the above verse, and immediately afterward the Torah says the word “not” (“today you will not find it in the field”), meaning that in this meal, the third meal, there will be no “manna,” meaning no eating of bread, but rather eating other foods, and therefore the custom became to conduct this meal through tasting some fruits and the like.

In Chassidus, it’s explained that this meal is a taste of ‘the Shabbos of the future to come,’ a preview of the World to Come. This means that during this time there is a very high level of divine “flow” channeled into the world, a ‘preview of the future to come,’ and just as in the future there will be no need to eat or drink, so too, in the third meal, which is a preview of that future time, there is no actual eating of bread, but only minimal eating – mezonos and fruits and the like, similar to the feast of the Shor HaBor and Livyasan of the future.

While this explanation aligns with the mystical teachings, how can we reconcile it with the revealed Torah, the Mishna, Gemara, and Shulchan Aruch? The Torah is one Torah after all, the inner teachings and the revealed part of Torah align with each other. If so, how is it possible that a custom which is a hiddur according to Kabbala would be any kind of leniency according to halacha?!

After all, the Shulchan Aruch explicitly rules that “one must break bread over two complete loaves,” one must eat bread, and it’s forbidden to rely on the lenient opinions about this, and that being the case the question remains unresolved?!

TASTE THE PLEASURE

The Alter Rebbe rules in his Shulchan Aruch (288:2) that “the mitzva of Shabbos meals is only for pleasure,” and therefore “one who would be harmed by eating, such that not eating would be a pleasure for them, need not eat at all, and it’s almost forbidden for them to eat so they won’t suffer on Shabbos.” This means that the obligation to eat on Shabbos is not an inherent obligation, but rather it’s just the way to reach the true purpose of Shabbos, which is pleasure. Shabbos pleasure is the main thing, while eating on Shabbos is the normal way that (most) people feel that pleasure. But someone who doesn’t feel pleasure in that eating, or alternatively if eating causes them pain and distress, has no mitzva to eat, but rather the opposite – they might have a mitzva not to eat!

Our Rebbeim, who experienced the divine level of “today [you will] not” during the third meal, who felt the ‘preview of the World to Come,’ when there is no eating or drinking, were unable to eat bread then, because it would have caused them pain. For us as well, Chabad Chassidim, who are connected to them and follow in their footsteps, eating bread at the third meal would cause us great pain, because it undermines our hiskashrus to the ways of our Rebbe. According to this, not eating bread at the third meal isn’t a leniency or disregard for the law, but rather the opposite – it’s the greatest enhancement, because through this we prevent pain on Shabbos.

But here a question arises: if eating during the third meal causes pain, perhaps it would be better not to eat at all? Perhaps the Chabad custom should be complete abstention from any eating during this time?! Why do we find that our Rebbeim were particular about eating some taste of fruits or ‘mezonos’?

As mentioned above, the third meal is a preview of the World to Come. Although it’s said about the World to Come that there won’t be eating and drinking, this doesn’t mean that the body will disappear or be destroyed, G-d forbid. As known, Chassidus rules according to the view of the Ramban, that the main reward in the future will be specifically for souls within bodies. Therefore, the ‘tasting’ at the third meal comes to express the feeling of pleasure of the body that will reach its ultimate state during the time of receiving the reward in the future. Just as the body will then receive the desired reward and feel supreme pleasure, we taste something small to express this divine pleasure.

Moreover, in the future, the body’s innate superior quality will be revealed, as its spiritual root is in G-d’s essence, even higher than the root of the divine soul. Therefore, regarding the future time it’s said that “the soul will be nourished from the body,” the soul will receive divine revelations through and by way of the physical body. If so, one could say that the eating at the third meal comes to express the elevated divine source of bodily pleasure, which is higher than soul pleasure, and therefore, we can express it today specifically through physical pleasure, through physical tasting.

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

We will end with a Chassidishe story with an important lesson about how to turn any weekday and simple meal into Shabbos and a Shabbos meal. The holy brothers, Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk and Reb Zushe of Anipoli wondered why specifically when Shabbos arrived they felt holiness and said words of Torah for the Chassidim at the Shabbos table. They worried that perhaps this wasn’t really the influence of Shabbos on them but merely an imagined feeling.

The two decided to test the matter and conduct a Shabbos meal with the Chassidim in the middle of the week. If they would feel the holiness of Shabbos – then it would become clear that, heaven forbid, their feeling of Shabbos was merely imagination, and if they wouldn’t feel the holiness of Shabbos – it would prove that the feelings in their hearts on Shabbos were true.

The two conducted a “Shabbos meal” on a weekday. They wore Shabbos clothes, donned their shtreimels, and said words of Torah for the Chassidim who gathered around their table. And behold, the brothers felt a great feeling as if it were truly Shabbos.

Reb Elimelech began to cry. “Zushe,” he said to his brother, “what do we do now?”

Reb Zushe answered him: “Meilech, Meilech, let’s go to our Rebbe the Maggid of Mezeritch, tell him everything, and hear what he has to say.”

The two traveled to the Maggid and told him what had happened to them.

The Maggid answered them: “If you were wearing Shabbos clothes and wore your shtreimels, then it’s clear that you truly felt the holiness of Shabbos, and there’s no delusional imagination involved. Shabbos clothes can draw down the light of the holiness of Shabbos, and therefore you have nothing to worry about at all.”

Shabbos-like behavior even on weekdays can draw the holiness of Shabbos into us every single day.

Good Shabbos!

19