The Torah says, And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless God (Deuteronomy 8:10). The sages of the Talmud explain that if ones desire in eating is only to be satisfied and not to indulge in gluttony, then one is considered to be blessing God. When we elevate our food further with the blessings and commandments associated with eating, our eating becomes a spiritual act like the performance of any other commandment. Thus, even the food we eat can become a substance that raises us spiritually. In fact, all of our acts can bring us closer to God depending on how we perform them. The Baal Shem Tov said, By the manner in which you eat you serve God. If not performed with holiness, the act of eating is simply an instinctive act necessary to preserve life in our bodies or a means of satisfying our greed. But performed in holiness, the act of eating becomes very spiritual. The Proverbs say that A righteous person eats to satisfy his soul. Here are a few practical ideas for spiritually elevating eating: 1) Make blessings before and after eating. Before eating one is asking permission from the Almighty to partake of His world. After eating, the blessing thanks the Almighty for what he has given us. These are important lessons for both us and our children -- to ask permission before using something and to give thanks afterwards. 2) Focus on the enjoyment of the taste of the food while you eat it. The Almighty has given us a beautiful world for our pleasure. 3) Discuss worthwhile topics and ideas, especially Torah, during the meal. It has been said that elevated people speak about ideas, mediocre people speak about things and lower level individuals speak about people. 4) Eat Kosher -- theres nothing like Jewish soul food! If the Almighty tells us how food must be prepared, what not to eat or what combinations not to eat, then it is for our physical and spiritual good. The Kabbalah teaches that non-kosher food places a block for spiritual growth.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 02:00:01 +0000
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