Enjoyment the Torah Way
Anshel Holtzbacher took three steps back after finishing Mussaf Shmoneh Esrei and was pleasantly surprised to see Joel E. Munz, president of the Jolly Munz Candy Company, walking into the Horki Beis Midrash.
“Shabbat Tov, Anshel,” Joel whispered in Anshel’s ear, taking the empty seat next to him and looking around at the people waiting for chazoras hashatz to start and others who were still davening. “I finally managed to get up early enough to come to shul on Shabbos. Glad to see it’s still quiet – I thought I might be late!”
“Boruch atah Hashem…” chanted the chazan.
“Oooh it’s starting!” Joel whispered, opening his siddur.
Anshel kindly helped Joel find the place in the siddur, showed him how to rise on his toes during kedushah, and taught him when to say omein. Fifteen minutes later, davening ended and everyone filed downstairs for the kiddush.
“Wow, davening was a lot longer than I thought it would be,” Joel said to Anshel, inhaling the blended aroma of cholent, kugel, kishke, herring, cakes, kichel, and rugelach.
Anshel and Joel took their seats and everyone started singing Yismechu Bimalchuscha. Anshel opened Joel’s siddur and pointed to the words so Joel could follow along. “Wait, davening is not over yet?” he whispered to Anshel.
“No, it’s over,” Anshel smiled, offering Joel samples of the 50 types of herring on the table. “We sing songs of Shabbos during the kiddush.”
After the Holy Horki Rebbe delivered his drosha, Joel turned to Anshel again.
“I don’t understand,” Joel said, after swallowing a bite of the most delicious kugel he had ever tasted. “This kiddush feels like a prayer service with food. How does that make sense?”
“We read about that in today’s Torah reading,” said Anshel. “It says we should ‘eat in front of Hashem’ – even a physical action such as eating is a way of serving Hashem if we use the enjoyment of delicious food to help us love Hashem more.”
“How do we use food to love Hashem?” asked Joel.
“Here, try this,” Anshel said, putting a slice of p’tcha on a kichel and handing it to Joel.
Joel looked at the wiggly dish suspiciously and took a careful bite.
“Oh wow! It’s like someone made jello out of soup broth! Those are my two of my favorite foods (after Jolly Munz candy, of course)! What a rich flavor! Such a smooth consistency – soft, yet firm at the same time! Anshel, I have a newfound affection for you!”
“And what about Hashem, who not only created the ingredients for this dish, but also gave you the ability to eat and enjoy it?”
“Ahhh… I see what you mean,” Joel said. “So we’re supposed to think about how food comes from Hashem when we eat it?”
“Exactly,” Anshel answered. “And when we eat it on Shabbos we also fulfill the mitzvah of enjoying Shabbos, as well as the mitzvah of serving Hashem with happiness.”
A waiter handed Joel a bowl of steaming hot cholent.
“But there are many ways of enjoying ourselves and being happy,” Joel said, tasting a spoonful of the most flavorful cholent he ever had.
“Yes,” said Anshel. “But in the Torah the only enjoyment ever mentioned is that of eating food! While other people may find enjoyment in useless activities like watching professional sports teams play hide-and-seek or hopscotch, the Nation of Hashem uses the activity of eating to enjoy ourselves.”
“So enjoying this delicious cholent is a mitzvah?” asked Joel, patting his belly.
“As long as we think about how much thanks we have to Hashem with every bite we take, then yes,” Anshel answered. “Thank Hashem for the teeth with which you bite the cholent, thank Hashem for your lips and tongue which allow you to experience the texture and taste of the cholent. For your throat which allows you to swallow, for your digestive system which allows your body to process it – the list is endless!”
“Anshel,” Joel said, after they had made brachos acharonos and walked out of the shul. “You know, all this talk about enjoying food is making me hungry.”
“Excellent!” said Anshel. “Come home with me for our Shabbos seudah – where you can enjoy eating my wife’s delicious food and thank Hashem for every single bite!”
Have a Wonderful Shabbos!
Let’s review:
- What type of enjoyment is mentioned in the Torah?
- How many things can you think of to thank Hashem for while eating your Shabbos seudah this week?
