Eating Fish on Shabbos
Q. I know some families are very careful to serve fish at the Shabbos meal. Even if there is no formal fish course, there will still be some herring or a fish salad on the table. Why is eating fish on Shabbos so important?
On Shabbos there is a Mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos[1], to delight in Shabbos by eating enjoyable foods. The sages[2] teach that one who takes delight in Shabbos will receive an “unlimited inheritance”, be freed from servitude to the nations and will be granted all of their heart’s desires.
The Gemara[3] gives the example of eating large fish, garlic and cooked beets. If one cannot afford such delicacies, Rav Pappa teaches that one can even serve Kasa Deharsena – a Talmudic dish made with small fish fried in oil and flour.
To illustrate the reward for delighting in Shabbos, the Gemara[4] tells the story of Rabbi Yossi Mokir Shabbos[5]. Yosef found a treasure inside of a large fish that he bought in honour of Shabbos at great expense.
The Rishonim[6] and Acharonim[7] explain that whilst the Gemara lists certain foods, these are only examples of foods which were considered delicacies in the times of the sages of the Gemara. One fulfills the Mitzvah by eating whatever is considered to be delicacies in their time and locale[8].
The Alter Rebbe writes that unlike on Yomtov, on Shabbos there is no obligation to eat meat and drink wine. The Shulchan Aruch[9] only writes that one should serve meat and wine because we assume that most people enjoy eating meat and drinking good wine. Someone who does not enjoy meat does not need to eat meat on Shabbos[10].
So therefore, whilst the sages give the example of eating fish on Shabbos, the Alter Rebbe states emphatically, that there is no Halachic basis in Niglah (the Talmudic-Halachic dimension of Torah) for specifically eating fish on Shabbos[11].
The Alter Rebbe’s wording implies that whilst according to Niglah there is no basis, according to Nistar - the hidden Kabbalistic teachings, there are reasons for eating fish on Shabbos[12]. The Kitzur Shelah writes that eating fish at each of the three Shabbos meals is a great matter (Inyan Gadol).
The Magen Avraham[13] quotes from Tikunei Shabbos that one should eat fish at all three of the Shabbos meals. The Mishna Berura[14]
writes that this is a good practise.
The Alter Rebbe in his Siddur[15] writes that it is good to eat fish at the Shalosh Seudos meal more so than the other Shabbos meals. Kaf Hachaim[16] writes that this is based on the Kabbalistic teachings of the Ariza”l and that if one only has a small amount of fish, it should be served for Shalosh Seudos and only a small amount should be eaten at the other Shabbos meals. The Ben Ish Chai also writes that it is a Mitzvah to eat fish at the Shalosh Seudos, even if just a small amount[17].
Reasons why we eat Fish on Shabbos
There are a number of reasons for eating fish on Shabbos;
The Sefer Otzar Yad Chaim records that the custom of old was to first eat meat and afterwards to eat fish. This is alluded to in the Zemiros of Shabbos בשר ודגים וכל מטעמים, “to eat meat, fish and all types of delicacies”. However, based on the Rambam[19] that one should eat more easily digested foods before heavier foods, one should eat the fish before meat. In Likutei Torah[20], the Alter Rebbe explains that according to Kabbalah, fish should always be eaten before meat. This explanation is presented at the end of this article.
Response to Price Gouging
The Magen Avraham[21] writes that if the non-Jews deliberately raise the price of fish, the community should make a Takanah (decree) that no one should buy fish. The Alter Rebbe explains that even if only some people will not be able to afford fish, the Takanah should be made to forbid anyone from buying fish, even if they can personally afford it. This way, the merchants will be forced to lower their prices.
The Ba’er Heitev quotes Beis Hillel[22] that this only applies if the price is raised by more than a third. If the price gouge is a third or less, then one must still buy fish for Shabbos. This is based on the Halacha that one must spend up to a third extra for a Hiddur Mitzvah.
In Kuntres Acharon[23], the Alter Rebbe writes that the Beis Hillel’s opinion is based on his view, that eating fish on Shabbos is Biblically required. The Alter Rebbe questions this as the Torah does not mention eating fish. Even Rabbinically there is no source in Niglah that one must eat fish on Shabbos. Even though the Gemara mentions eating fish, this is going beyond the letter of the law and one can always fulfill the Mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos with other foods. Therefore, no comparison can be made to the requirement of spending up to a third extra for Hiddur Mitzvah.
