English translation — בשלח ב

1.

From the verse¹

"And Moses said, 'Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field,'"

where the word "today" appears three times regarding the eating of the manna on Shabbat,

Chazal² derive

the obligation of eating three meals on Shabbat.

And although a meal is primarily the eating of bread³,

one finds, however, that regarding the third meal it is brought in Shulchan Aruch⁴

a dispute among the poskim: there are opinions that also for the third meal there must be eating of bread; and "there are those who are lenient ...

that one can fulfill the third meal with any food made from the five species that one recites the blessing 'borei minei mezonot' over, which is called 'food,'

and there are those who are lenient further that one can fulfill it also with things that are customarily eaten with bread, such as meat and fish and the like ...

and there are those who are lenient further that even with fruits one can fulfill it"⁵.

And the Alter Rebbe at his table⁶

concludes: "And one may not rely at all on all this unless it is absolutely impossible to do otherwise, such as when he is extremely full and it is impossible for him to eat bread without causing himself distress."

Nevertheless, it is known the custom of our Rabbis, our leaders⁷,

that they would, in the majority

They would most strictly not eat bread at the third meal; they would fulfill the meal with some tasting.

The reason for the matter is⁸

: Since the third meal is derived from the third time "today" that is stated in the verse,

where the Torah says "

(today)

<b>not </b>

(you will find it)

" — the negation of finding the manna — is therefore fitting that in the third meal this should be evident by not eating any bread,

in the manner of "you will not find it" of <b>manna </b>

(bread).

The explanation

(the inner one)

of this as explained in Chassidus⁹

: the third meal of Shabbos is corresponding to the Shabbos of the future to come

(as it states

(also)

in B"H¹⁰),

regarding which it states¹¹

"The World to Come has <b>no </b>eating <b>and no </b>drinking etc.",

and the drawing down is then from the aspect of "<b>no</b>"

(as it states in B'chayi¹²)

— therefore also the meal is not a regular meal,

and in it is emphasized the "<b>no </b>

(you will find it)

" — one does <b>not </b>taste bread,

one fulfills with a tasting of something.

2.

Our holy Torah is one Torah,

and the inner dimension of the Torah

(and its customs)

and the halachic part of the Torah are "entirely one"&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;

— That

is,

that all parts of the Torah are compatible one with the other and are in harmony — it is understood that the custom of the great ones of Israel

(and those who follow in their footsteps)

&lt;b&gt;ab initio &lt;/b&gt;according to the inner dimension of the Torah,

is not a "leniency" and "ex post facto" according to halacha — from their perspective,

heaven forbid.

One must understand: It is true that according to the explanation in the inner dimension of the matters, the third meal is higher than eating, and this is a reason not to eat bread — but according to halacha this is still a "leniency,"

until as the Alter Rebbe says "and one should not rely &lt;b&gt;at all &lt;/b&gt;on all this"&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;

(except in a case of "ex post facto,"

when he is very full from before)

— how is this compatible with that which according to Chassidus it is a hiddur not to eat bread?

3.

And one must say the explanation in this:

Regarding the commandment of eating three meals on Shabbat,

the Alter Rebbe says¹⁵

: "that the commandment of Shabbat meals <b>is only </b>for the sake of delight",

4.

5.

that by all three Shabbat meals the obligation is not the essence of the eating

(of bread)

in itself¹⁶,

but the matter

<b>the delight</b> that is in this.

According to this — that at all Shabbos meals their commandment is primarily connected with <b>delight</b> and not with the eating itself — is in a case where a person has <b>distress</b> from the eating,

it is not only that upon him there is no obligation to eat,

but moreover — there is a side of obligation <b>not</b> to eat

(and the wording of the Alter Rebbe¹⁷

"he does not need to distress himself to eat" means possibly — that he does not need and almost may not),

because such eating is the opposite of the essence of the Shabbos meals,

<b>opposite of delight</b>,

Regarding how the Alter Rebbe writes explicitly&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

In connection with the matter of fasting and the absence of eating on Shabbat,

That "a person for whom eating is harmful, for whom it is then a delight not to eat,

He need not eat at all &lt;b&gt;and it is almost forbidden for him &lt;/b&gt;to eat so that he not suffer on Shabbat."

And just as this is regarding the abstention from eating in general,

So too it is also regarding the particulars of eating&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

: If he has pain from eating &lt;b&gt;bread &lt;/b&gt;at the Shabbat meal — then for him &lt;b&gt;ab initio &lt;/b&gt;the obligation is not to eat any bread; and on the contrary,

If he will indeed eat bread,

He will do a thing that is contrary to the intention of the Shabbat meal.

4.

According to this, one must say:

That which initially there is an obligation of eating bread at the third meal,

it is specifically when for the person it is a matter of delight;

But not when he has no pleasure from eating bread: knowing with complete faith

that during the time of the third meal,

the desire of desires,

the aspect of “today <b>not</b>” shines,

the aspect of “<b>no</b>”; and that this is a time akin to Yom Kippur

(which is called “Shabbat of solemn rest”)

and akin to the World to Come

(in which “there is neither eating nor drinking”)

— and therefore for him it is a <b>pain</b> to eat bread — then initially the obligation to eat bread at the third meal does not apply,

and on the contrary: for such a person it is a beautification <b>according to halacha</b> that he should not distress himself with eating bread,

but rather fulfill the meal by tasting something²⁰.

