Breishit, 27:4
Health and Spirituality
Eating, exercise and caring for our other physical needs are so much more than the nourishment of our bodies. They are an avodah (a spiritual practice), a religious responsibility, a mitzvah.
The connection of our souls to our bodies is the most fragile aspect of human life. When our bodies lose their connection to our souls, death results. Spiritual activities nourish our souls, but it is our physical health that keeps our bodies connected to our souls and keeps us alive. Physical health is a Mitzvah; that is why we sayBerachot (blessings) both when we eat and when we relieve ourselves. The Ramah (Shulchan Aruch, O.Ch. 6:1) comments on the beracha for relieving ourselves: "For when G-d keeps us in a state of heightened health, our souls are protected inside of us."
The Rambam in his Shmoneh Perakim (Chap. 1) talks of how the activity of human eating bears no resemblance to the activity of animals eating. Eating nourishes an animal’s body, but for humans it nourishes their souls too. The Nefesh Hachayim (2:6), takes this idea further and based on the Zohar (Tzav 33b and Eikev 271b), compares what eating does for the soul, to what the learning of Torah and prayer do for G-d Himself.[1] The soul does not need physical food for its own survival but it does need it for the survival of its connection to the body. In the same way Hashem does not need our prayers and study of Torah, but His continued connection to the universe is dependent on those human activities.
Beyond nutritional content
It is not only the nutritional value of what we eat that nourishes our souls’ connection to our bodies. It is also the taste, the appearance of the meal and its aromas as well as the intention and attention with which we eat, that nourish that connection. Infusing a culinary experience with spiritual meaning elevates an otherwise hedonistic experience to an Avodat Hashem (service of G-d).
Yitzchak’s focus on culinary delight
It is with these ideas that the Vilna Gaon explains our elderly and saintly forefather Yitzchak’s apparent obsession with food in Breishit27:4: "and make for me delicacies just as I love them," he requests of his son, "and bring them to me so that I will eat; in order that my soul will bless you before I die." Yitzchak is not suggesting that he cannot bless without having eaten, rather the need for him to bless Eisav creates an opportunity for a culinary experience that is not hedonistic but sanctified, one that will nourish not only his body but also his soul. Yitzchak would not have indulged in a delicious meal unless there was spiritual purpose in doing so. It is that spiritual purpose, in this case the blessing that elevates the meal to an avodah. To effectively nourish the soul’s connection to the body, not only must the meal be delicious and prepared mindfully and with love, but it should also be an expression of a higher purpose.
Similarly, according to the Gaon, the meals we eat on Shabbat and Yom Tov are not just facilitators of our Sabbath joy. Rather, the part our meals play in our Sabbath service elevates them from hedonism to the level of Avodat Hashem (service of G-d). This elevation allows the meals to more beneficially nourish our souls’ connection with our bodies.
Purpose elevates all activities to kedusha
A higher purpose converts the act of eating into an Avodat Hashem, and makes that action capable of nourishing us not only physically but also spiritually.[2] In just the same way we can infuse spiritual nutrition into any activity in which we engage by elevating it to a higher purpose. Ask yourself, with respect to almost everything you do, "for what higher purpose am I doing this"? For what higher purpose am I in business, to maximize profit or to do chessed(kindness) to my customers and help build a better society? For what purpose am I working out at the gym, to worship my body or to achieve a heightened state of fitness and wellbeing so that I can more meaningfully contribute to my family and to society? Of course profit and a good body are the outcomes of these activities too, but they should not be the focus. By elevating the purpose of our activities, they move from actions of self-centeredness to acts ofchessed and contribution to others (even though we benefit from them too). From secular activities, they become acts of avodah(service) and of kedusha (holiness), no longer serving our physical needs only but also nourishing our souls.
When our lives are a portfolio of many acts of avodah we live them with the same levels of mindfulness and attention that the Kohanimperformed the avodah (Temple service). A life of avodah is lived for others not only for ourselves; it is lived with attention to detail, with beauty and precision, with love and with sanctity.
Notes:
[1] "Lechu lachamu be’lachmi" (Mishlei 9:10), the Zohar translates as "go and engage in Torah, My nourishment".
[2] To learn how to practice spiritual eating, please read Parshat Eikev, 5767: Diet and Weight Management located atwww.iawaken.org/shiurim/view.asp?id=6475
