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Contents Introduction: Key Concepts of Shabbat 3

• Welcome to a Kabbalistic Shabbat – A Letter from Michael Berg • Preface • One Unified Soul • What Is the War Room? • What If I Don’t Know Hebrew? • The Prayer Book – The Siddur • Announcements During The Connection • Sites Of Transformation • Separating the Men & Women – The Mechitsa • What Do We Wear? – The Inner Meaning of the Outer Garments

Part One: Friday Night Connection 8

• Introduction to the Consciousness of Friday Night • Candle Lighting • Kabbalat Shabbat – Receiving the Shabbat • The Evening Connection – Arvit • Kiddush & Songs Before The First Meal

Part Two: Saturday Morning Connection 13

• Introduction to the Consciousness of Saturday Morning • The Morning Connection – Shacharit • Torah Connection • Kiddush & the Second Meal

Part Three: Saturday Evening Connection 16

• Introduction to the Consciousness of Saturday Evening • The Afternoon Connection – Mincha • Third Meal & Kiddush • The Evening Connection – Arvit • The Close of Shabbat – Havdalah


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I N T R O D U C T I O N :

Key Concepts of Shabbat

SECTION OUTLINE

• Introduction to Shabbat – A Letter from Michael Berg • What Is the War Room? • The Hebrew Letters and What If I Don’t Know Hebrew? • The Prayer Book – The Siddur • Pictures on the Walls of the War Room • Separating Men & Women – The Mechitsa • What to Wear? – The Inner Meaning of the Outer Garments

o White Clothing o The Kippa o The Talit

KEY CONCEPTS Shabbat War Room Hebrew Letters The Siddur

Separating Men and Women Kippa Talit Sites of transformation


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Welcome to a Kabbalistic Shabbat! The Kabbalists explain that Shabbat is “the source of all blessings.” This means that all the blessings that we hope to draw to ourselves, our families, and the world throughout the week come and flow from the Light of Shabbat. Whether we want to draw the Light of sustenance, health, joy, or any other type of physical or spiritual fulfillment, it can only flow through the Shabbat. This is truly an amazing and important lesson. It is important to truly understand and internalize this idea and its ramifications because clearly it holds within it the secret to all the fulfillment which we hope to draw to ourselves. Also, one of the basic Kabbalistic principles is that the amount of Light that we can draw through any spiritual action is dependent on our understanding of its power. Therefore, it is important that we learn and internalize the power of Shabbat. The 19th Century Kabbalist known as the Malbim explains the idea of the Shabbat as the source of the blessings with a parable: “A king appointed many ministers who were in charge of paying all the workers in the Kingdom. On the seventh day of the week, the king would gather all the ministers in his palace and give them the money to pay the workers. Clearly, the workers cannot expect to be paid on the seventh day because on that day the ministers are with the king receiving the money with which to pay the workers during the other six days.” This is comparable to Shabbat. It is a day on which all the sources of abundance and Light are rejuvenated and refilled with Light to distribute throughout the week. It is a day very different from, and more important than, any other. In order to achieve anything during the week, we need to make sure that our spiritual sources are filled on Shabbat. This is also the reason why the manna, which fell to the Israelites in the desert, did not appear on Shabbat. Shabbat is not a day for the physical manifestation of substance; rather, it is a day for the giving on the spiritual level of all that is needed for manifestation of blessings throughout the week. Rav Chaim ben Atar explains that this is what the Torah means when it says, “Today you shall not find it (the manna) in the field.” Manna did not come down into the field because it was being supplied on a spiritual level to allow its revelation throughout the week. It was only “in the field” where the manna could not be found, but it was found in the “heavens” on the spiritual source level. The “heavens,” which supplied the manna throughout the week, could not supply it on Shabbat because they were with the Creator receiving the manna for the rest of the week. This is an important lesson because it also explains why we need to make the connection to the Light of Shabbat, because if we do not connect to the Light, then we do not allow our spiritual source to gather the blessings and Light that we need for the rest of the week. Imagine if one of the workers of the king had stopped his minister on the seventh day from being with the king. He would have caused himself not to receive any money for the entire week. This is true for us if we do not connect to the Light of Shabbat: We limit the amount of Light that we will be able to receive during the week.


