Kabbalah Library
Zohar for All, Volume 8
The Holy Idra Zuta - Three Meals on Shabbat
46. One should rejoice on the three meals on Shabbat [Sabbath], since all the faith, and all of the entirety of the faith is in it. One should set up one’s table and eat the three meals of faith and delight in them.
47. Rabbi Shimon said, “I testify before all those who are here that I have never canceled these three meals. Thanks to them, I did not need a torment [fasting] on Shabbat, and I did not need to torment even on weekdays, much less on Shabbat. This is so because one who is rewarded with them is rewarded with complete faith, and these are they: 1) the Queen’s meal on the eve of Shabbat, since the night is the governance of Malchut, 2) the meal of the Holy King, ZA, during the afternoon meal, at which time ZA ascends to holy Atik, 3) the meal of holy Atik, the most concealed of all that are concealed, in the morning meal.
On Shabbat, holy Atik shines in the middle of upper AVI, and ZA receives the illumination of holy Atik from upper AVI. However, in the afternoon prayer of Shabbat, ZA himself ascends to holy Atik and receives his illumination. This is why the meal is named after ZA, and in the morning, after holy Atik. In that world, a man will be rewarded with these degrees.
When the Ratzon in the Metzah is revealed, all the judgments surrender in their shackles. They are not completely revoked, but as if tied with chains during the day of Shabbat. After Shabbat, they return to their role.