According to the Alter Rebbe, the Takanah should be decreed even if the price increases are smaller. This is also the position of Elya Rabbah, Pri Megadim and Mishna Berura[24].
Why do we eat the Fish before the Meat?
It is an ancient Jewish custom to eat fish before eating meat. We do this on Shabbos, Yomtov and at Simchas. There are many reasons offered for this custom. In his work Likutei Torah[25], the Alter Rebbe offers the following explanation, based on the teachings of Kabbalah;
In Parshas Behaalosecha, the Torah relates how Bnei Yisroel complained about having only Mann to eat. They craved meat and asked “who will feed us meat”?
As punishment, Hashem told Moshe that He will give the people meat and that they will eat it for a full month, until it comes out of their noses and nauseates them.
Moshe replied “the people who I am in their midst are 600,000 on foot and You say ‘I will give them meat and they will eat it for an entire month. If the sheep and cattle were slaughtered for them, would it suffice for them? If all of the fish of the sea were caught for them, would it suffice for them?’”
On the surface, it seems that Moshe was questioning where he would be able to obtain enough meat to feed Bnei Yisroel for a full month. But the Alter Rebbe explains the deeper meaning of Moshe’s question.
The Jewish people asked for meat and Hashem told Moshe that he would give them meat. There was no request for fish. So why did Moshe mention fish?
Whenever we eat, we are engaging with the physicality of the world. Our engagement with physicality is for the purpose of elevating the world and refining it to become more holy. When we eat, the food we consume becomes part of us and gives us energy. We effect this elevation through our Kavana while we eat and when we channel the energy from eating into serving Hashem.
By definition, for the Neshama to descend and involve itself with physicality entails a degree of spiritual descent. But not all foods are quite the same.
Meat is a very coarse food. Our sages teach that an Am Haaretz (a spiritually lowly individual) cannot eat meat. This is because someone who is on a lowly spiritual level lacks the spiritual strength to be able to elevate such a coarse food. Instead of elevating the meat, its coarse physicality would be liable to trap them with materialistic desire and bring them down spiritually.
A Talmid Chacham (a Torah scholar) has the spiritual strength to be able to eat meat with the proper intentions and is able to elevate it and channel its energy into their service of Hashem.
Even though Moshe was a Tzaddik of the highest calibre, for him, getting involved with such a coarse food, even with holy Kavanos, would be too great a descent from his spiritual level.
Moshe said that these are “the 600,000 people that I am in their midst”. Moshe felt that his presence amongst Bnei Yisroel would have elevated them to his level. If so, how can I give them meat and bring them down to its lowly level?
When Moshe said “If all of the sheep and cattle were slaughtered would it suffice for them” he uses the words ומצא להם. This can mean that the meat would pursue and ’find’ them and pull them down.
Our sages teach that whatever exists on dry land has a counterpart under the sea. Fish are the meat of the sea.
In Kabbalistic thought, the sea and dry land represent two different ’worlds’. The dry land, where everything is exposed, represents Alma D’isgalya, the revealed created worlds. The sea, which is covered over by water, reflects Alma D’iskasya, the worlds which are hidden within the Divine reality.
Coming from the sea, fish is considered to be more spiritually refined and elevated than meat. As such, eating fish represents a lesser descent into physicality, but a descent nonetheless.
For Moshe, and hence for Bnei Yisroel who were under his influence, even fish would have been too great a descent. And so, Moshe said that not only meat but “even if all the fish of the sea were gathered”, the fish too would pursue them and bring them down.
Hashem responded to Moshe “has Hashem’s hand been shortened?”. Hashem is capable of providing the experience of eating meat in a way that will not be spiritually damaging.
This is why Hashem gave the Jewish people quail. In Kabbalah, birds come from a higher spiritual source than both meat and fish. Whilst the quail was meat, representing physicality, it possessed a spiritual quality. As a source of illumination, oil represents spirituality. Our sages describe how the meat of the quail was very fatty, alluding to a spiritual quality within its physicality.
Whilst we are not quite on the level of Moshe and his generation and we do eat both meat and fish, nonetheless, the Alter Rebbe adds a lesson for us as well.
For a Jew to descend straight down to engage with the coarse materialism of eating meat, even for the purpose of elevating it, would be too great a descent. Its coarseness would easily draw us down.
