SE’UDA SHELISHIT / THE THIRD SHABBAT MEAL One of the ways in which Shabbat is honored is by eating a third meal, Se’uda Shelishit: on weekdays, in Talmudic times, only two meals were eaten. The third meal – often, especially in summer, eaten communally – is a time of great spiritual intensity. The special atmosphere of Shabbat here reaches its climax. We have passed through the Shabbat of creation, the theme of Friday night, and the Shabbat of revelation, the mood of Shabbat morning. We now enter the Shabbat of redemption, the distantly glimpsed future of a world in which God’s sovereignty will be recognized by all, and life on earth will recover the harmonies it once had at the dawn of time. Something of that serenity suffuses the third meal as the sun sinks low on the horizon, sending its slanting rays through the leaves and etching the landscape with red gold. The melodies of the third meal are more meditative, and the words of Torah at the table more inward and profound. Yet there is also the knowledge that this charmed moment is the end of something, and the workday week, with its tensions and hazards, is about to begin. The Ḥassidim in particular seek to draw out these closing moments as long as possible, as if one could make time itself slow to a standstill. This is a time of spiritual longing, as we reluctantly prepare to leave the world-that-ought-to-be for the testing reality of the world-that-is.

Psalm 23: One of the most sublime passages in all religious literature: a poetic masterpiece – a mere 57 words long – of trust in God’s gentle care. In the first half, the Psalmist sees himself as a sheep of God’s flock, vulnerable yet safe under the shepherd’s protective eye. The tone of serenity is conveyed by a series of pastoral images: “green pastures,” “still waters,” and ma’agelei tzedek, “right (i.e. safe) paths.” The mood then quickens. The Psalmist speaks of “the valley of the shadow of death” (or “a valley of deep darkness”), perhaps a crevice in the rocks where the sun cannot penetrate and where there may be danger from predators. At this point, the psalm shifts from third to second person as the author turns directly to God, uttering in six simple Hebrew words one of the great declarations of faith: “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” The metaphor then changes. Now the Psalmist is a guest at God’s table, his cup of wine filled to overflowing, his head anointed with oil (oil was placed on the heads of honored guests at banquets: see Ecclesiastes 9:8; Psalm 92:11). Though his enemies are close, they can do him no harm for he is under his host’s protection. The last line delivers the unexpected denouement: the place where the poet experiences these rich feelings of safety is the Temple, “the House of the LORD.” Said here, toward the end of Shabbat, the psalm has particular force. Often Jews were all too conscious of the dangers that lay ahead as they left the refuge of Shabbat and prepared to reengage with the world outside. With them, however, they took the courage born of faith that “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”

יְדִיד נֶֽפֶשׁ Beloved of the soul: A poem of passionate love for God, written by the Safed kabbalist Rabbi Elazar ben Moses Azikri (1533–1600). Azikri was part of a mystical fellowship whose members undertook to relinquish all worldly activity and devote their time exclusively to study, prayer and meditation. He wrote “Beloved of the soul,” which he called “a prayer for union and the desire of love,” around 1584. It is one of the boldest expressions of love in Jewish literature, reminiscent in mood of the Song of Songs. יְדִיד נֶֽפֶשׁ Beloved of the soul: in Jeremiah 12:7, God calls Israel, “the beloved of My soul.” מְשֹׁךְ עַבְדָּךְ Draw Your servant close: Song of Songs 1:4, “Draw me after You, let us run!” אֵל נָא, רְפָא נָא לָהּ Please, God, heal her now: Moses’ prayer on behalf of Miriam (Num. 12:13). כִּי בָא מוֹעֵד For the appointed time has come: Psalm 102:14, “You will surely arise and take pity on Zion, for it is time to be gracious to her; the appointed time has come” – a reference, in this context, to the messianic age.