There are two reasons why we are studying the topic of seudah shelishis this week. First of all, the 39 melachos of Shabbos are derived from the laws of the building of the Mishkan, making the laws of Shabbos appropriate for this week. Secondly, in a few short weeks we will be celebrating the rare observance of Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbos. Observing that phenomenon requires knowledge of the laws of eating three meals on Shabbos. So, we are getting prepared in advance
Question #1: Double on Friday!
Does someone who eats two meals on Friday night and only one on Shabbos day fulfill the mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos?
Question #2: Split Feature
May I divide my Shabbos morning meal in half, thereby fulfilling seudah shelishis?
Question #3: Early Seudah Shelishis
How early may I eat seudah shelishis?
Answer
In an article I published recently, we discussed the mitzvah to eat three meals on Shabbos, which might be required min haTorah. We learned of the dispute between tanna’im whether the requirement is to eat three meals during the course of the entire Shabbos, or whether it is to eat three meals during the daytime of Shabbos, plus a Friday evening meal, for a total of four meals. We also learned that the rishonim disagree on whether the last of the Shabbos meals must include bread. The conclusion of the Shulchan Aruch and most late authorities requires eating bread for the third Shabbos meal, and that this should be done by reciting hamotzi upon two whole loaves of bread or rolls (lechem mishneh). Both men and women are obligated to fulfill the mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos, despite the fact that it is a time-bound positive mitzvah (mitzvas aseih sheha’zeman grama).
We have not yet discussed or resolved several halachic issues germane to the mitzvah of eating three seudos on Shabbos. Is there a time frame within which these three meals must be eaten? For example, may I eat all three meals Friday night? Let’s say that after the Friday night seudah, Reuven decides to make hamotzi when attending a neighbor’s shalom zachor. Or, perhaps, he joined a Friday night sheva berachos for dessert and made hamotzi to satisfy the requirements of a minyan. Upon returning home after the bread, beer, peanuts and chickpeas of the shalom zachor, or the bread, cake, pareve ice cream and wine of the sheva berachos, Reuven makes hamotzi again and has a third seudah. Has he now fulfilled eating the three meals of Shabbos and can sleep (or diet) the entire Shabbos day?
Alternatively, Shimon is invited to a sit-down hamotzi kiddush after an early minyan Shabbos morning. His wife, who prefers to catch up on some much-needed shuteye on Shabbos morning, sleeps until eleven, and then, when Shimon returns from the morning kiddush, joins him for a splendid repast that ends with plenty of time for him to learn with each of his seven sons before he leaves to catch the earliest mincha gedolah minyan in the neighborhood. His wife still needs to eat seudah shelishis, but has Shimon now fulfilled his obligation to eat three meals on Shabbos, one on Friday night and two on Shabbos morning?
Or, an actual shaylah that I was once asked. A mohel had a Shabbos bris to perform that was a considerable distance from his home, and he could not join them for the bris seudah. In order to daven in shul and attend the bris, his only option was to leave his home early Shabbos morning, daven in a shul near the bris, perform the bris and then walk back, arriving home on Shabbos afternoon. Does he fulfill the three meals of Shabbos by eating two of them either on Friday night or on Shabbos afternoon?
A similar shaylah often presents itself among nurses, doctors, other emergency personnel or family members who must be in the hospital on Shabbos or in another setting in which they have little control over their schedule. Does one fulfill the three meals of Shabbos by eating two of them either Friday night or Shabbos afternoon?
Rabbi Chidka
To answer these questions, we will discuss a beraysa that records a dispute between the tanna kamma and Rabbi Chidka, whether we are required to eat three meals on Shabbos or four (Shabbos 117b-118a).
The pasuk in the Torah says, “And Moshe said, eat it today, for today is Shabbos for Hashem. Today you will not find it [the mann] in the field” (Shemos 16:25). The requirement to eat three meals on Shabbos is derived from this pasuk, because the word hayom is written three times. The tanna kamma understands that the requirement is to eat three meals over the course of Shabbos, whereas Rabbi Chikda learns that three meals required during Shabbos day, with an additional requirement to eat a meal on Friday night – for a total of four meals.
Proof from a Mishnah
The Gemara endeavors to prove whether a Mishnah holds like the tanna kamma, like Rabbi Chidka, or perhaps like neither. Before quoting this Mishnah, I need to provide an introduction. The Mishnah (ibid. 117b) discusses a situation in which a house is burning on Shabbos, but there is no risk to life from the fire (see Rema, Orach Chayim 334:26) – for example, all the people in the house can exit safely, and there is no risk of the fire spreading to another building; perhaps it is a farmhouse or exurban house very distant from any neighbors. It is also discussing a situation in which taking items out of the burning house does not involve any prohibition against carrying on Shabbos – in other words, there is an eruv or other halachically acceptable way to carry the items out of the house.
Under the above conditions, Chazal allowed removing from the burning house only as much food as is needed to provide for the meals of Shabbos.
In these circumstances, why do Chazal limit how much one may carry out of the house?