So first we break the descent by eating the more spiritually refined flesh of fish. Once we have successfully engaged with and elevated the meat of Alma D’iskasya and conditioned ourselves with the lesser degree of descent, we can then progress to the “main course”, to engage with the more material meat of Alma D’isgalya and successfully elevate it from coarse flesh into G-dly energy.
__________________________
[1] Whilst there are opinions that Oneg Shabbos is Mideoraisa, it is accepted by most of the Poskim and Rishonim that Oneg Shabbos is a Mitzvah from the Neviim.
[2] Shabbos 118a
[3] Shabbos 118b
[4] Shabbos 119a
[5] Shabbos 119a
[6] See Rashi 118b ד"ה ראשי שומין
[7] Shulchan Aruch Harav 242:2 and Mishna Berura 242:1
[8] Shulchan Aruch Harav ibid quoting the Levush. See also Rambam Hilchos Shabbos 30:7
[9] Orach Chaim 250
[10] See also Mishna Berura ibid
[11] Shulchan Aruch Harav 242 Kuntres Acharon 4
[12] See Likutei Sichos Volume 31 p 192 footnote 15
[13] 242:1
[14] 242:2
[15] See Shaar Hakollel 17:25
[16] 242:10
[17] Vayeira section 2, 18
[18] Maamarei Shabbasos 3:16
[19] Hilchos Deios
[20] Parshas Behaalosecha
[21] Orach Chaim 242:1
[22] Yoreh Deah Siman 218
[23] Orach Chaim 242:4
[24] 242:2
[25] Parshas Behaalosecha
On Shabbos there is a Mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos[1], to delight in Shabbos by eating enjoyable foods. The sages[2] teach that one who takes delight in Shabbos will receive an “unlimited inheritance”, be freed from servitude to the nations and will be granted all of their heart’s desires.
The Gemara[3] gives the example of eating large fish, garlic and cooked beets. If one cannot afford such delicacies, Rav Pappa teaches that one can even serve Kasa Deharsena – a Talmudic dish made with small fish fried in oil and flour.
To illustrate the reward for delighting in Shabbos, the Gemara[4] tells the story of Rabbi Yossi Mokir Shabbos[5]. Yosef found a treasure inside of a large fish that he bought in honour of Shabbos at great expense.
The Rishonim[6] and Acharonim[7] explain that whilst the Gemara lists certain foods, these are only examples of foods which were considered delicacies in the times of the sages of the Gemara. One fulfills the Mitzvah by eating whatever is considered to be delicacies in their time and locale[8].
The Alter Rebbe writes that unlike on Yomtov, on Shabbos there is no obligation to eat meat and drink wine. The Shulchan Aruch[9] only writes that one should serve meat and wine because we assume that most people enjoy eating meat and drinking good wine. Someone who does not enjoy meat does not need to eat meat on Shabbos[10].
So therefore, whilst the sages give the example of eating fish on Shabbos, the Alter Rebbe states emphatically, that there is no Halachic basis in Niglah (the Talmudic-Halachic dimension of Torah) for specifically eating fish on Shabbos[11].
The Alter Rebbe’s wording implies that whilst according to Niglah there is no basis, according to Nistar - the hidden Kabbalistic teachings, there are reasons for eating fish on Shabbos[12]. The Kitzur Shelah writes that eating fish at each of the three Shabbos meals is a great matter (Inyan Gadol).
The Magen Avraham[13] quotes from Tikunei Shabbos that one should eat fish at all three of the Shabbos meals. The Mishna Berura[14]
writes that this is a good practise.
The Alter Rebbe in his Siddur[15] writes that it is good to eat fish at the Shalosh Seudos meal more so than the other Shabbos meals. Kaf Hachaim[16] writes that this is based on the Kabbalistic teachings of the Ariza”l and that if one only has a small amount of fish, it should be served for Shalosh Seudos and only a small amount should be eaten at the other Shabbos meals. The Ben Ish Chai also writes that it is a Mitzvah to eat fish at the Shalosh Seudos, even if just a small amount[17].
Reasons why we eat Fish on Shabbos
There are a number of reasons for eating fish on Shabbos;
- The Ariza”l teaches that the souls of Tzaddikim are reincarnated in fish.
- The Bnei Yissaschar[18] writes that fish were blessed by Hashem on the fifth day of Creation. Man was blessed by Hashem on the 6th day of Creation. The Shabbos day was blessed by Hashem on the seventh day. When a Jew (Man) eats fish on Shabbos, there is a threefold blessing of the three days together.
