I read the following and wondered if you could explain it to me:
"R. Simeon b. Pazzi said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi in Bar Kappara's name: He who observes [the practice of] three meals on the Sabbath is saved from three evils: the travails of the Messiah, the retribution of Gehinnom and the wars of Gog and Magog"
Can you tell me why the three meals on Shabbat save someone from three evils, and why these three evils in particular?
Thank you for your time
Hannah Bradley
Hannah Bradley, Manchester, UK
The MAHARSHA explains that these three things are the three major events (or in case of Gehinnom, a place) during which sins are atoned for by punishment before the time when there will be eternal reward for the righteous. We know that the Gemara often compares the afterlife, where the righteous will be rewarded, to Shabbos. It is therefore fitting, the Maharsha explains, that if someone fulfills the commandment to enjoy Shabbos, he will be spared (measure for measure) from the three great difficulties before the "real Shabbos" that you mention above.
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose