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Seudah
Shlishit foods, recipes and ideas
Category Recipes for
Seudah
Shlishit
"Seudah
Shlishit" Pronounced "seh-uh-DAH
sheli-SHEET" and which has variant
spellings (such as "seudah shelisheet," or
"shalosh seudos," etc.) literally means "the third
festive meal." It refers to the third
of the three
meals one is supposed to eat on the
Sabbath day (on Shabbat/Shabbos). This
custom of eating three meals is written
about in the Talmud, explaining the
derivation from the book of Exodus (16:25)
in the Torah. In the verse about the "mahn"
("manna" from Heaven given to the
Israelites in the desert), the word "Hayom,"
meaning 'today' (referring to Shabbat) is
written 3 times. The Manna was given in a
double portion on Friday, because it was
to serve for the Sabbath as well (it was
not permitted to glean the Manna from the
fields on the Sabbath).
From the mention of "Hayom" three times,
the Talmud tells us we should eat 3 meals
on Shabbat, which is a Holy day, and different
from an ordinary weekday, when in olden times
only 2 meals would be eaten: one during
the day, and one at night.
This third meal had even greater spiritual
significance than the first two (the
first, eaten on Friday night, the second,
after services ended around noon), because
it was not eaten for physical satiety, but
rather to fulfill a Divine mitzvah (commandment). It can
be (and usually is) a
lighter meal than the first two, often
mainly salads and gefilte fish, eaten in
the late afternoon after Mincha (the
afternoon prayers), when the day is
waning.
The third meal, Seudah Shlishit,
foreshadows the spiritual state of the
World to Come, and is eaten to honor the
Shabbat. It is customary to sing special "z'mirot"
(or, in the Ashkenazic pronunciation, "z'miros"),
or liturgical poems and songs, such as "Yedid
Nefesh," during the time of seudah
Shlishit, which express the
soul-connection between man and G-d. There is also a slight
element of sadness towards the end of
Seudah Shlishit, because
we know that the Holy Shabbat is waning,
the day is almost over, and our special
connection with G-d because of the Sabbath
will fade somewhat, into the workaday week. |