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Below you will find a guide that explains the various ways in which we connect to the Divine Light that flows throughout Shabbat. The descriptions and explanations will strengthen your understanding of the consciousness required to experience the strongest connection possible. Don’t worry if you get lost during the service – understanding the connection of Shabbat is a lifelong learning process. But the power is there for you the moment you walk into the room, provided you are in a mindset of sharing and caring about the person next to you. Shabbat Shalom

Michael Berg


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Shabbat is like a gas station on the road of life. Each Shabbat we have the opportunity to refill our tanks with the energy that fuels the energy we use during the week. The more that we connect to Shabbat, the smoother our lives will operate. It’s that simple. Ancient Kabbalists explain that Shabbat is the one day a week where the spiritual and physical worlds are united. During the week, they work together, much the same way that the body and soul work together. On Shabbat there is no differentiation in their functions, just like the soul and body are inseparable. Consequently our physical actions have a great impact in the spiritual worlds. Shabbat is a gift. The gift is ours whether we open it or not. The different connections we make on Shabbat are the measures we take to open the gift.

One Unified Soul

We learn from Kabbalah that the most important thing we can do to gain control over negativity is share with others. Not everyone who comes to the Shabbat is familiar with all the mediations within the prayers, but if we unite together from the soul level all of us can receive the total benefit of the energy of the connections. We meditate to be one soul with The Rav and Karen because they help us to connect to all of the meditations and we join with all the people of those Centres who are also thinking to share the energy with the world.

What Is The War Room? “This room is where we come to fight against the chaos in our minds, using the Hebrew letters and the Kabbalistic meditations as our weapons.” – Kabbalist Rav Berg Rav Berg explains that the most common misconception people have about a prayer room is that it is meant to offer words of thanks and praise to our Creator. In Aramaic, the phrase Armageddon War is Gog u’Magog - the battle in the mind. We come to this room to engage in the ultimate battle against the force of negativity within ourselves known as the desire to receive for the self alone. Everything that takes place here is a non-physical tool for vanquishing our foe, namely, the consciousness of separation, anger, hatred, and jealousy. If we defeat our own Opponent, we have a direct connection to the Light; we have developed the consciousness of unity and miracles are ours for the taking.

The Hebrew Letters

The Zohar reveals that 22 forces were created and sustain the entire cosmos. These 22 forces express themselves through the shapes and resonance of the Hebrew alphabet, making the letters instruments of power. Sequences of the Hebrew letters release enormous amounts of spiritual energy.


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What If I Don’t Know Hebrew? Knowledge of Hebrew is NOT necessary to connect with the Light. Kabbalah teaches that each Hebrew letter is a channel to a unique form of energy, and this is true whether or not you know how the letter sounds or how it fits into a given word. Simply scanning the letters, allowing your eyes (the window to the soul) to pass over them, opens a direct connection to the divine spark hidden within you. If you can’t follow along to the songs or prayers in Hebrew, just listen and pay attention; you will still get the energy. Don’t fall into judgment: What am I doing here? I can’t follow anything. If you start feeling self-conscious, this is where the Opponent shows up.

The Prayer Book – The Siddur

A prayer book is not about offering words of thanks and praise to our Creator. In fact, the Siddur is the weapon of choice in the War Room. It weakens and washes away reactive impulses from our nature. The letters infuse us with inner strength and discipline, targeting the Opponent – our ego – in all of its sneaky manifestations. Siddur translates as “order,” indicating that the Siddur is meant as a way to restore order in one’s life by waging war against the negativity created by our ego. The Shabbat Siddur is different from the Weekday Siddur, which is structured to accommodate the connection with the Tree of Life Reality from Sunday to Friday. Kabbalists see Shabbat as a day when the cosmos is without the usual chaos that prevails during the six days of the week, when humanity can reach out and tap the energy of a tranquil and peaceful cosmos. The Shabbat Siddur reflects the connection that can be made on this unique day. The Kabbalah Centre currently offers both weekday and Shabbat versions of the Siddur in two versions: Hebrew only and Hebrew with English transliteration. Many of our live streaming events, available online exclusively through Kabbalah University also include the connections on the screen during live streaming events.

