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17 The Merit of the Third Sabbath Meal T O L D B Y M A L K A H L E V I T O YA ‘A K O V AV I T S U K Once there was a merchant who was very meticulous about observing the precepts. Of all of them, however, he was most meticulous about shalosh se‘udot—the third Sabbath meal—and the melavah malkah* ceremony when the Sabbath was over. He always endeavored to have the melavah malkah table set attractively, with plenty of food and drink for guests who came home from the synagogue with him. He never went any place on Saturday night until he had enjoyed a proper melavah malkah. He always made sure to purchase fine spices and candles for Havdalah. Once, when he came home from the synagogue after the Sabbath, his wife began to set the table for the Havdalah and then for the melavah malkah. His children were already waiting around the table. As he approached it, however, he heard someone knocking at the door. One of the children went and opened the door. Two well-dressed men entered, said good evening, and announced that they wanted to speak with the master of the house. “Wait a while, please,” he told them. “First I must eat melavah malkah, and then I will talk with you.” They replied that they were merchants from a certain city and in a great hurry. The householder set the Havdalah cup down and went over to talk to them. They urged him to accompany them to a nearby city, where a train full of merchandise had just arrived, and he stood to make a great profit from the shipment. Again he asked them to wait until he had finished the meal. But they demurred and finally persuaded him to leave with them without delay. While he was changing out of his Sabbath clothes and dressing for the trip, his wife took the wine and hallah, fish and meat, and other dishes and put it all in a basket so her husband would have food for the journey. The merchants said he would come back home the next afternoon. 123 * ”Escorting the Queen.” The final Sabbath meal.  124  Folktales of the Jews: Volume 2 The man’s servant hitched the horses to his carriage and got everything ready for the trip. The merchants said there was no need for the servant to come along, because they had come in their own carriage and the man would be returning during daylight the next day. The merchant took leave of his wife and children, kissed the mezuzah, and started on his way. He climbed into his coach. The horses knew the way and set out, their master urging them on with whistles and singing melavah malkah hymns. The merchants sat in the second carriage and traveled ahead, leaving him to follow them. After they left town, they took a side road and then turned onto a forest path. Suddenly, their carriage pulled up short and the two merchants jumped down. With drawn pistols they came up to the Jewish merchant. “You’re trapped,” they told him. “Give us your money, or we’ll kill you here!” The poor merchant was terrified. He wanted to run away and jerked on the reins. The horses began to gallop, but the men shot and killed one horse and the second stopped. The merchant jumped from his carriage and tried to flee; but they grabbed him, tied his hands, and took all his money. Then they dragged him into the forest, where there was an abandoned house. They threw him inside and tossed the basket with food after him. “Eat it before your guest does,” they said. Then they opened the door and a huge bear entered. The merchant was frightened out of his wits and fainted dead away. When he came to his senses everything was dark, except for the stars shining though the tall window. Gradually he remembered what had happened to him. “It’s all because I didn’t eat melavah malkah the way I usually do,” he thought. “God has punished me.” He began to weep and suddenly felt hungry. He reached out his arms to the side and found his basket, only to again be overcome by terror and nearly faint when he heard the bear growling next to him. So he sat quite still and tried not to move a muscle. Eventually...

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