In my twenties, I was an avowed vegetarian and refused to eat meat. No flesh of any breathing being was going to contaminate the holy temple of my body. However, when face to face with a plate of juicy
beef ribs
or my mother's special
kosher brisket recipe,
my conviction wavered and after a few years I began to enjoy meat once again. It still was another twenty years before I understood that there was so much to appreciate about the awesome inner workings of this world our Creator designed~especially when it comes to the hierarchy of man and beast.Eating by Divine Design
Eating is a prime example of our integral part in the Divine design: we accept the gifts of the physical world, refine and elevate them by using them to serve G-d. When we enjoy physical satisfaction in a kosher manner and use the energy to perform mitzvos, the food itself is elevated.
This is the express purpose of our lives. Everything physical can be used to serve Hashem when approached with the proper intention. And the more physical an object, the greater its potential for elevation.
The Alter of Slobodka says that nothing we see is completely physical or completely spiritual. Everything Hashem created is Godly, but laden with varying amounts of physical density--density which obscures its Divine nature. We see this demonstrated in the way He created the world. As the days of Creation progressed, Hashem infused greater amounts of physicality into each of His formations. On the third day He created plants and trees which are less physically complex than birds and fish which He created on the fifth day.
Beasts, created on the sixth day, are saturated in physical density. Meat is unarguably the most substantial and complex of foods; eating it is especially holy business.
Holy Chow
So holy is this act of eating meat, that our sages of the Talmud suggest that only a Torah scholar, someone especially gifted in leaning Torah, is capable of properly eating meat and bringing it to its spiritual potential. This is easy to see. A reasonably bright man can “break his teeth” over a Gemara that his brilliant chevrusa easily explains. The reward in Olam Haba of the first man is certainly commensurate with his effort.
Still, some people are chosen by Hashem to be Talmudi Chachamim, able to reveal sparks of holiness hidden in pages of the Gemara. This gift applies to other areas. Because a Torah scholar is endowed with the wisdom to reveal holiness within the seemingly impenetrable density of a tractate of Gemara, he in particular, is capable of releasing the potential holiness locked in our food as well.
But what about us ordinary people who very much enjoy our brisket and will, after all, elevate the energy derived from it by performing mitzvos?
The Kosher Recipe for Success
On Shabbos and Yom Tov our sages agree, we all have the ability like the Talmid Chacham, to successfully unlock the density that clouds the world's awareness of the awesomeness of the world Hashem designed.
On these special days, our prayer is slowed, our conversations more refined and our thoughts and our hearts are elevated. Every action states our allegiance to the Creator of the World; our purpose in life is clear. Unclouded by the physical density that surrounds us, we are actually commanded to enjoy the beautiful Shabbos or Yom Tov by dining royally on meat and wine. It is a time when we partner with Hashem in His Divine Design.
Now you can see that the Shabbat and Jewish holiday recipes we prepare are well worth our time and effort, as we are truly cooking for The King.
This Shabbos, refine and elevate your seuda by refraining from mundane banter, and of course, loshon hara. Prepare or assign questions on the parsah of the week or retell a story that acknowledges Hashem’s loving involvement in our lives.