Announcements During Connections Throughout the connections you will notice one person who is leading the connection and another person who is announcing the kavanot or intention of the prayer. While there is value to understanding the literal meaning of the prayers, the energy is activated through our consciousness of the kavanot or intention that has been provided in the writings of the Kabbalists.

Sites Of Transformation

At times during live streaming events and in Kabbalah Centre War Rooms, you’ll see pictures of gravesites of righteous Kabbalists. The idea, as explained in Rav Berg’s book, Education of a Kabbalist, is that the most important aspect of prayer, connection, is that you are present in the place you are meditating to be. We can make a better connection when our consciousness can connect to the place or people pictured. The spiritual accomplishments of such men and women and the energy in the physical places shown in the pictures can assist us in our battle.


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Separating Men & Women – The Mechitsa

Kabbalah explains that since the War Room is a place where we draw the Light of the Creator into our lives, certain rules of spiritual energy must be observed. The men and women’s sections of the room are like the two poles of the light bulb, and the mechitsa is the resistor or filament that allows an uninterrupted flow of energy and prevents a short circuit between them. It creates circuitry, with men as the positive charge, women as the negative charge. No, women are not negative. It has to do with the fundamental spiritual natures of men and women. Women are the Vessel that draws the Light (as the negative pole draws the electricity), and men are the channel through which the Light flows (the positive pole). The mechitsa is the conductor that prevents a short circuit between the two. Just as if the filament is in a light bulb is not present, the system will inevitable short circuit. When you are trying to emanate Light, you must have spiritual circuitry. The partition is the technology that allows for men and women to receive spiritual energy in the best way possible.

What to Wear? – The Inner Meaning of the Outer Garments White Clothing: It is recommended that men wear white on Shabbat. There are a few reasons for this. White is the color of Right Column, or the Desire to Share. The energy of Light is the energy of sharing and white completely reflects that energy. In this sense, clothing acts as a conduit for giving rather than receiving. White is the only color that encompasses all of the colors of the rainbow; when white light is put through a prism, it breaks up into a spectrum. The Kabbalist, Rav Isaac Luria, also wore white on Shabbat. Kippa: The Kippa is a head covering worn by men as a form of restriction on the head or Keter (crown). Spiritually, the hair is a tremendous conductor for the Light. When restricted it is all the more powerful; this is similar to the principle of resistance in electricity. If there is greater resistance, it creates a stronger current. Talit: Some men wear a white, four-cornered woolen garment called a Talit on Saturday mornings. The Talit helps provide its wearer with additional Surrounding Light, the amount of our spiritual potential. The fringes of the Talit, called the tzitzit, have the numerical value of 613, a connection to the 613 mitzvot (precepts). Women, who are innately on a higher spiritual level than men, connect to Surrounding Light without the Talit.


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P A R T O N E :

Friday Night Connection

SECTION OUTLINE

• Candle Lighting • Introduction to the Consciousness of Friday Night • Kabbalat Shabbat – Receiving the Shabbat

o Ana B’Koach o Lecha Dodi o Bar Yochai o K’gavna

• The Evening Connection – Arvit o The Consciousness of Kaddish o The Technology of “Amen”

• Kiddush & The First Meal o Songs Before the Meal

Shalom Alechem Eshet Chayil

o The Blessing Over Wine – The Kiddush

KEY CONCEPTS Candle Lighting Kabbalat Shabbat Ana B’Koach Tikkun Hanefesh Lecha Dodi Bar Yochai K’gavna

Arvit Kaddish Shalom Alechem Eshet Chayil Kiddush


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Candle Lighting Prior to the candle lighting, all of the actions we do for Shabbat are considered preparation. Before we light candles, it is good to give charity and to concentrate on bringing joy and happiness into the home. Candle lighting is the first activity that actually brings in the energy of Shabbat, in the same way that the first act of Creation was the introduction of Light into our world. Women, as the Vessel, light the candles at home to draw the energy of Shabbat into the home. If there are not any women residing in the house, a man may also light candles. By lighting candles, we are extending our invitation for the energy of Shabbat to grace our home. As co-creators with the Light, we infuse our homes and the world with Light that will stay with us throughout the week. To learn more about the meditations for candle lighting, speak with your teacher.

