You are (in control of) what you
eat (Shabbos 9)
King Eglon of Moab was in power for
eighteen long years. The Moabites had taken control of the Land of Israel, and
life for the Israelite nation had become insufferable. New taxes and decrees were appearing on a
daily basis, and yet the people knew that they had no choice but to put their
heads down and get on with it. As long as
they could keep King Eglon happy, at least they would be able to live without
fear for their physical security. And an
essential part of keeping him satisfied was the regular gifts they would
send. That era of tyranny would end with
the cunning idea of a judge called Ehud.
Life is arduous and there seems to
be no way forward for the oppressed nation.
Time after time, they must deplete their resources by sending the very
best of their goods to the king. On one
occasion, the Israelites choose Ehud ben Gera to deliver the tribute. Ehud is a strong and determined leader,
despite the personal challenges he experienced in life, having been born with
one arm shorter than the other. The day
arrives, and Ehud is sent off to the king, treasure in hand. Concealed in his irregular arm, however, is a
dagger.
Ehud reaches the palace of King
Eglon of Moab and greets the monarch with respect and honour. He then makes an unusual request, “I have
come here with a material gift and a spiritual tribute. God has asked me to deliver a message to His
Majesty. But to do so, I must ask for a
private audience.” Curiosity gets the
better of the king and he beckons to everyone to leave the room.
Ehud then bends down, pulls the
dagger out, and thrusts it into the folds of King Eglon’s belly. Eglon was so self-indulgent that he would never
stop eating. The Book of Judges tells us
that Eglon was so obese that the dagger remained concealed in the multiple
layers of flesh. Ehud then turns around,
leaves the chamber, bolts the door behind him, and returns home. Given the king’s love of food and consequent
appearance, it takes so long for his ministers to realize what has
happened. Chaos ensues in the Moabite
kingdom and the People of Israel are able to cast off the yoke of Moab and live
in peace for the next eighty years.
מַתְנִי׳ לֹא יֵשֵׁב
אָדָם לִפְנֵי הַסַּפָּר סָמוּךְ לַמִּנְחָה עַד שֶׁיִּתְפַּלֵּל. לֹא יִכָּנֵס
אָדָם לַמֶּרְחָץ, וְלֹא לַבּוּרְסְקִי, וְלֹא לֶאֱכוֹל, וְלֹא לָדִין
A person may not sit before the
barber adjacent to the time of mincḥa until he davens. And a person may not
enter the bathhouse and may not enter to work in a tannery. And he may neither
begin to eat a meal nor to sit in judgment.
והא דאמר בערבי פסחים (דף
צפ: ושם) ערבי שבתות וערבי ימים טובים לא יאכל עד שתחשך היינו אפילו התפלל לא יאכל
כדמפרש התם כדי שיכנס לשבת כשהוא בתאוה אבל לא התפלל אפילו בשאר ימים נמי אסור
כדאמר הכא
Tosfos: And that which it says in Arvei Pesachim
that Erev Shabbos and Erev Yom Tov one may not eat until it gets dark, such
that even if one has davened, one may not eat. As explained there, it is in order that he enter
Shabbos with an appetite. However,
if he did not daven, even on other days of the week, it is also forbidden, as it
says here.
An important aspect of the mitzvah
of ‘Oneg (pleasure of) Shabbos’ is that we partake of good food. The only way we can appreciate the good food
of Shabbos is to ensure that we are not indulging in delicacies all week
long. Or, at the very least, that we minimize
our consumption in the late afternoon just prior to Shabbos and Yom Tov.
Unlike many other religions, Judaism
does not preach asceticism. Our mission
is to elevate everything in this physical world by using them for holy
purposes. Every time we take a piece of
food, make a bracha over it, and focus on the energy it will provide us
in our Divine mission, we have sanctified that food. Food eaten on Shabbos, simply in order to
promote the joy of Shabbos requires no special intent. Shabbos pleasure is a sufficient mitzvah for
itself.
Throughout week, in Talmudic times,
the pious practice was to delay one’s morning meal an hour beyond the average
time for breakfast. The delay signified
that one was not eating in order to satisfy one’s hunger, but to serve
Hashem. Eating as soon as one gets
hungry is the behaviour of the animal kingdom.
Human beings have the ability to
exercise self-control. Your bodily urges
have no dominion over you – you decide when you want to eat. And it’s only with that consciousness that
you are able to stay focused upon why you are eating.
The Tanach has very few examples of
obesity. The story of King Eglon of Moab
demonstrates that overindulgence in food is not a Jewish value. Like most activities in our tradition, eating
may be either a positive or a negative act.
When we eat for mitzvah purposes, we embark on an act of holiness and
positivity. When we indulge in food to
satisfy our mortal desires, eating becomes a negative, improper activity. Every morsel of food that enters our mouths
must be considered and controlled.
Hashem created a four-tier
hierarchy of creation. On the lowest
rung of the ladder are the inanimate objects, called domem. This category includes earth, stones, and
other lifeless objects. Next level up is
tzomeach, plant-life and vegetation.
The following category is chai, the animal kingdom. And finally, we are called medaber, human
beings with the capacity to speak and think.
The Almighty has given us dominion over all the other levels of
creation.
But with privilege comes responsibility. Our job is not to ‘lord it over’ Hashem’s
other creatures, but to assist them in achieving their Divine mission. When we consume the other levels and utilize
the energy we derive from their sustenance to serve Heaven, we elevate
them. If, God forbid, we simply consume
them to fulfil our personal physical desires, we are doing them a serious
disservice. What gives us the right to
consume them in the pursuit of our personal desires? Doing so is to deny them their spiritual
purpose, and thereby to sin against them.
In fact, when you eat merely to
satisfy your hunger pangs, you are no longer in control of the other levels of
creation. The food is controlling
you. The piece of meat on your plate – the
cow – has become your master. You have
become subservient to that luscious apple you are about to bite into!
It should not be that way
around. It’s time to take back the reins
and assert your place in the hierarchy of creation. When you do so, the apple and the cow will
thank you for it. They want nothing more
than your blessing and sanctification.
All it takes is a moment of contemplation about the activity you are
about to engage in and everything becomes transformed into Divine energy.
Enjoying our food on Shabbos is a
mitzvah. But if, coming into Shabbos, you’re
already full, then you won’t enjoy the delights of Shabbos. Consequently, when you eat, you will be
eating without joy, and your food consumption that could have been a mitzvah becomes
a mere animalistic behaviour of eating for the sake of avoiding hunger later.
You are a Divine being. Your mission on Earth is to sanctify and
elevate Hashem’s creations. May every
spoonful of food that enters your mouth be a spiritually fulfilling and
uplifting act!
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