In this week’s Hachana L’Shabbos—The Importance of a Real Third Meal—we sing our way into the year with ונאמר לפניו שירה חדשה and remember that Torah itself is a song: learning must stay fresh—אסור להזדקן—ever new.
Then we turn to the hidden jewel of Shabbos: Seudah Shlishit, the ne’ilah of every Shabbos. With the Bnei Yissaschar (in the name of R. Menachem Mendel of Rimanov), we learn that at late-afternoon רצון דרצונות the original will to create the world resurfaces—יש מאין energy enters the air. That’s why tefillah there can open gates “beyond nature.” The Chafetz Chaim’s story of a father crying Tehillim at Seudah Shlishit—and the shidduch that birthed the Ketzot HaChoshen—reminds us what one cracked-open heart can draw down.
Practical avodah for this Shabbos Shuvah:
• Make Seudah Shlishit real (wash, sing, Tehillim, a few words of chizuk).
• Guard the עת רצון: start Mincha earlier or plan a later Maariv so you’re not rushing.
• Aim your tefillah from the heart—especially for others and for Klal Yisrael.
• Choose one small “new note” in learning or song so Shabbos ends with חיות.
May the Ribbono Shel Olam let this Seudah Shlishit lift us into a year of revealed mercy—where guf and neshamah, heaven and earth, meet in Shabbos-peace, and miracles above nature become our everyday path.
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