And it can be said that for this reason the custom of our Rabbis, our leaders, was to fulfill the meal with some tasting,

because they felt the light that shines in the third meal&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the chassidim — are indeed <b>connected </b>to them,

learn their Torah

(in order to do)

and go in their ways.

5.

One must still, however, understand:

Since in the time of Minchah of Shabbat the aspect of "today not" shines — it should not have needed to be any

meal at this time,

like Yom Kippur which is forbidden in eating

that Rashbi exchanged the third meal of Erev Pesach that fell on Shabbat with words of Torah

(on Maaseh Merkavah)]

; why does one connect this with the conduct that it <b>must</b> be a tasting

(at least — of fruit)?

In several places, Chassidus²³

implies,

that that which at the third meal there must be some tasting — not like Yom Kippur which is forbidden in eating — this is not due to the virtue of the third meal,

but on the contrary,

because this is no more than <b>akin to </b>the World to Come

(and Yom Kippur).

But in a list of the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Rebbe²⁴,

in the name of his father, the Rebbe

(the Rebbe Rashab)

of blessed memory, it is written: “That the third meal today is not etc. meaning that bread is not required,

but one must taste something,

and Rabbi Yosi said²⁵

‘May my portion be with those who eat three meals’” —

What from this language and continuation of the matter "&lt;b&gt;must &lt;/b&gt;taste something" and brings on this the statement of Rabbi Yosi "&lt;b&gt;May &lt;/b&gt;my portion etc." — implies that this "must taste etc." is a &lt;b&gt;virtue &lt;/b&gt;and elevation

(from the third meal).

Also it is seemingly not smooth,

that the Rebbe n"y brings the statement of Rabbi Yosi as a proof to his words: if he speaks here about the obligation of eating the third meal according to halacha — must be brought first of all the essential obligation&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

; and

If here it speaks regarding the inner reason of "must taste etc." — where is in this the proof of Rabbi Yosi?

6.

And one can explain the reasoning in this — by first explaining the statement of Rabbi Yosi:

At first glance it is not understood: The obligation to eat three meals on Shabbat is indeed an explicit law in the sugya there — so what does he mean here with wishing himself "&lt;b&gt;May my portion be etc.&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;?

The Maharsha&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

explains,

that the reason that Rabbi Yosi said "May my portion be from those who eat three meals etc." — and likewise his saying "May my portion be" regarding several other matters that are brought there in the Gemara — is "in order to encourage the people."

At first glance it is however not smooth: it is understandable by the matters,

which are a hiddur,

midas chassidus and the like,

it is appropriate to say the expression "yehei chelki" in order to encourage the people — but how is it appropriate to say this expression regarding three meals,

which is an absolute obligation?

One cannot answer²⁹,

that Rabbi Yosi meant thereby the safeguard of "the wise man's eyes are in his head",

that he should not fill his stomach with the morning meal,

in order that

He should be able to eat the third meal&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;

— because it is difficult to say that regarding such a simple matter Rabbi Yosi should wish "May my portion be".

7.

And one can say the explanation in this&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

That which the World to Come is "there is in it no eating and no drinking",

does not mean to say that then the virtue of the Jewish body will be lost,

because its existence or at least — importance will become nullified; it means only that in the World to Come the connection of body with soul will not be through physical eating and drinking.

And as is known that Chassidus³¹

rules like the opinion of the Ramban³²,

that

(the perfection of)

the World to Come is the time of after the Resurrection of the Dead — when there will be souls in bodies; because in the Jewish body in itself there is a unique virtue.

According to this, one can say,

that therefore there is an <b>advantage</b> in that there is some eating in the third meal: since that meal is reminiscent of the future to come,

that also then there will be a body that will receive reward — and for this reason the body must also feel in this meal a pleasure — through some tasting,

together with the concept of “<b>no</b>”,

of “<b>not</b>

(you will find Him)

” — and therefore he does not eat bread.

And moreover: it is explicit in several places³³,

That the feast of Leviathan and Shor HaBar &lt;b&gt;in the future to come &lt;/b&gt;— will be a physical feast.

And it can be said that to hint at this is the tasting of something.

(It is, however, a great wonder.

And we need to examine and search for a foundation for this&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;).

8.

And in greater depth one must say:

That which the perfection of reward in the future to come is specifically with souls in bodies,

is because then will be revealed the superiority of the body over the soul,

until that the soul will be nourished from the body³⁵

— the soul must come to the body so that there will be heard in it the level of His Essence and Being, blessed be He, which His existence is from His Essence.

And based on this, one can say regarding the third meal: In that which it must be at least some tasting — is expressed an elevation — one emphasizes the superiority of

the body,

and consequently the future Shabbat is expressed more.

9.

And this is the intention

(inner)

in the words of Rabbi Yosi:

"May my portion be <b>from those who eat</b> three meals on Shabbat" — he should be able to <b>eat</b>

(some kind of eating³⁶)

at the third meal — this should be for him a delight,

in this will be heard the quality that will be revealed only in the future to come — the quality of the body.

And this is the proof that the Rebbe N"E brings from the discourse of Rabbi Yosi: Since Rabbi Yosi said "May my portion be etc.",

even though it says "today <b>not</b>",

he thereby gave a grant of power to eat some kind of eating at the third meal in a way that this is a virtue

(one wishes oneself "may my portion be")

— not only is it not a deficiency in the "today <b>not</b>",

but on the contrary — it is the greatness of the virtue of the future Shabbat — the soul is nourished from the body.

after Shabbat Parshat 5739)