Sitting and Eating
Right after quoting Rebbi Chanina ben Tradyon’s statement about the importance of sharing Torah with those we sit with, the third perek of Avot quotes Rebbi Shimon who emphasizes the need to share Torah with those we eat a meal with. What is the relationship between these two statements? Does sharing Torah at a meal have additional significance?1
What We Are Sustaining
The Chasid Yavetz explains that sharing Torah at meals is uniquely important, because it defines and expresses how we view our lives. Man — like animal — needs to eat in order to stay alive. That having been said, obviously, our existence means more than that of animals. This distinction needs to be expressed when we are engaged in sustaining our lives.
The Netziv observes that, as opposed to other living beings who were described as “alive” as soon as Hashem created them, Adam HaRishon is described as alive only after Hashem added his soul.2 In his commentary to sefer Devarim,3 the Netziv uses this idea to explain why the Torah links our lives to mitzvah observance. For a human being, and especially for a Jew — life is only significant, when it is infused with mitzvah observance.
Onkelos makes this point in a very subtle, but powerful way. The Torah writes that man lives not off bread, but, rather, through the word of God.4 Whereas, the Torah uses the same word “yichyeh” to describe man’s survival off both food and the word of God; Onkelos uses a different word to describe the latter — “chaye’ei” as opposed to “mitkayem.”5 Though we can survive off bread, we only truly live when we involve God in our lives.
This also explains Rabbi Akiva’s famous comparison of a Jew’s need for Torah to a fish’s dependency upon water.6 Though a person can survive physically without Torah, their true life is lost without it. This is why reshaim — even when they are alive — are considered dead: their lives mean nothing more than their physical existence.7
A lack of this perspective can allow the pursuit of food and survival to cloud our judgment.
When considering whether to trade his “bechor” (firstborn) rights for a pot of stew, Eisav reasoned that as he would die in any case, he had no need to be the “bechor.”8 When tired and hungry, we are anxious to revive and sustain ourselves with food. This anxiety can cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture and purpose of our lives — eating like animals, rather than as humans.
The Kuzari famously explains that this is the purpose of the berachot we recite before and after eating.9 A beracha expresses our appreciation of the special significance sustaining our lives (as opposed to those of animals) has. In our mishna, Rabbi Shimon teaches us that we should express this appreciation not only by thanking Hashem for our food, but also by putting the meaningful content of our lives — Torah learning — at the table. By sharing Torah, we express our belief that the lives we sustain by eating matter, because of the Torah we learn and the mitzvot we fulfill.
We Are Why We Eat
Rabbi Shimon adds that those who do not share Torah at meals are considered to be eating from “zivchei meitim.”10 The Chasid Yavetz explains this term as referring not to the state of the food (which is, of course, dead), but to the status of the consumer. Because a person who does not include Torah as part of their meal is himself not alive — he is considered to be eating a meal that belongs to the dead. Though the food he eats sustains his physical life, he is, in actuality, considered dead.
Elevating Our Meals
In contrast, Rabbi Shimon adds that one who shares Torah at a meal is considered to be eating from God’s table. A Torah context elevates a meal to the point where we are considered to be eating from no less than Hashem’s table.
Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik expressed a similar idea:11 “Transforming an animal need into an act of worship is a uniquely Jewish idea. The table is referred to in our tradition as an altar, and meals which are associated with religious observances are called ‘seudot mitzvah.’” Rav Soloveichik spoke of a seudat mitzvah — a meal eaten as part of a mitzvah. Rabbi Shimon teaches us that even regular meals eaten as part of our daily lives can be elevated — by sharing Torah at them.
We live in a world that sees food — along with sexuality — as goals to focus upon, instead of as a means of survival. This expresses and reinforces a lack of appreciation of life’s deeper meaning and purpose. Let’s make sure to share Torah over meals in order to define our lives. May doing so give us entry to Hashem’s table!
Rabbi Reuven Taragin is the dean of overseas students at Yeshivat HaKotel.
1 See Rabbeinu Yonah, who seems to understand the two Mishnayot as making similar statements. The Milei D’Avot commentary — on the other hand — seems to argue that there is something uniquely significant to learning Torah while we are eating, beyond the first Mishna’s discussion of sharing Torah as part of interacting with others generally.
2 Ha’emek Davar to Sefer Bereishit 2:7, dibur hamaschil: “Vayehi ha’adam l’nefesh chayah.”
3 For example, Ha’emek Davar to Devarim 4:1.
4 Devarim 8:3: “Ki lo al halechem levado yichye ha’adam, ki al kol matzo pi Hashem yichye ha’adam.”
5 Targum Onkelos to Devarim 8:3. Note that there are differences between different editions.
6 Masechet Brachot 61a.
7 Many places, especially Midrash Tanchuma to Devarim 7.
8 Bereishit 25:32.
9 Sefer HaKuzari 3:1–30.
10 Rashi and the Rambam (Peirush HaMishnayot to Masechet Avot 3:3) understand this as a reference to korbanot of avodah zara, which are referred to this way in Tehillim: “Vayitzamdu l’baal peor, vayochlu zivchei meitim.” The Machzor Vitri explains that since the table is considered a mizbeach, if we’re not mentioning words of Torah when we eat, it is automatically avodah zara — as it is not avodat Hashem.
11 Reflections of the Rav, pg. 214.