The Gemara explains that the concern is that since a person becomes confused when he may lose money, he might violate Shabbos in ways that are not permitted, such as by extinguishing the fire (Shabbos 117b). The concern is that once someone gets involved in saving things from a fire, he may forget that it is Shabbos (see Tosafos Yom Tov). By providing very specific rules as to what he may save from the fire and what he may not, Chazal ensure that he will not forget that it is Shabbos, and he will be attentive to what he is permitted to do even under stressful circumstances. This demonstrates the absolute brilliance and depth of understanding of the human psyche that Chazal displayed in the way they created their takkanos.
The Mishnah mentions a dispute concerning how much food may be removed from the fire. Theunnamed first opinion (stam Mishnah) rules that it is permitted to save enough for the meals that he intends to eat on Shabbos, but no food for after Shabbos – not even for melaveh malkah, the meal of motza’ei Shabbos. Therefore, the stam Mishnah states that if a fire began on Friday night, it is permitted to remove from the burning house three Shabbos meals. If the fire started Shabbos morning, it is permitted to remove food for two meals. And if it is in the afternoon, which the Mishnah calls “mincha,” it is permitted to save only one meal.
Rabbi Yosi disagrees, ruling that it is always permitted to remove three meals. He contends that once it is sometimes permitted to save three meals, the gezeirah of how much to remove is not contingent on when during the Shabbos day the fire is discovered – it is always permitted to save three meals (Rashi to the Mishnah, Shabbos 117b).
How much can you drink?
By the way, according to all opinions it is permitted to remove as much beverage as you can possibly drink, even late in the afternoon, since a person is never certain how much he might want to drink (Tosefes Shabbos, cited in Biur Halacha 334:1 s.v. Uveshacharis). I am unaware of any distinction made between soft drinks and harder beverages. Thus, although chas veshalom that anyone should ever have a household fire, bear in mind that, within the eruv, you can haul out your entire supply of Chivas Regal on Shabbos.
Tanna kamma or Rabbi Chidka?
In order to understand the proofs regarding whether the three meals of Shabbos must be eaten at certain times of the day, we need to analyze a passage of Gemara. The Gemara seeks clarity as to whether the Mishnah holds like the tanna kamma that there is a requirement to eat three meals on Shabbos, or like Rabbi Chidka, who requires four meals. Ultimately, this depends on how we understand the Mishnah. When the Mishnah permits saving three meals from a burning house on Friday evening, was it discussing someone who had already consumed his Friday night repast when he discovered the fire, or someone who had not yet eaten his meal? This technical question will reveal to us whether the Mishnah holds like the tanna kamma or like Rabbi Chidka. If he has already eaten his Friday night meal, yet the Mishnah still permits saving three meals, clearly the Mishnah holds according to Rabbi Chidka that three additional meals are to be consumed on Shabbos.
If the Mishnah’s case was when he has not yet eaten the Friday night meal, the Mishnah holds like the tanna kamma, since it allows saving three meals and not four, thus not allowing for the fourth meal required by Rabbi Chidka. Since there is no way to know whether the Mishnah’s fire was discovered before or after he ate his Shabbos meal, we cannot prove from this part of the Mishnah on its own whether its author held like the tanna kamma or Rabbi Chidka.
A similar discussion takes place regarding the case in the Mishnah when the homeowner discovers a fire on Shabbos morning – and there, the Mishnah rules that he can save two meals. If the Mishnah refers to someone who has not yet eaten his Shabbos morning repast, and yet it holds that he saves two meals, the Mishnah holds like the tanna kamma. On the other hand, if he has already eaten his Shabbos morning repast, and the Mishnah permits saving two meals, the Mishnah must hold like Rabbi Chidka, who contends that he has two more meals to eat. As with our case above, it is unclear whether this Mishnah is describing someone who discovered the fire before he ate his morning meal or after. Although it is clear that the Mishnah’s author had an opinion regarding the dispute between the tanna kamma and Rabbi Chidka, we cannot determine which way he held on the basis of this part of the Mishnah alone.
The same analysis is germane to the Mishnah’s ruling regarding saving only one meal on Shabbos afternoon, a time period which the Mishnah calls “mincha.” If the Mishnah refers to someone who has not yet eaten his Shabbos afternoon meal, yet it holds that he can save only one meal, then we know that the Mishnah holds like the tanna kamma. On the other hand, if he has already eaten his seudah shelishis and the Mishnah holds that he can save another meal, the Mishnah must hold like Rabbi Chidka, who contends that he has yet to eat a fourth meal. Here, too, we cannot determine which way the Mishnah holds.
Before we discuss the Gemara’s conclusion about whether the Mishnah requires three or four seudos, let us note several important observations. Although the beraysa mentions the position of Rabbi Chidka, there is no allusion as to when Rabbi Chidka holds that the three meals should be eaten, other than that they must all be eaten during the daytime part of Shabbos.
Now, if the Mishnah is according to Rabbi Chidka, it could be possible that on Shabbos afternoon a person could still have two meals to eat. Yet the Mishnah allows only one meal to be saved at “mincha” time. This implies that, according to Rabbi Chidka, he is required to eat one meal Shabbos morning, a second before the time called mincha, and a third sometime thereafter.
