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Shabbat meals or Shabbos meals (Hebrew : סעודות שבת, romanized: Seudot Shabbat, Seudoys Shabbos) are the three meals eaten by Shabbat-observant Jews, the first on Friday night, the second on Saturday day, and the third late on Saturday afternoon. The Hebrew word for meal is seudah, with the plural version being seudos or seudot, thus the Friday night and Saturday day meals are often called seudot or seudos. The third meal, held on Saturday afternoon is called either shalosh seudos , seudah shlishit , or shaleshudus .
The Friday night meal traditionally begins with the singing of "Shalom Aleichem", a song welcoming the angels that the Talmud says visit every Jewish home on Friday night. [1] This is often followed by the singing of "Eishet Chayil" (Proverbs 31, also pronounced "eishes chayil"), a song praising the Jewish woman.
In most communities, the singing of "Eishet Chayil" is followed by kiddush, the Jewish practice of sanctifying the Sabbath over a cup of wine or grape juice. [2] Following kiddush, the meal continues with handwashing before eating bread. [3] The meal then begins, with the head of the household lifting up two challah breads, and reciting the blessing of Hamotzi. The challah is sliced, dipped into salt, and eaten. The meal continues with festive foods (often chicken), often with singing and sharing Torah thoughts.
In many German-Jewish households, the washing for the bread is done before kiddush, instead of before the blessing of Hamotzi and the eating of the challot. [4] This is so that guests will not need to wait between kiddush and handwashing; instead, they can will the bread without getting up.
It is customary at Ashkenazic Shabbos meals to eat "gefilte fish" at the beginning of the meal, [5] a dish made of ground, deboned fish, commonly carp, whitefish, pike, and Nile perch. Chicken soup is also commonly eaten at the Friday night meal. [5]
There are two further customs, common to all meals. Zemirot are sung around the table (usually between courses; and often by the men only). These help achieve the religious aspiration of transforming the domestic table into a recreation of the Temple altar; see Korban § Purpose. Similarly the host will usually deliver a short Torah idea, or Dvar Torah , before the Birkat Hamazon Grace after meals.
The Saturday morning meal traditionally begins with kiddush and Hamotzi on two challot.
It is customary to eat hot foods at this meal. During and after the Second Temple period, the Sadducees, who rejected the Oral Torah, did not eat heated food on Shabbat (as heated food appears to be prohibited in the written section of the Torah). To express that they followed the Oral Torah, the Pharisees (who followed of the Tannaim) specifically ate heated food on Shabbat. [6] The tradition of eating hot foods on Shabbat has lasted till today.
In Ashkenazic communities, the custom of eating hot foods is observed by eating cholent, a stew made primarily of meat, potatoes, beans, barley and spices. Sauces, onions, carrots, hot dogs, kugel, and ketchup are often added. Sephardic Jews, including Moroccans and Iraqis observe the custom of eating hot foods by eating chamin (Hebrew for hot), a similar stew. [7] Bukharian Jews eat a similar stew called Osh Sovo (or "ussvo"). [8]
The third meal of Shabbat, called Shalosh seudos, Seudah Shlishit (which literally means "Third Meal" in Hebrew), or Shaleshudus, begins before sundown of Saturday night, although it may continue after. It begins with washing for bread and reciting the Hamotzi blessing on two challot. Dairy is sometimes eaten at shalosh seudos.
Shabbat or the Sabbath, also called Shabbos by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the creation of the heaven and earth in six days and the redemption from slavery and The Exodus from Egypt, and look forward to a future Messianic Age. Since the Jewish religious calendar counts days from sunset to sunset, Shabbat begins in the evening of what on the civil calendar is Friday.
Kiddush, literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after the prayer services and before the meal.
The Nine Days of Av are a time of commemoration and spiritual observance in Judaism during the first nine days of the Jewish month of Av. The Nine Days begin on Rosh Chodesh Av and culminates on the public fast day of Tisha B'Av.
Challah is a special bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays. Ritually acceptable challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering. Challah may also refer to the dough offering. The word is biblical in origin, though originally referred only to the dough offering. Similar braided breads such as kalach and vánočka are found across Central and Eastern Europe.
