A Seudah That Rises Like a Korban
Not just money dropped into a pushka. Not only a check written to a cause. Sometimes the holiest act is more personal: feeding and supporting someone who spends his days learning Torah.
Chazal speak about that kind of support in extraordinary language. In Berachot 10b, the Gemara teaches that one who hosts a talmid chacham in his home and supports him from his means is regarded as though he offered the daily offerings. In Chagigah 27a, Chazal teach that when the Beis HaMikdash stood, the mizbeach atoned for a person, and now a person’s table does.
That is the Torah frame for sponsoring meals for Torah scholars. And the broader spiritual foundation appears in Hoshea 6:6: “For I desire kindness, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” The navi is not speaking specifically about sponsoring meals for Torah scholars, but he is teaching something essential: Hashem does not want empty ritual. He wants chesed, sincerity, and closeness to Him.
Feeding talmidei chachamim personally is considered so meritorious because it is a concrete act of love for Torah, honor for Torah, support for Torah learning, and hospitality done in the service of Hashem. It is practical chesed, done for the sake of Torah, and Chazal describe it as an act of enormous spiritual weight.
The Minhag of Seudas Hoshea ben Be’eri
The Navi Behind the Segulah
Among the treasured segulos of Klal Yisrael is the specific practice of sponsoring a seudah for talmidei chachamim in the merit of the navi Hoshea ben Be’eri. This minhag has been passed from generation to generation, particularly in the communities of Eretz Yisroel and among mekubalim who taught that the zechus of feeding Torah scholars carries extraordinary power before Hashem.
Hoshea ben Be’eri was the first of the Trei Asar — the twelve minor prophets. The sefer that bears his name opens with the famous call to teshuvah: “Shuvu Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha” — return, Yisrael, to Hashem your God. His entire prophecy is a plea for genuine return, for real chesed over hollow ritual. When a seudah is sponsored in his zechus, the merit of this great navi joins with the merit of the Torah learned at the table and the chesed of feeding those who dedicate their lives to Hashem’s Torah.
Families have sponsored Seudas Hoshea ben Be’eri for refuah, for parnassah, for shidduchim, and for the safety of loved ones. The talmidei chachamim who sit at the meal learn Torah, say Tehillim, and daven for the sponsor by name. The segulah is based on the belief that when chesed, Torah, and tefillah come together in the merit of a tzaddik, the gates of rachamim open.
How Seudas Hoshea ben Be’eri Works
When you sponsor a seudah through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, the talmidei chachamim in Tiberias gather for a meal in the merit of Hoshea ben Be’eri. Torah is learned at the table. Tehillim is said for the sponsors. Names are read aloud and davened for with kavanah. The merit of the navi, the chesed of feeding talmidei chachamim, and the tefillah of those who learn Torah lishmah all combine into a great zechus before the Ribbono Shel Olam.
You can submit a name to the talmidei chachamim in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for you by name. If you would like to sponsor a seudah or give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus, your chesed will rise together with their tefillah.
Before Reciting the Passuk
There is no universally fixed liturgy for saying this passuk in connection with sponsoring a meal. But if you want to use it as a moment of kavanah, you can say something simple like this:
Ribono Shel Olam, You taught us through Your prophet Hoshea that You desire chesed more than sacrifice. I want this act to be real chesed in Your service. As I help support those who learn Your Torah, please accept this kindness with mercy and favor. In the zechus of this seudah and this tzedakah, send rachamim, blessing, and yeshuah to me and my family. Eloka d’Meir aneini.
If giving tzedakah, add:
Please let the merit of this tzedakah, together with the merit of supporting Torah and those in need, stand for a blessing, a refuah, and a yeshuah.
Hoshea 6:6: The Full Passuk
כִּי חֶסֶד חָפַצְתִּי וְלֹא־זָבַח וְדַעַת אֱלֹהִים מֵעֹלוֹת
Ki chesed chofatzti v’loi zovach, v’da’as Elokim mei’oilois.
Ki chesed chafatzti velo zavach, vedaat Elokim me’olot.
For I desire kindness, not sacrifice; devotion to Hashem, rather than burnt offerings.
This passuk means that Hashem does not want religious activity without a real relationship. In Hoshea’s message, chesed means genuine loyalty, kindness, and covenant-faithfulness, while daas Elokim means lived closeness to Hashem, not just information about Him. The navi is not saying that korbanos have no value. He is saying that korbanos become empty when they are disconnected from sincerity, morality, and faithfulness to Hashem.
Hoshea prophesied in the First Temple period, mainly in the 8th century BCE, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and Jeroboam ben Yoash of Israel. His sefer addresses a generation that was marked by spiritual decline, corruption, and outward religion without real teshuvah. In the immediate context of Hoshea 6, the people speak as if they are returning to Hashem, but Hashem answers that their devotion is fleeting, like morning mist that quickly disappears. In this passuk Hashem is saying that what He truly wants is steady chesed and real daas Elokim, not ritual by itself. In short, this passuk is a prophetic rebuke against shallow repentance and external worship without inner loyalty to Hashem.
In Avot DeRabbi Natan 4, Chazal apply this verse to teach that after the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, gemilus chasadim carries an atoning power of its own. That does not erase korbanos from their place in Torah. It teaches that Hashem looks for the heart of avodas Hashem: chesed, truth, and da’as Elokim.
