Our Gemara on Amud Beis states a position that in the wilderness the Jews were not allowed to consume ordinary meat. The only time that one could eat meat is if it is part of a sacrifice such as a shelamim. In Sefer Daf al Daf, he quotes the Sar Shalom Mi-Belz that this Gemara proves that one is not obligated to have meat at Seudas Melave Malka. His reasoning is as follows: if in the wilderness they could only consume sacrificial meat, such meat would be from a shelamim sacrifice brought on Friday before Shabbos. Such meat would be forbidden by Saturday evening as nosar — a shelamim must be consumed within the period of the day of the sacrifice, the evening after and the day after, which would be Friday, Friday night and Shabbos day. After that, it must be burnt. If so, in the wilderness it would not have been possible to have Melave Malka from meat.

While on the topic, let’s take a closer look at Melave Malka. Regardless of what food is to be eaten, the ritual itself is part of honoring the Shabbos. It is our last experience and the way of transitioning from Shabbos. The Gemara (Shabbos 119b and Rashi) compares it to escorting a dignitary on his way out of your home.

There also is a tradition (Mateh Moshe 513, and see Eliyahu Rabbah OH 300:2) that one who eats Seudas Melave Malka will merit the resurrection of the dead. This will come from the human remains of the tailbone.

What is the connection? Symbolically we can see the obvious correlation. If one honors the ending of Shabbos, even as it is technically over, in turn, the final remains of a person, the last bits that have not decayed, will merit a resurrection.

But just because it is a clever derush, does it really make sense that one should merit something as grand as being revived from the dead for eating this final meal? Thought there is a symbolic correspondence, does it really follow in classic middah kneged middah — measure for measure compensation? Are the two equivalent?

On a deeper level, eating the Melave Malka seudah effectuates a revival of the dead because this very action of celebrating and clinging to spirituality as Shabbos wanes is not merely engaging in a symbolic act of resurrection — one is actually performing resurrection. Celebrating and holding onto the holiness of Shabbos as the week begins IS RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.

As we noted in yesterday’s blog post, Psychology of the Daf, Chulin 15, spirituality is not a metaphor; to the contrary, the physical world is a metaphorical representation of the spiritual world. Therefore, the physical enactment of the resurrection of the dead is only one dimension of the deeper principle. When a person actively engages in holding onto the remainders of spiritual benefit from Shabbos, they are tapping into the deeper source that enables resurrection of the dead. Furthermore, right now, by bringing a part of Shabbos into their weekday they are already living in a form of renewal and rejuvenation.