Shabbat meals or Shabbos meals () are the three meals eaten by

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

-observant

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 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''.

Friday Night Meal

The Friday night meal traditionally begins with the singing of "

Shalom Aleichem ''Shalom aleichem'' (; , ) is a greeting in the Hebrew language. When someone is greeted with these words, the appropriate response is (, ). The term is plural, but is still used when addressing one person. This form of greeting is traditio ...

", a song welcoming the angels that the Talmud says visit every Jewish home on Friday night. This is often followed by the singing of "Eishet Chayil" (

Proverbs 31 Proverbs 31 is the 31st and final chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Verses 1 to 9 present the advice which King Lemuel's mother gave to him, about how a just king should reign. The r ...

, also pronounced "eishes chayil"), a song praising the Jewish woman. In most communities, the singing of "Eishet Chayil" is followed by

kiddush Kiddush (; ), , 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. S ...

, the Jewish practice of sanctifying the Sabbath over a cup of wine or grape juice. Following ''kiddush'', the meal continues with

handwashing Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, dirt, grease, and other harmful or unwanted substances stuck to the han ...

before eating bread. The meal then begins, with the head of the household lifting up two

challah Challah or hallah ( ; , ; 'c'''hallot'', 'c'''halloth'' or 'c'''hallos'', ), also known as berches in Central Europe, is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat ...

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. It is customary at

Ashkenazic Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language t ...

Shabbos Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the cre ...

meals to eat "

gefilte fish Gefilte fish (; from , , lit. "stuffed fish") is a dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish, or pike. It is traditionally served as an appetizer by Ashkenazi Jewish households. Popular on Shabbat and ...

" at the beginning of the meal, a dish made of ground, deboned fish, commonly

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

, whitefish, pike, and

Nile perch The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi, Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wides ...

. Chicken soup is also commonly eaten at the Friday night meal. 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 . Similarly the host will usually deliver a short Torah idea, or '' Dvar Torah'', before the ''

Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon ( "The Blessing of the Food"), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew language, Hebrew blessings that Halakha, Jewish law prescribes following a meal that includes at le ...

'' Grace after meals.

Saturday Day Meal

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 Second Temple period or post-exilic period in Jewish history denotes the approximately 600 years (516 BCE – 70 CE) during which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstructio ...

, the

Sadducees The Sadducees (; ) were a sect of Jews active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Sadducees are described in contemporary literary sources in contrast to ...

, who rejected the

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

, did not eat heated food on

(as heated food appears to be prohibited in the written section of the Torah). To express that they followed the

, the

Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

(who followed of the

Tannaim ''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים "repeaters", "teachers", singular ''tanna'' , borrowed from Aramaic) were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also refe ...

) specifically ate heated food on

. The tradition of eating hot foods on Shabbat has lasted till today. In

communities, the custom of eating hot foods is observed by eating

cholent 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.Rabbi Yitzahk ben Moishe or "Zaruah" in his ...

, a stew made primarily of meat, potatoes, beans, barley and spices. Sauces, onions, carrots, hot dogs,

kugel Kugel ( , pronounced ) is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen ( ) or potato ( ). It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbos and Jewish holidays. American Jews also serve it for Thanksgiving dinner. Etymo ...

, and

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...

are often added.

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, including

Moroccans Moroccans () are the Moroccan nationality law, citizens and nationals of the Morocco, Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who ...

and

Iraqis Iraqis ( ; ) are the citizens and nationals of the Republic of Iraq. The majority of Iraqis are Arabs, with Kurds accounting for the largest ethnic minority, followed by Turkmen. Other ethnic groups from the country include Yazidis, As ...

, observe the custom of eating hot foods by eating chamin (Hebrew for ''hot''), a similar stew.

Bukharian Jews Bukharan Jews, also known as Bukharian Jews, are the Mizrahi Jews, Mizrahi Jewish sub-group of Central Asia that dwelt predominantly in what is today Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. The group's name is derived from the E ...

eat a similar stew called '' Osh Sovo'' (or "ussvo").

Shalosh Seudos

The third meal of

, 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.

References

{{Shabbat Shabbat Jewish traditions Jewish ceremonial food and drink Jewish festive meals

Friday Night Meal

Saturday Day Meal

Shalosh Seudos

See also

References