Shabbat Meal for a Bachelor
This question and answer were automatically translated using our trained AI and have not yet been reviewed by a qualified rabbi. Please treat this translation with caution.
go to original →
Question
I have returned to observance and started keeping Shabbat. I am a bachelor and live alone. I enjoy keeping Shabbat and studying on Shabbat, but I am not really connected to Shabbat clothes and meals. I have no problem making Kiddush and Lechem Mishneh and even eating a meat sausage in a bun, but a festive meal alone doesn't suit me. Is it really that important?
Answer
Hello,
There is great importance in delighting in Shabbat, spreading a white cloth on the table, wearing Shabbat clothes, and eating respectable foods. However, the meal can certainly be short. It is worthwhile to sing one or two songs from the Shabbat hymns and read a short D'var Torah on the weekly portion to yourself. The sages (Shabbat 118) wrote that one who strives to fulfill this mitzvah merits wealth and an inheritance without boundaries and is saved from the subjugation of kingdoms [the dominion of nations over Israel].