The Energy Of Shabbat Shabbat in Hebrew is composed of Shin, Bet and Tav. Shabbat is divided into two codes – Bet-Tav, signifying daughter or female aspect (the Shechinah is the female aspect of Light – our protection shield) and the three-column system (the letter Shin looks like three columns). The Friday night service is full of a number of joyous songs and meditations to welcome the energy of Shabbat, which is often referred to as the Shechinah, the female aspect of the Light Force. The Friday Night Connection is designed to connect us to the Desire to Receive, thus enlarging our Vessel or desire for the Light.

Kabbalat Shabbat Literally, Kabbalat Shabbat means "Reception of Shabbat." We use this combination of songs to welcome the energy of Shabbat, which is often referred to as the Shechinah or Shabbat Queen. As we begin the Kabbalat Shabbat Connection, we face the West, typically the back of the War Room. Just as during a wedding, when you hear “Here Comes the Bride,” being played, you turn around and welcome the bride. After the bride comes in, you turn to face the front. That’s what we do on Friday night: we connect to the energy of Shabbat coming in from Malchut, the West. It is literally a marriage between the spiritual dimensions known as Zeir Anpin and Malchut, Light and Vessel. While the general order of the connections for Kabbalat Shabbat is listed below, the order is changed from time to time. The Songs of Kabbalat Shabbat: Shabbat is a day of immense happiness and rejoicing, much of which is expressed in song. Throughout the spiritual connection,


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beautiful melodies accompany ancient Hebrew text, enhancing our connection to the Light. Song is a vehicle that creates a direct connection at the soul level. The melodies and words may seem a bit foreign at first, but with time they become familiar and are a joyous part of the connection. The Ana B’Koach: The Ana B’Koach is constructed around a sequence of 42 letters that are encoded within the first 42 letters of the book of Genesis. The kabbalists explain that this seven-sequence combination of letters takes us back to the time of Creation. Each time we meditate on a particular sequence, we are returned to the original uncorrupted energy that built the world. The Ana B’Koach corresponds to the seven days of the week. Each sentence also corresponds to a particular heavenly body. By performing the Ana B’Koach meditation, we enrich our lives with unadulterated spiritual Light and positive energy. Lecha Dodi: The Lecha Dodi, a prayer written by Kabbalist Rav Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz, a student of the Ari, contains ten verses, connecting us to the Ten Sefirot – the transmitters by which the Light animates our entire universe, including our souls. During the week we encounter many negative situations that disrupt and misalign these energy forces on both a personal and universal level. Each of the ten verses in the Lecha Dodi adjusts the Ten Sefirot, rearranging them into their correct positions in the universe. It also realigns each Sefira within our body, putting us into proper emotional, physical and spiritual balance. In the final verse, we are given the opportunity to connect with the first part of the extra soul, the expansion of our Vessel or capacity to receive the Light that is available to us on Shabbat. Bar Yochai: This song connects us to Rav Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar. The Kabbalists teach that the only way one can hope to understand the vast mysteries of our universe and connect to the tremendous energy available to us is through the study of Kabbalah and the teachings of the Zohar. Kabbalists throughout history agree that a human being cannot overcome the force of negativity alone without the teaching and knowledge of The Zohar. By connecting to the seed and origin of the Zohar itself, its author Rav Shimon Bar Yochai, we call upon him to assist us in this monumental battle. K’gavna: The final component of Kabbalat Shabbat is an excerpt from the Zohar called K’gavna that speaks of the unity between the Light and the Shechinah, the feminine aspect of the Light. The Kabbalists teach us that we should read a section from The Zohar revealing a secret of Shabbat after the song of Bar Yochai is completed. K’gavna. helps remove us from this physical world, acting as a rocket booster that helps us escape the “gravitational pull” of our ego. After Kabbalat Shabbat, the evening service Arvit is recited.