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions centred around Shabbat. Jewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the entire world.
Cholent or Schalet is a traditional slow-simmering Sabbath stew in Jewish cuisine that was developed by Ashkenazi Jews first in France and later Germany, and is first mentioned in the 12th century. It is related to and is thought to have been derived from hamin, a similar Sabbath stew that emerged in Spain among Sephardic Jews and made its way to France by way of Provence.
Zemirot or Z'miros are Jewish hymns, usually sung in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages, but sometimes also in Yiddish or Ladino. The best known zemirot are those sung around the table during Shabbat and to some extent the Jewish holidays. The Shabbat zemirot are specifically associated with each of the three obligatory meals of Shabbat, such as those sung for the Friday evening meal, the Saturday day meal, and the third Sabbath meal just before sundown on Saturday afternoon. In some editions of the Jewish prayerbook (siddur), the words to these hymns are printed after the opening prayer (kiddush) for each meal.
A seudat mitzvah, in Judaism, is an obligatory festive meal, usually referring to the celebratory meal following the fulfillment of a mitzvah (commandment), such as a bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, a wedding, a brit milah, or a siyum. Seudot fixed in the calendar are also considered seudot mitzvah, but many have their own, more commonly used names.
The Passover Seder plate is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder. The purpose of the Passover Seder plate is to show all the foods that perpetuate and emphasize the ideas of the people of Israel, and are designed to express the uniqueness of the Seder. Another idea is to keep the foods close and ready for Seder night.
A Tish, also tische is a Shabbat or holiday gathering for Hasidic Jews around their Rabbi or "Rebbe". In Chabad, a tische is called hitva'adut (התועדות). It may consist of speeches on Torah subjects, singing of melodies known as niggunim and zemirot ("hymns"), with refreshments being served. Hasidim see it as a moment of great holiness.
Seudah shlishit or shaleshudes is the third meal customarily eaten by Sabbath-observing Jews on each Shabbat. Both names refer to the third of the three meals a Jew is obligated to eat on Shabbat according to the Talmud.
Melaveh Malkah is the name of a meal that, as per Halakha, is customarily held by Jews after the Sabbath (Shabbat), in other words, on Saturday evening. The intent of the meal is to figuratively escort the "Sabbath Queen" on her way out via musical performances, singing and eating, as one would escort a monarch upon his departure from a city. This meal is alternatively called "the fourth meal."
Uzbek cuisine shares the culinary traditions of peoples across Central Asia. There is a great deal of grain farming in Uzbekistan, so breads and noodles are of importance, and Uzbek cuisine has been characterized as "noodle-rich". Mutton is a popular variety of meat due to the abundance of sheep in the country and it is a part of various Uzbek dishes.
A Shalom Zachar, is a gathering which takes place in Ashkenazi Jewish circles on the first Friday night after a baby boy is born. Although intended to "console" the newborn, the get-together is treated as a happy occasion.
Bukharan Jewish cuisine is the traditional cuisine originating from the Bukharian Jewish community of Central Asia, who now mostly reside in Israel, and the United States.
In Judaism, when the Eve of Passover falls on Shabbat, special laws regarding the preparation for Passover are observed.
Nafka minnah is a Talmudic phrase used in analytical debates. It is often used in the phrase Mai nafka minnah?, which asks, "What is the practical difference?"
Yeshiva Kesser Torah Rabbinical College of Queens is a synagogue in the Kew Gardens Hills section of Queens, New York. It was founded in 1981 by Elyakim Rosenblatt in the Briarwood section as a kiruv yeshiva. In 1994, it relocated to Kew Gardens Hills. It is known throughout the Queens Jewish community as a "minyan factory", a place where one can find a mincha minyan throughout the afternoon or maariv minyan until late into the night.
Sabbath stew was developed over the centuries to conform with Jewish laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath. The pot is brought to a boil on Friday before the Sabbath begins, and sometimes kept on a blech or hotplate, or left in a slow oven or electric slow cooker, until the following day.