T276 PNC - Shabbat Eating Is Not for Satiation — It Blesses the Six Weekdays

Shabbat eating isn't really about satiating hunger at all. The Zohar (Yitro 88a) teaches that all the blessing and success of the weekdays flows from the holiness of Shabbat — the eating of Shabbat itself is what allows the six days to be blessed. The real satiation is on Shabbat. The Talmud (Berachot 43b) on "Who fed you manna in the desert in order to afflict you" (Devarim 8:16) teaches that a blind person has no satiation — and Kiddush on Friday night restores the spiritual light of the eyes, which is what real satisfaction depends on. Shabbat is when the eyes are restored. Shabbat eating, therefore, is the act of drawing down sight, drawing down satiation, drawing down blessing for the entire week — not for the body's full belly, but for the soul's full sight.