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The Evening Connection – Arvit This Connection originated with Jacob the Patriarch. During his lifetime, Jacob was connected to the virtue of truth, as King David said, “Give truth to Jacob.” If we want to make a true connection to Jacob and Arvit, we must be truthful. This Connection offers us two more chances to connect to the other parts of the extra soul, the expansion of our vessel that is available on Shabbat. The Kaddish Traditionally, the Kaddish is known as the mourners’ prayer. However, according to Kabbalah, this is not its true purpose. The Sages teach that the secret to immortality is encoded within the meditations of the Kaddish which is written in Aramaic, a language that negative energy cannot interfere with. Kaddish is about elevation. The great 16th century Kabbalist Rav Isaac Luria, The Ari, teaches us that the Kaddish acts like an elevator between the various levels of consciousness, connecting earth with the elevated dimensions. Each time we recite the Kaddish, we are climbing a step on this ladder. We use it whenever we need to ascend, descend, or move among the different levels of the prayers. We start off in our world that kabbalists call the World of Action, and we go through four different realms before we reach the World of Emanation. The Technology of “Amen” Amen has a numerical value of 91. The word Adonai (the Name of God that reflects Malchut, our physical dimension) and the Tetragrammaton (the Name of God that reflects Zeir Anpin, the 99% spiritual dimension) coupled together also have a value of 91. Every time we say “Amen,” our meditation should be the joining of the physical and spiritual realms that takes place on Shabbat. Therefore, Amen is a code for completing the circuitry of bringing the Light into the Vessel.

Kiddush & The Songs Before The First Meal Songs Before The Meal Shalom Alechem is a song in which we are “greeting the angels of Shabbat.” Each Friday night, good angels and bad angels go with us to Kiddush. This song helps us convert negative angels to positive angels. Eshet Chayil is a song that connects us to “the Woman of Valor,” or the female aspect of the Light, which assists us in manifesting the energy we have been connecting with. The first letters of each line in this song follow the order of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, therefore this song assists us in establishing order in our lives.


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Kiddush (Blessing over the wine): Kiddush, the blessing over wine, helps us manifest all the energy we have been arousing in the spiritual dimension during our connections. This combination of words has the power to cleanse us of all our negativity. The wine we use for Kiddush represents judgment and helps us draw down the Light of Mercy (Or D’Chasadim). The wine, which is red, is associated with the Vessel, which is the Desire to Receive. Before we come to the Kiddush, the person reciting it puts a bit of water into the bottle of wine. Water is associated with the Desire to Share, and when added to the wine, creates balance and circuitry. Wine contains very powerful energy. Why do people get drunk from wine? They are connecting with energy from the realm of Binah. Literally, the experience is a taste of The Garden of Eden. By using the wine, our goal is not to get drunk, but to truly achieve spiritual heights. The Friday Night Kiddush is made up of 72 words, corresponding to the 72 Names of God.


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P A R T T W O :

Saturday Morning Connection

SECTION OUTLINE

• Introduction to the Consciousness of Saturday Morning • The Morning Connection – Shacharit (For the Men) • Torah Connection

o Opening the Ark o Brich Shemei o Consciousness Lecture o Raising the Torah o Reading the Torah

• Kiddush & the Second Meal o The Blessing Over Wine – The Kiddush

KEY CONCEPTS Shacharit The Torah The Ark Brich Shemei The Kabbalistic Bible Kiddush


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Saturday morning connects us to the Desire to Share. We connect with the energy of sharing on Saturday morning through the Torah reading. The Torah is the most powerful tool to share Light. We already created the Vessel on Friday night; now it’s about the Light of the Torah being shared.

The Morning Connection – Shacharit Before reading from the Torah, the Kabbalists recommend that men go through the Four Worlds from the level of Action to the level of Emanation. Men are at the level of Zeir Anpin, which requires additional effort while women are already at the level of Binah, the level of Emanation.