Based on the assumption of the Mishnah that mincha time is before someone has eaten their last meal of Shabbos, Tosafos rules that seudah shelishis must be eaten after mincha time (Shabbos 118a s.v. Bamincha). This is also the opinion of several other rishonim (Rambam, Hilchos Shabbos 30:9; Hagahos Maimaniyos ad loc. quoting Rabbeinu Tam; see Mordechai, #397). Thus, according to these rishonim, Shimon, who ate two seudos on Shabbos morning, did not fulfill the mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos, since he ate his third meal in the morning and did not wait until the afternoon to eat it. Certainly, Reuven, who ate all three meals at night, did not fulfill this mitzvah correctly.
Ba’al Halachos Gedolos
The Ba’al Halachos Gedolos (usually abbreviated Behag) has a different approach. He rules that it is permitted to split the Shabbos morning meal in half, bensch in the middle of the meal and wash again – and thereby it qualifies as two meals, (Shabbos 6:19:2). The rishonim cite other evidence to this practice from other passages of Gemara: one passage that discusses how much chometz you can leave over when erev Pesach falls on Shabbos, and another regarding washing dishes on Shabbos that will be used in the course of Shabbos. Tosafos notes this to have been a common custom, but raises two objections to the practice. First, seudah shelishis must be eaten in the afternoon, as is implied by the Gemara in Shabbos quoted above, and these people ate in the morning. This objection is deflected by other rishonim. The Mordechai (Shabbos #397), quoting Rabbi Eliezer of Metz, the author of Sefer Yerei’im, and others, explains that the Mishnah is simply estimating how much food a person would usually consume during that part of the day, but not delineating when the meal must be eaten (see also Rosh, Shabbos 16:5).
Beracha she’einah tzericha
The second objection of Tosafos is that the method suggested by the Behag involves reciting berachos she’einan tzerichos – berachos that are unnecessary, since a person is bensching and reciting new berachos of netilas yadayim and hamotzi only in order to count one meal as two.
Obviously, the Behag was not concerned that this practice generates berachos she’einan tzerichos. Some authorities explain that since the purpose of splitting the meal this way is to fulfill the mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos, that itself makes all the berachos purposeful. A beracha she’einah tzericha is, by definition, a beracha recited without any purpose at all.
Despite Tosafos’ objections, the Behag’s approach is quoted approvingly by the Ran, who explains that it is not necessary to fully interrupt the meal; it is sufficient, he says, to bensch, throw a cloth on top of the food, recite hamotzi again, uncover the food, eat another kebeitzah-size piece of bread and bensch a second time.
Gemara’s conclusion
Ultimately, the Gemara demonstrates that the Mishnah does not hold like Rabbi Chidka because of a different reason. A principle of the Mishnah and the Gemara is that when a dispute is recorded, this is the only matter in which the two disputants disagree. Based on this, we can prove that Rabbi Yosi – who permits saving three meals any time of the day — holds like the tanna kamma in the dispute of the beraysa between the tanna kamma and Rabbi Chidka. If Rabbi Yosi held like Rabbi Chidka, he would permit removing four meals from the burning house, since there are times that one might need to evacuate the house before eating any Shabbos meals. Yet, Rabbi Yosi permits removal of only three meals – meaning that the maximum number of meals that you are ever required to eat on Shabbos is three!
So the dispute between the stam Mishnah and Rabbi Yosi is not how many meals you are required to eat on Shabbos, but whether Chazal permitted the same number of meal retrievals regardless of the time of day. Therefore, we can demonstrate that the stam Mishnah also held according to the tanna kamma and not Rabbi Chidka (Shabbos 118a with Rashi).
On an ordinary Shabbos, fulfilling the mitzvah of eating three meals should not present any major difficulty or require extensive planning. One should simply follow the conclusion of the Shulchan Aruch, who requires that all three Shabbos meals be bread-based, one on Friday night, a second in the morning, and the third on Shabbos afternoon.
This sequence is halachically preferable. However, we have endeavored to determine what the halacha is in unusual situations. As we have seen, according to most authorities, eating the three Shabbos meals by combining two or more of them into one part of the day does not fulfill the mitzvah. Nevertheless, since there are authorities who rule that this practice fulfills the mitzvah, someone who cannot follow the optimal way to fulfill the mitzvah should still try to have three meals on Shabbos and fulfill the mitzvah according to the Behag’s opinion, namely, that one must eat three meals over the course of Shabbos, but the time when one eats them is not a halachic concern.
Next week’s exciting article will outline how we observe, in practice, these laws on Erev Pesach.
Conclusion
The entire takkanah of saving food from a fire is highly unusual. While observing Shabbos, we need to focus constantly on what we do and how we do it. The laws of moving muktzah fulfill a similar goal. Implementing the laws of muktzah requires the details of Shabbos observance to be on our minds constantly.
Creating a beautiful Shabbos entails much planning and organization. Studying all the halachos of Shabbos helps us appreciate Shabbos more, and enables us to achieve maximum joy and growth on this special day.
