Rabbi Shimon would say... Three who eat at one table
and speak words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten at
G-d's table.
Ethics of the Fathers, 3:3
On the surface, Rabbi Shimon's message is simple and straightforward:
utilize your mealtimes to share the wisdom of Torah. This
way, the mundane activity of eating becomes a lofty and G-dly
endeavor.
But surely the same applies to a single diner or to many
who eat scattered about the room. Why "three who eat"?
And why specifically when they eat at "one table"?
On a deeper level, Rabbi Shimon is conveying the true significance
of our need for food.
Hunger In Two Dimensions
The human being consists of two primary components: the physical
body and the soul that gives it life and direction. The same
is true of every created thing: its physicality and substance
is but its outer husk. Within is a "soul," an inner,
spiritual essence and significance.
Ultimately, the soul of the entire universe
is one: the drive to fulfill its Creator's will. At creation,
this unified "soul" splintered into a myriad of
individual "sparks" that now form the core of every
created thing.
But unlike the human soul, which exercises
will and choice, all other creatures are passive containers
of their purpose and utility. They depend upon man, the crown
and apex of G-d's creation, to develop and utilize them in
accordance with the Creator's design. It is man to whom the
Torah, which outlines this design, has been given, and it
is man who has been granted the franchise and the tools to
implement it.
So the soul of man descends into the trials
and trappings of physical life in order to gain access to
these "sparks of holiness." By investing itself
within a physical body that will eat, clothe itself, and otherwise
make use of the objects and forces of the physical universe,
the soul redeems the "sparks" that they incorporate.
For when man utilizes something, directly or indirectly, to
serve G-d's will, he penetrates its shell of mundanity, revealing
and realizing its function within the overall purpose of existence.
This explains a most puzzling fact of life:
Why is it that man derives life and sustenance from the animal,
vegetable, and mineral worlds? How is it that the highest
form of life is dependent upon these lower tiers of creation?
But in truth, man's need for the nutrients that his environment
provides him (and the many other material resources that sustain
and enhance his life) is the manner in which these elements
reach fulfillment. When man makes positive use of the energy
he derives from them, they become elevated to a station they
could never attain on their own. They become an integral part
of a conscious, willful being who elects to serve the Almighty.
The meat of the beast, the grain in the bread, the water that
quenches our thirst-these become the essence of an act of
charity, an hour expended in the study of G-d's wisdom, a
feeling of love for G-d in prayer.
In this way, Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch explained
the verse: "The hungry and thirsty, in them does their
soul wrap itself."(Psalms 106:5) A person desiring food
may sense only his body's hunger; but, in truth, his physical
craving is the external expression of a deeper yen. "Wrapped
within" is his soul's hunger for the sparks of holiness
that are the object of his mission in life.
Three At One
When a person sits to eat there are three partners to the
endeavor: his body, his soul, and the food-the vital glue
that keeps body and soul together as a living organism.
But if his eating is dominated by the perspective of Torah,
these "three who eat" do so at a single table. Their
eating is an act of unification, a revelation of the underlying
oneness of creation and its connection to the One Creator.
From an address by the Rebbe, Sivan 23, 5742 (June 19,
1982).
This is an excerpt from "Beyond the Letter of the
Law" by Yanki Tauber published by The Meaningful Life
Center.
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