Why do we celebrate Shabbat with special meals? Regarding the Manna that fell from Heaven, we read: And Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD, today you will not find it in the field." R. Yohanan lived in the 2nd Century in Eretz Yisrael and he received a tradition that on Shabbat, one eats three meals. He said this teaching was based on the fact that the verse above mentions "today" three times. This was understood to mean that one should have three meals on Shabbat, meals that mark "today" as different from all other days.