- Mateh Moshe writes that the Shabbos meal is a taste of the Seudah which will be served to the Tzaddikim when Moshiach comes. At this meal we will eat from the Leviason fish.
- Minchas Yaakov writes that fish do not have eyelids and so their eyes are constantly open. This alludes to the fact that Hashem’s eyes are always open to look after those who fear Him, with abundant mercy. Based on this some Tzaddikim would eat from the eyes of the fish.
- The Ben Ish Chai writes that whereas the animals were created from the earth, fish were created from the water. Water is the loftiest of the four elements. Since on Shabbos we receive sustenance from the highest spiritual levels, it is better to eat fish on Shabbos than meat.
- The Ben Ish Chai offers another explanation based on Parshas Behaalosecha. When the Jewish people complained that they wished to eat meat, Hashem said that He would give them meat to eat for a month of days, until they would become sickened by it. Moshe responded “if all of the sheep and cattle were slaughtered… if all of the fish of the sea were gathered would it suffice for them?”. From this we learn that whilst meat requires Shechitah, fish do not need to be slaughtered to render them kosher. Fish only require gathering. Unlike meat which requires an action of Melacha to prepare it, on Shabbos the Tikun (spiritual fixing of the world) is effected without requiring any Melacha, like fish which do not require Shechitah.
- Another source for eating fish on Shabbos is brought from the fact that the fish were not destroyed during the Flood, as they had not sinned and corrupted their ways like the other animals.
The Sefer Otzar Yad Chaim records that the custom of old was to first eat meat and afterwards to eat fish. This is alluded to in the Zemiros of Shabbos בשר ודגים וכל מטעמים, “to eat meat, fish and all types of delicacies”. However, based on the Rambam[19] that one should eat more easily digested foods before heavier foods, one should eat the fish before meat. In Likutei Torah[20], the Alter Rebbe explains that according to Kabbalah, fish should always be eaten before meat. This explanation is presented at the end of this article.
Response to Price Gouging
The Magen Avraham[21] writes that if the non-Jews deliberately raise the price of fish, the community should make a Takanah (decree) that no one should buy fish. The Alter Rebbe explains that even if only some people will not be able to afford fish, the Takanah should be made to forbid anyone from buying fish, even if they can personally afford it. This way, the merchants will be forced to lower their prices.
The Ba’er Heitev quotes Beis Hillel[22] that this only applies if the price is raised by more than a third. If the price gouge is a third or less, then one must still buy fish for Shabbos. This is based on the Halacha that one must spend up to a third extra for a Hiddur Mitzvah.
In Kuntres Acharon[23], the Alter Rebbe writes that the Beis Hillel’s opinion is based on his view, that eating fish on Shabbos is Biblically required. The Alter Rebbe questions this as the Torah does not mention eating fish. Even Rabbinically there is no source in Niglah that one must eat fish on Shabbos. Even though the Gemara mentions eating fish, this is going beyond the letter of the law and one can always fulfill the Mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos with other foods. Therefore, no comparison can be made to the requirement of spending up to a third extra for Hiddur Mitzvah.
According to the Alter Rebbe, the Takanah should be decreed even if the price increases are smaller. This is also the position of Elya Rabbah, Pri Megadim and Mishna Berura[24].
Why do we eat the Fish before the Meat?
It is an ancient Jewish custom to eat fish before eating meat. We do this on Shabbos, Yomtov and at Simchas. There are many reasons offered for this custom. In his work Likutei Torah[25], the Alter Rebbe offers the following explanation, based on the teachings of Kabbalah;
In Parshas Behaalosecha, the Torah relates how Bnei Yisroel complained about having only Mann to eat. They craved meat and asked “who will feed us meat”?
As punishment, Hashem told Moshe that He will give the people meat and that they will eat it for a full month, until it comes out of their noses and nauseates them.
Moshe replied “the people who I am in their midst are 600,000 on foot and You say ‘I will give them meat and they will eat it for an entire month. If the sheep and cattle were slaughtered for them, would it suffice for them? If all of the fish of the sea were caught for them, would it suffice for them?’”
On the surface, it seems that Moshe was questioning where he would be able to obtain enough meat to feed Bnei Yisroel for a full month. But the Alter Rebbe explains the deeper meaning of Moshe’s question.
The Jewish people asked for meat and Hashem told Moshe that he would give them meat. There was no request for fish. So why did Moshe mention fish?
Whenever we eat, we are engaging with the physicality of the world. Our engagement with physicality is for the purpose of elevating the world and refining it to become more holy. When we eat, the food we consume becomes part of us and gives us energy. We effect this elevation through our Kavana while we eat and when we channel the energy from eating into serving Hashem.
By definition, for the Neshama to descend and involve itself with physicality entails a degree of spiritual descent. But not all foods are quite the same.
Meat is a very coarse food. Our sages teach that an Am Haaretz (a spiritually lowly individual) cannot eat meat. This is because someone who is on a lowly spiritual level lacks the spiritual strength to be able to elevate such a coarse food. Instead of elevating the meat, its coarse physicality would be liable to trap them with materialistic desire and bring them down spiritually.
A Talmid Chacham (a Torah scholar) has the spiritual strength to be able to eat meat with the proper intentions and is able to elevate it and channel its energy into their service of Hashem.
Even though Moshe was a Tzaddik of the highest calibre, for him, getting involved with such a coarse food, even with holy Kavanos, would be too great a descent from his spiritual level.
Moshe said that these are “the 600,000 people that I am in their midst”. Moshe felt that his presence amongst Bnei Yisroel would have elevated them to his level. If so, how can I give them meat and bring them down to its lowly level?
When Moshe said “If all of the sheep and cattle were slaughtered would it suffice for them” he uses the words ומצא להם. This can mean that the meat would pursue and ’find’ them and pull them down.
Our sages teach that whatever exists on dry land has a counterpart under the sea. Fish are the meat of the sea.
In Kabbalistic thought, the sea and dry land represent two different ’worlds’. The dry land, where everything is exposed, represents Alma D’isgalya, the revealed created worlds. The sea, which is covered over by water, reflects Alma D’iskasya, the worlds which are hidden within the Divine reality.
Coming from the sea, fish is considered to be more spiritually refined and elevated than meat. As such, eating fish represents a lesser descent into physicality, but a descent nonetheless.
For Moshe, and hence for Bnei Yisroel who were under his influence, even fish would have been too great a descent. And so, Moshe said that not only meat but “even if all the fish of the sea were gathered”, the fish too would pursue them and bring them down.
Hashem responded to Moshe “has Hashem’s hand been shortened?”. Hashem is capable of providing the experience of eating meat in a way that will not be spiritually damaging.
This is why Hashem gave the Jewish people quail. In Kabbalah, birds come from a higher spiritual source than both meat and fish. Whilst the quail was meat, representing physicality, it possessed a spiritual quality. As a source of illumination, oil represents spirituality. Our sages describe how the meat of the quail was very fatty, alluding to a spiritual quality within its physicality.
Whilst we are not quite on the level of Moshe and his generation and we do eat both meat and fish, nonetheless, the Alter Rebbe adds a lesson for us as well.
For a Jew to descend straight down to engage with the coarse materialism of eating meat, even for the purpose of elevating it, would be too great a descent. Its coarseness would easily draw us down.
So first we break the descent by eating the more spiritually refined flesh of fish. Once we have successfully engaged with and elevated the meat of Alma D’iskasya and conditioned ourselves with the lesser degree of descent, we can then progress to the “main course”, to engage with the more material meat of Alma D’isgalya and successfully elevate it from coarse flesh into G-dly energy.
__________________________
[1] Whilst there are opinions that Oneg Shabbos is Mideoraisa, it is accepted by most of the Poskim and Rishonim that Oneg Shabbos is a Mitzvah from the Neviim.
[2] Shabbos 118a
[3] Shabbos 118b
[4] Shabbos 119a
[5] Shabbos 119a
[6] See Rashi 118b ד"ה ראשי שומין
[7] Shulchan Aruch Harav 242:2 and Mishna Berura 242:1
[8] Shulchan Aruch Harav ibid quoting the Levush. See also Rambam Hilchos Shabbos 30:7
[9] Orach Chaim 250
[10] See also Mishna Berura ibid
[11] Shulchan Aruch Harav 242 Kuntres Acharon 4
[12] See Likutei Sichos Volume 31 p 192 footnote 15
[13] 242:1
[14] 242:2
[15] See Shaar Hakollel 17:25
[16] 242:10
[17] Vayeira section 2, 18
[18] Maamarei Shabbasos 3:16
[19] Hilchos Deios
[20] Parshas Behaalosecha
[21] Orach Chaim 242:1
[22] Yoreh Deah Siman 218
[23] Orach Chaim 242:4
[24] 242:2
[25] Parshas Behaalosecha