The Torah Scroll

It takes one to two years for one scribe to complete a Torah. The scribe has to be completely versed in kabbalistic meditation and understanding, because the consciousness of the scribe determines the energy that scroll contains. The physical parchment of the scroll represents the Light, and the black letters on the scroll represent the Vessel. The letters are all written in exact columns of specific dimensions – a complete, continuous block of 304,805 letters, over 600,000 characters, with no vowels and punctuation. When the energy of the Torah is ignited through a gathering of at least ten men, representing the Ten Sefirot, the Light drawn from the Torah is from the 99 Percent. The first letter of The Torah is the Bet of the word brachot or blessings. The last word of The Torah is Israel, with the last letter being Lamed. The letters Lamed and Bet create the word Lev, heart. The entire purpose of the Torah is to purify our hearts.

Torah Connections Opening The Ark: To have access to the Torah and its energy, we must physically open the Ark, a cabinet that houses the Torah scrolls. Since every physical action has a metaphysical counterpart, this is our opportunity to remove our individual blockages that hold us back from our collective Light. We can meditate and create an opening in our heart to receive all the power of the Torah reading. Brich Shemei: Before the reading of the Torah, we recite or scan the Brich Shemei. This prayer is written in Aramaic and is taken directly from the Zohar. Hearing the Brich Shemei takes us back to the moment of Revelation at Mount Sinai and is our tool to draw down the energy to prepare ourselves to receive the immense light of the Torah as it is taken out of the Ark and read.


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Consciousness Lecture: After the Torah is removed from the Ark we listen to a lecture about the particular reading so we are conscious of the tremendous power we are tapping into during the reading. Each week’s portion has a different energy, many lessons for each of us and is an amazing tool for change in our lives. Oftentimes, the lecture will refer to the Kabbalistic Bible with commentary by Yehuda Berg. The Kabbalistic Bible is a bridge between the Zohar and the Torah. It contains each section of the Torah or the Five Books Of Moses and gives us a synopsis of what’s really going on. It shows us exactly what the Torah is trying to teach and explains in detail the Kabbalistic principles behind the stories. Raising The Torah: We physically raise the Torah before the reading. It is our opportunity to elevate our consciousness from chaos to the power of certainty and control. We also meditate to look at the first letter of the week’s reading to connect with the seed level of the weekly energy. Reading The Torah: The Torah provides us with an immunization for the negativity of the coming week. The combination of the Hebrew letters on parchment becomes a channel for the Light of the Creator. Small nuances in each portion help us to connect to the specific energy for the week. When decoded, the simple stories of the Torah transmit this energy to all who hear the Torah reading. The Torah reading for each week is divided into seven parts, called aliyot. These seven aliyot create the structure of the seven Sefirot that allow the energy to be revealed in us in the coming week. They also relate to the seven days of the week and the seven biblical “chariots” or channels for the energy: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and King David. After the Torah is read, an additional reading called Haftorah is read in order to turn the energy of the Torah into something that can be used as a resource during the week. Then the Torah is placed back into the Ark, until it is read again. As the connection ends, we use a different variation of the Kiddush to manifest the connection before taking a break until the afternoon connection.


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P A R T T H R E E :

The Saturday Evening Connection

SECTION OUTLINE

• Introduction to the Consciousness of Saturday Evening • Mincha – The Afternoon Connection (For the Men) • Third Meal & Kiddush

o The Washing of Hands – Netilat Yadaim o The Blessing Over Bread HaMotzi o Songs of Third Meal o Consciousness Lecture o The Blessing Over Wine – The Kiddush o Atkinu for the Third Meal o A Song for Healing – Yedid Nefesh o Blessing after the Meal – Birkat HaMazon

• The Evening Connection – Arvit • The Close of Shabbat – Havdalah

KEY CONCEPTS Mincha Netilat Yadaim HaMotzi Songs of Third Meal The Kiddush

Yedid Nefesh Birkat HaMazon Arvit Havdalah


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As the end of Shabbat is approaching, the energy level reaches its climax. This is a time of important cosmic significance before the birth of the new week. One can actually determine what will happen in the coming week and even change it. Friday Night was connected to the Desire to Receive. Saturday morning is connected to the Desire to Share. Now, Saturday evening enables us to bring these energies together in the form of the Desire to Receive for the Sake of Sharing.

