A seudat mitzvah (, "commanded meal"), in Judaism, is an Halakha festive meal, usually referring to the celebratory meal following the fulfillment of a mitzvah (commandment), such as a bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, a Jewish wedding, a brit milah (ritual circumcision), or a siyum (completing a tractate of Talmud or Mishnah). Seudot fixed in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., for Jewish holidays) are also considered seudot mitzvah, but many have their own, more commonly used names.
Seudat brit milah
Attendance at a
brit milah (circumcision ceremony) and its subsequent
seudah is of such great significance that
Moses Isserles ("the Rama") notes a
saying that one who is invited but does not participate in the seudat brit milah is ostracized by God.
[ Yoreh De'ah 265:12; see Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 113b; Tosafot Pesachim 114a s.v. "Veein"] For this reason, people are generally not invited, but merely informed of the brit's time and location.
[Abraham Hirsch Eisenstadt, Pitchei Teshuva Yoreh Deah 265:18; Arukh HaShulkhan 265:37] Chazal have compared a
brit to a
korban (Temple sacrifice), and eating at a seudat brit milah to eating a Temple sacrifice.
Hasidic Judaism generally insist on serving meat at a seudat brit milah since most Temple offerings were meat. Sharing a meal is considered a bonding experience celebrating the covenant between God and the
Jews.
[Rabbi Howard Jachter, "Minhagim of Brit Milah", Kol Torah, accessed March 19, 2006.]
Seudat Pidyon Haben
Unlike other
seudot mitzvah in which the meal (
seudah) follows the act or ceremony which warrants the festive meal, the
pidyon haben or redemption ceremony for a first-born Jewish male child is part of the meal. The ceremony is led by a
kohen, who ritually washes his hands, recites the blessing over bread, and partakes of some bread before beginning the ceremony. The ceremony, which follows a traditional text, is a verbal exchange between the kohen and the father of the child. The kohen asks the father if he prefers to keep his money or pay the equivalent of five silver
to redeem his child. The father chooses the latter option and hands over the money, as well as recites a special blessing ("
al pidyon haben"). Then the
kohen verbalizes the redemption, blesses the child, and says the traditional blessing over a cup of wine, which he then drinks. The
seudat mitzvah continues with all guests in attendance washing for bread and partaking of the festive meal.
While attending the seudah for a pidyon haben, the Vilna Gaon was asked whether it was true that all the Torah's commandments are alluded to in Bereishit, the first portion of the Torah. After the Gaon affirmed this, he was asked where the commandment of pidyon haben was alluded to and the Gaon replied that it was in the word Bereshit, the Hebrew initials which stand for Ben Rishon Achar Sheloshim Yom Tifdeh or "a firstborn son after thirty days redeem".[Rabbi Dov Eliach, "Hashem's Torah is Perfect and Complete: The Vilna Gaon's Monumental Torah Edifice" , Dei'ah veDibur, accessed March 19, 2006]
Seudat Bar Mitzvah
Solomon Luria noted that the occasion of a youth becoming obligated to obey the 613 commandments is to be celebrated with a religious feast, usually including a sermon the youth has prepared.
[ Yam Shel Shlomo, Bava Kamma 7:37] It is customary at a
bar mitzvah meal for parents to give thanks and praise to God for giving them the merit to raise a child to be a bar mitzvah and to educate him in the ways of Torah and the commandments.
[Rabbi Nissan Dovid Dubo, "Yalkut Bar Mitzvah: Bar Mitzvah Customs" , Chabad Lubavitch, accessed March 16, 2006.] Rabbi
Ovadiah Yosef[Yabia Omer 2:29] holds that a Bat Mitzvah is also a seudat mitzvah.
Seudat Siyum Masechet
Based on the
Talmud and
Midrash, the
seudah celebration upon the completion of a Talmudic tractate is considered a
seudat mitzvah.
[Solomon Luria, Yam Shel Shlomo], Bava Kamma, Merubah 37; Maharam Mintz 119; Shach, Yoreh De'ah 246:37] This
seudah is made to rejoice over the accomplishment, and also to motivate and inspire others to do the same. Chaim Elazar Spira, the Munkacser Rebbe", observed in his work
Sha'ar Yissachar that the
yetzer hara does not want to see this type of shared joy, noting that one of the names of the evil inclination, "
Samael", may be seen as an acronym for
Siyum Masechet Ain La'asot, or "do not make a
siyum".
[Shlomo Katz, "Matos-Masei: Power of Prayer", Torah.org, accessed March 19, 2006.]
Seudat Hoda'ah
Seudat Hoda'ah ()
[sometimes called Seudat HoDaYa ] literally means a meal of thanksgiving.
At a public meal[".. as a Seudas Hodaa for his recovery .." ] that is given to recognize the good – Hakarat HaTov – the beneficiary gives something to others – the ability to say blessings – Berakhah.