Understanding the Words of the Passuk
Ki chesed chafatzti “For I desire kindness”
Chesed stands at the center of this passuk. Supporting a talmid chacham is not only a donation. It is a concrete act of care for someone who has given his strength to Torah. Chazal praise that support in remarkable language. In Ketubot 111b, the Gemara teaches that one who benefits talmidei chachamim from his property is regarded as though he cleaves to the Shechinah.
V’lo zavach “And not sacrifice”
The word zavach means a slaughtered offering, a korban brought to the mizbeach. The navi is not dismissing korbanos, chas v’shalom. He is rebuking a religious life that keeps the form while losing the heart. That is why Chagigah 27a is so important here: Chazal teach that after the Churban, a person’s table can become a place of kapparah. A meal given with generosity and holiness is not ordinary.
V’da’as Elokim “And devotion to Hashem”
Da’as here means more than knowledge. It means closeness, connection, and true avodas Hashem. The goal is not only kindness as a social virtue. The goal is da’as Elokim: a life turned toward Hashem. When you support Torah learning, you attach your act of chesed to that higher purpose. You are not replacing Torah learning. You are helping sustain it.
Mei’oilois “Rather than burnt offerings”
An olah rises entirely upward. Hoshea’s point is that Hashem wants more than external religious performance. He wants the inner truth that gives avodah its meaning. When a person gives with humility, supports Torah, and does real chesed, that act carries deep spiritual weight.
How to Recite This Passuk
If you want to say this passuk in connection with sponsoring a seudah, the safest approach is simple: say the verse, then speak to Hashem in your own words.
You can say it before giving or at the time you give. If you are sponsoring meals from a distance, have in mind that this support should help those who are learning Torah and those who need assistance. Mention the name of the person who needs a yeshuah, and ask Hashem to accept your tefillah in the merit of the chesed you are doing.
If you are also giving tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are not praying to Rabbi Meir. You are praying to Hashem and asking that the merit associated with Rabbi Meir, together with the merit of your tzedakah and chesed, stand in your favor.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
The phrase Eloka d’Meir aneini comes from the Gemara in Avodah Zarah 18b, in the famous episode involving Rabbi Meir and the rescue of his sister-in-law, the daughter of Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon, from Roman captivity. This phrase brought about miraculous salvation, and over time, that phrase became closely associated with tefillah and tzedakah in times of need.
Segulah meals fit naturally alongside this ancient Rabbi Meir Baal Haness tradition of segulos. Rabbi Meir himself was a great talmid chacham. Supporting talmidei chachamim, feeding them and sustaining their learning, is exactly the chesed Hoshea describes. When you give through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, your tzedakah goes directly to support Torah scholars, almanos, and yesomim in Eretz Yisroel. Your segulah meals become their learning, and their learning becomes your zechus.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
What To Do After Saying It
While segulah meals are a great zechus, they do not replace hishtadlus. Whether you need a refuah, parnassah, or shalom bayis, you must still take practical steps alongside your tefillos. For a broader treatment of tefillos and segulos for parnassah, see our dedicated guide.
Hishtadlus means showing Hashem that you are doing what is in your hands to do, while trusting Him to do what is beyond your hands. Segulah meals are the ruchniyus side, and the practical steps are the gashmiyus side. They must go together. A Yid who sponsors segulah meals and also does proper hishtadlus shows they understand how Hashem runs the world.
If you want to make segulah meals a regular practice, consider sponsoring a meal every Tuesday, since Tuesday is often treated as an especially favorable day because on the third day of creation the Torah says “it was good” twice. Even a small amount counts. The act matters more than the sum.
Segulah meals, sometimes presented today as Seudas Hoshea ben Beeri, refer to sponsoring meals or charitable support as an act of chesed, often in honor of Torah scholars or for the needy. The verse most often associated with this theme is Hoshea 6:6 , where Hashem says that He desires chesed more than sacrifice.
Tuesday is often treated as an especially favorable day because on the third day of creation the Torah says “it was good” twice, in Genesis 1:10 and Genesis 1:12 .
You do not need to personally cook or serve in order to participate in the chesed. If your money is specifically paying for a meal for a talmid chacham or for a seudah arranged for talmidei chachamim through a reliable organization l ike Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities , that is closer to “sponsoring a segulah meal.” If it is just a broad donation to an organization, that is certainly tzedakah, but it may not be the same thing as the custom in its narrower form.
Rabbi Meir was himself a great Torah scholar. Giving in his zechus means asking Hashem to accept your chesed, including your segulah meals, in the combined merit of the tzaddik and your own act of kindness. It is a tefillah directed to Hashem, strengthened by tzedakah and the zechus of a tzaddik who dedicated his life to Torah.
Chazal compare a person’s table to the mizbeach after the churban in Menachot 97a and Chagigah 27a , and Pirkei Avot 3:3 teaches that when people eat together and speak words of Torah, it is as if they ate from Hashem’s table.
A Brachah for Your Chesed
Segulah meals are a great act of chesed. You are feeding someone who sits before Hashem’s Torah, and in return, Hashem sees your kindness and draws close to you.
May the chesed you do today rise before Hashem like the korbanos of old. May the talmidei chachamim whose segulah meals you sponsor learn Torah that brings refuah, parnassah, and shalom bayis into your home. May the words of Hoshea, ki chesed chafatzti, bring tremendous brachos into your life. And may Hashem answer you with the same swiftness He answered Rabbi Meir, measure for measure, kindness for kindness.
You can submit a tefillah request to the bnei Torah who will daven on your behalf at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Teveria at no cost. They will daven for your family by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your tzedakah will strengthen both your tefillah and your segulah meals.
