Why Do We Have A Fourth Meal After Shabbat?

0:14Now, the Chachamim ask a question. I believe it's the Chatam Sofer who brings up a question. He says that David HaMelech, alav hashalom, found out from HaKadosh Baruch Hu that he was going to die on Shabbat.

1:22The second a person's kingship is supposed to start, that's when it starts. You cannot live for an extra day beyond what is decreed. Your son is supposed to already be king by Sunday. So David HaMelech knew that he's going to die on Shabbat. He just didn't know which Shabbat. So what did he do? He had a strategy. He knew that the Malach HaMavet could not touch him as long as he was learning Torah. The Gemara states, if the yetzer hara comes to you, if the Satan approaches you, drag him to the Beit Midrash, meaning, engage in Torah study. Learning Torah is a protection against the Malach HaMavet. This is why, as a tradition, we have the custom to have the Seudah Revi'it, the fourth meal, on Motzei Shabbat, which is called Melavei Malka. David HaMelech established this practice as a celebration of surviving another Shabbat. Drag him to the Beit Midrash, meaning, learn Torah. Learn Torah; it's going to protect you against Malach HaMavet. So David HaMelech knows that as long as he learns Torah, Malach HaMavet can't take him. This is why, as a side note, we have the custom to have the fourth meal on Motzei Shabbat, Melaveh Malkah. That's the takanah that David HaMelech made, celebrating that he survived another Shabbat. He survived another Shabbat. Ah, the fourth meal. So now, Malach HaMavet comes, and he knows, hey, I can't touch this David, but it's, clock's ticking, I have a job, they're going to fire me. They're going to fire me, what am I going to do? I have to take this guy to Olam Haba. But he's studying Torah, I can't touch him. So what does he do? He makes some noise outside. David HaMelech hears,

2:49Somebody makes a noise outside and David HaMelech gets up. As he gets up, he goes down the stairs, and for a second when he wasn't thinking about Torah, it was enough to take away one of the steps. He fell and died—it took his life—that one second. So the Chatam Sofer asked, wait a minute, hold on a second. Wait. What? Every time somebody made noise outside, David HaMelech would get up? What kind of Torah is he studying? This is Gadol HaDor. This is a Malach Hashem. This is Mashiach. What? Somebody made noise outside, he'd get up? what's the word? It's a big question because that came many, many years after him. It says that anyone who goes away from his Torah just to go deal with mundane things, they're going to feed him coals that don't ever go out. Why? You're learning Torah, but then your phone rings. Oh, who's it? Oh, Steve. Let's see what he wants. Hey, what's up, Steve? What's going on? Oh yeah, she called you? Oh wow, wow, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go close the book. There he goes away. That phone call just brought you some gechalei retamim. It's not just regular gechalei, not just regular calls—special ones. The Gemara in Masechet Berachot says special ones, retamim. This one is special. This one is not on sale. This one is premium. It doesn't go out. Why? Because you treat the Torah like it's some history book.

4:17That's why, Chachamim say, you should have already in your mind, when you first start learning, whenever I stop, it's because I intended to stop. When you start studying, you don't know when you're going to stop. You intend, let's say you want to study for an hour, two hours, three hours, five hours, but sometimes there are going to be distractions. You should already have in your head, "Okay, whenever I stop, for whatever reason, I intended to stop." You shouldn't stop for every little thing, but nonetheless, this mindset already removes you from this difficult situation. all of us are guilty of this. So how could we, little nothings—or at least me, a little nothing—be compared to David? What did he do? He got up because he heard someone making noise on a tree. David was... And he was learning Torah. But he also knew that he heard this tree outside for a reason. Someone must be climbing a tree on Shabbat. And that's Chilul Shabbat. I have a mitzvah to fulfill, and I'm the only one who can fulfill it. If somebody else could fulfill this mitzvah of "you must rebuke your fellow," then I could just continue studying. But since I'm the one who heard it, and no one else is here...

5:43The obligation is on me. I have to go rebuke this person. Tell him, what are you doing? You're being Mechalel Shabbat. Hashem is going to be very displeased with this behavior. So David HaMelech didn't get up because he got up for everything. He knew that someone was violating Shabbat right now. He didn't know it was the Satan making noise. He knew someone was violating Shabbat, and I have to go rebuke him. I have to fulfill a mitzvah here. If there were someone else present, I would ask them to help. But since no one else is here, the responsibility falls on me. Just like the Gemara in Masechet Shabbat teaches us, if one sees another person sinning and has the ability to rebuke them but doesn't, then the sin is attributed to them. David HaMelech said, I do not wish to ascend to Shamayim and have a small Shabbat in my record, because I chose to learn instead. I heard it. I've got to do something about it.

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