Seudat nissuin
During the festive meal,
seudat nissuin following a
Jewish wedding, guests participate in the
mitzvah (commandment) of
L'Sameach Chatan v'Kallah, to bring joy to the groom and bride. The emphasis of the celebration is on entertaining the newlyweds. At
Orthodox Judaism wedding meals, men and women dance separately – sometimes separated by a
mechitza ("divider") – for reasons of
tzniut (modesty). At the end of the
seudat nissuin,
Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals) is recited, and the
Sheva Berachot (seven blessings) that were recited under the
chupah (wedding canopy) are repeated.
Seudat havraah
Seudat havraah is the "meal of consolation" or comfort provided for a mourner upon his or her return from the cemetery following interment of the deceased.
[Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner, "Initial Meal Post-Burial - Seudat Havraah", AishDas, accessed March 16, 2006.] It usually consists of foods symbolic of life such as boiled eggs and lentil soup. The
Talmud states that the lentil stew
Jacob was preparing (Genesis 25:29), and for which
Esau sold his birthright, was the
seudat havraah for his father
Isaac who was beginning to sit
shiva for
his father
Abraham.
[ Bava Batra 16b]
Seudat Shabbat and Seudat Yom Tov
These include three meals on
Shabbat, as well as two (dinner and lunch) on each festival day making four each (outside Israel) for
Shavuot,
Rosh HaShana,
Sukkot, two each for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, eight (outside Israel) for
Passover. The
are
seudot mitzvah. Except for
Seudah Shlishit (the "third meal" of Shabbat) all of these meals are preceded by
Kiddush (the blessing, made over wine, recognizing the holiness of the day). If one recites
Kiddush, Jewish law states that one must immediately eat the
seudah in the same place that he heard/recited
Kiddush.
[ Talmud Bavli, Moed 101a] At Shabbat meals, it is customary to sing
Zemirot (songs), learn
Torah (as at meals in general) and discuss the week's
parsha.
Seudah HaMafseket
Seudah HaMafseket[Alt. Seuda mafseket] is the "separating meal" eaten before the fasts of
Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av.
The pre-Yom Kippur meal is a festive meal, which may include meat, such as Kreplach.[ "Yom Kippur: How We Prepare" , National Jewish Outreach Program, accessed March 16, 2006.]
At the pre-Tisha B'Av meal it is forbidden to eat meat, wine, or more than one cooked food.[Mishna, Taanit 26b; Babylonian Talmud Taanit 30a] Alcoholic beverages should be avoided. The meal is eaten sitting on the ground or a low seat. It is customary to eat a hardboiled egg, and also a piece of bread dipped into ashes, and to say, "This is the Tisha B'Av meal." During the meal, three men should not sit together so they will not have to recite the Birkat Hamazon as a group. None of these restrictions apply when Tisha B'Av occurs on Shabbat or Sunday.[ "Tisha B'Av (The Ninth of Av)", Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, accessed March 16, 2006.][ "Tisha BeAv: The Fast of the Ninth of Av", Ahavat Israel, accessed March 16, 2006.][Taanis,29b: see Rashi]
Seudat Purim
On
Purim day, typically toward evening, a festive meal called
Seudat Purim is held, with wine as a prominent beverage, where drunkenness is not uncommon. The custom of drinking at this meal stems from a statement in the Talmud attributed to a rabbi named Rava that says one should drink on Purim until he can "no longer distinguish between
arur Haman ('Cursed is
Haman') and
baruch Mordechai ('Blessed is
Mordecai')." The reason Rava instituted the custom of drinking may have been as a critique of treating Mordecai as a hero, instead of a villain.
Another view is that these phrases have the same
gematria, and some authorities, including the
Be'er Hagolah and
Avraham Gombiner, have ruled that one should drink wine until he is unable to calculate these numerical values.)
This saying was codified in the Isaac Alfasi, Rosh, Tur, Shulchan Aruch ( Orach Chayim 695), and is interpreted simply (as explained above) by the Chatam Sofer. This interpretation of the Talmudic statement, or the acceptance of the statement itself, is disputed (for various reasons) by the Tosafists (based on the Jerusalem Talmud), Maimonides, Rabbeinu Ephraim, Ba'al HaMa'or, Ran, Orchot Chaim, Be'er Hagolah, Avraham Gombiner, Taz, Moses Isserles, Vilna Gaon, Maharsha, Rashash, Tzeidah LaDerech, Hagahot Maimoniyot, Ra'avyah, Korban N'tan'el, Yoel Sirkis, Israel Isserlin, P'ri M'gadim, Kol Bo, Chochmat Mano'ach, Mishnah Berurah (by the Chafetz Chaim), and others. These authorities all advocate drinking wine in some quantity, but all (excepting Hagahot Maimoniyot and Ra'avyah) discourage the level of drunkenness suggested by the Chatam Sofer. The Rema says that one should only drink a little more than he is used to drinking, and then try to fall asleep (whereupon he certainly will not be able to tell the difference between the two phrases indicated by the Talmud). This position is shared by the Kol Bo and Mishnah Berurah, and is similar to that of Maimonides.
See also
