Tzaddik and the fish
39 cm x 40 cm
mixed media on paper
The reasons for eating fishes on Shabbat. 1) In Maase Bereshit there are three blessings: for the fishes, for man and for Shabbat and “a three-ply cord is not easily severed” (Kohelet 4:12). The man (meaning – Israel) who eats fishes on Shabbat for the honour of Shabbat is blessed with a three-ply blessing. The sign for it is binot deshe (“in lush meadows” Psalm 23) the letters of the word deshe are for D - “fishes”, Sh - “Shabbat”, A - “man”. 2) All creatures have their root in the higher worlds, and fish come from a very High and Holy World, which is an allusion to the Open Eye (of Providence). 3) Also, all tzaddikim [after death] transmigrate into fish, therefore fishes are eaten on holy Shabbat to free the souls of the tzaddikim.