The Afternoon Connection – Mincha The afternoon, is normally a time of judgment during the week. On Shabbat, however, the Mincha Connection injects mercy into afternoon, lessening any negativity that may threaten us around this time the rest of the week. Mincha also prepares our Vessel to receive the highest energy available on Shabbat, the energy of the Third Meal Connection.

Third Meal Connection & Kiddush The Third Meal Connection, is the highest point of Shabbat. It connects to the Desire to Receive for the Sake of Sharing. It is an opening in the cosmos enabling us to connect to the power of balance and to strengthen our immune system. One may also send this power of healing throughout the entire universe for the benefit of all humanity and to help prevent wars. Moses, King David, and Joseph the Righteous all chose this time of day to leave the world. Therefore, their great spiritual energy is available for us to tap into as well. Rav Brandwein taught Rav Berg that wherever people give the greatest amount of attention, traditionally, there is the least amount of energy. The Third Meal is probably the most important aspect of Shabbat, yet the least known. That is classic Kabbalistic code – everything containing great light is concealed. The Third Meal is compared to the filament in a light bulb. It actually controls and regulates how much charge is being received. Anything that connects to this restriction is about health, healing, and the immune system. The Third Meal Connection begins with Netilat Yadaim (washing of the hands) and HaMotzi (the blessing over the bread). Third Meal again includes a number of songs as a vehicle for energy that connects directly at the soul level. At this time, Teachers at the Kabbalah Centre may share a special study to prepare us for the week to come. Atkinu Sudata: At the Time Of The Third Meal, all of the supernal gates are open. There is no judgment. This song helps us awaken our desire and connect to the greatest Light possible Mizmor L’David: This song awakens our trust and Certainty in the Creator Yetzaveh Tzur Chasdo: This song helps us connect to what the Kabbalists call the Final Redemption; the end of all pain suffering and chaos that exists in the world. El Mistater: This song explains how the Light of the Creator is revealed in this world through the Ten Sefirot. Throughout this song we climb to the Light using the ladder of the Ten Sefirot.


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En K’Eloheinu: We connect to the Light and inject order into our lives through the use of the 22 Hebrew letters. Kidush of The Third Meal: The Third Meal contains a special Kiddush (wine blessing) that is used for strengthening the immune system. At this time, we also have the opportunity to make a personal spiritual wish. Yedid Nefesh: Yedid Nefesh. sung with a moving melody by Kabbalah Centre founder Rav Yehuda Ashlag, speaks of our tremendous yearning for a connect to the Light and it ends with a prayer to reveal to us this complete and everlasting love and Light. The song contains a combination of powerful letters in the phrase “El na refa na la” designed to connect us to the energy of Healing. The Third Meal concludes with Birkat HaMazon (blessing after the meal) which helps us receive the spiritual energy of the food we have eaten, even if it is just a piece of bread.

The Evening Connection – Arvit Arvit is explained in the section on Friday Night.

The Close of Shabbat – Havdalah After the Third Meal Connection, Havdalah provides us with a “soft landing” and enables us to draw all the energy we accumulated during the Shabbat to be used through the entire week. This connection ushers out the Shabbat and secures a safe landing for us from the spiritual soaring that we have been doing for the past 25 hours. We recite three blessings: (1) over the wine, as with any Kiddush, (2) over sweet smelling herbs (typically myrtles) for a sweet smelling week and (3) over the fire of a candle so that the Light of Shabbat will shine brightly into our week.

The Fourth Meal Connection or Melave Malka

After the 25 hour period of Shabbat has passed, an additional connection called Melave Malka is sometimes streamed live on Kabbalah University. At this time, The Ari recommends drinking a hot, sweet beverage after the conclusion of Shabbat to ensure happiness for the week to come. Kabbalistic songs are sung and lessons are taught from the stories about the great Kabbalists of history. This time is an opportunity to continue drawing the Light of Shabbat into our week and soften its absence.

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