Highlighting: “The Intimate Act of Eating: A Cosmic Approach to Food” by Deborah Jacobi. Targum Press. 2023. English. Hardcover. 152 pages. ISBN-13:‎
978-1568717005.

Author Deborah Jacobi posits two questions that led her to research the role of eating in Judaic practice and to write two books addressing the challenges of overeating and the moral aspects of eating.

Jacobi’s first book, “The Intimate Act of Eating,” asks: Why did God create man with the need for bodily nourishment? In His all-powerful dominion, God could have totally forgone the need of man to consume anything at all. Indeed, the statement “For six days you shall work” (Exodus 24:19) could be more fully fulfilled if we skipped breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and snacks. What was God’s purpose that He endowed man with the need to eat and be sustained by that which is lower than himself? Is there a higher purpose within the apparently lowly act? And why is it so difficult to restrain ourselves from overeating?

This Torah/chasidic approach to eating explores the challenges that many of us encounter at the table. As Rabbi Yitzchak Luria explains, “Know that the ‘other side’ hovers over the table and can gain control over an individual then more than it can at other times.”

Jacobi explores how we tend to eat differently in public than we do in private. In public we are conscious that we are being observed, but in private, the tendency is to explore our desires more fully, as though we are not being observed. Yet the reality is that none of us have ever eaten anything in private in our entire lives. For God sees all and is present with us at all times, even when we conveniently forget His presence. This book explores God’s presence in the universe in such a manner that the reality of God’s presence in our lives becomes more profoundly part of our reality to the extent that He suddenly reappears at our table.

Jacobi, by profession a certified health coach and eating counselor, was spurred on by the approbation of the Lubavitcher Rebbe while teaching at Machon Chana Seminary in Crown Heights. For three and a half years, while residing in Tzfat, she authored “The Intimate Act of Eating: A Cosmic Approach to Food” published in July 2023, as well as “The Moral Act of Eating,” which addresses God’s intended sacred approach to food.

The author posits that even our use of language denigrates the act of eating and places it below our “important” business of the day. “Breaking for lunch” implies that we will return to our important business after our sustenance, as though the food is there only so we have the necessary energy to fulfill our work day. We can choose to take a sabbatical from work, but we can never take a sabbatical from eating, yet we assume that our work day is more important to Almighty God than the essential act of eating. Jacobi asks the intriguing question as to whether there is a deeper, cosmic reason behind the common act, and if so, how can we rise to the occasion?

Some of the chasidic masters also address the powerful presence of the evil inclination at the table, and the manner in which they secure borders to counteract the struggle. “There are not enough sacks in the world to contain the wily arguments of the evil inclination,” said Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk.

In her chapter entitled “The Animal Soul and the Evil Inclination,” Jacobi provides practical tips for overcoming the yetzer hara.

Jacobi explains that, “G-d knows the precise depth of your hunger. He is fully cognizant of what you like to eat and how it tastes on your tongue … G-d is intimately bound up with your thoughts and feelings as you experience eating … He is wholly aware of the troubling, complex issues that the prospect of eating raises for you.” The author goes on to explore the many challenges and suggests numerous ways to combat overeating, as well as obsessive thoughts that cause us to leap into the future and become overly excited about the prospect of eating.

In her chapter entitled “The Good Inclination,” Jacobi provides tools to ward off the daily onslaught of the evil inclination. The chasidic sages declare that it is necessary to agitate the good inclination against the evil inclination. Jacobi reasons that the voice of the good inclination is often stifled early on, disappearing quickly, perhaps bullied by the evil inclination. The evil inclination has priority over the body. It has lived in it since birth, whereas the good inclination first appears at bat or bar mitzvah.

In addition to quotations from Tanach, Jacobi cites from chasidic texts including the Lubavitcher Rebbe and teachings of other Chabad rebbes, as well as the Tanya, the Arizal, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the Kotzker Rav, Rabbi Elimelech Biderman, shlita, and modern thinkers including Rav Aryeh Kaplan and Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, among others.

In her latest work, “The Moral Act of Eating: A Sacred Approach to Food,” Jacobi presents the Torah’s profound wisdom beginning from the failure of Adam and Chava’s sin with the innocuous, pareve, kosher piece of fruit, and how their lack of restraint has caused us to battle ours. “If Adam and Chava failed, is it any wonder that we do too?” She also discusses the harsh punishment that were the consequences of their actions. Not only were they exiled from the Garden of Eden, but they also lost their immortality. The impact of eating is far-reaching, potentially enabling us to step closer to Gan Eden when we encounter food the way God intended. Just as we consume aspects of God’s creation, so do we potentially and powerfully impact all of creation with God’s moral approach to the physical and spiritual aspects of eating.

“The Moral Act of Eating” applies to all of humanity. It includes the seventh law of Noah and the implications of how we treat and consume the animal kingdom. The book has an in-depth chapter regarding the kosher diet and the implications of a distinct diet for God’s distinct Jewish people.

Since its publication in July, Jacobi has received numerous positive reactions from readers. Ruth Abramson from Jerusalem wrote: “As I began to read your book, I realized that it was so full of love that it entered my heart directly. Congratulations! You are a blessing to the world.” From Tzfat, Rochel Brocha Lawrence shared: “Wonderful book! It impacted my eating and my level of God consciousness. I’m giving it out to all of my friends.” Also from Tzfat, Dena Solomon confided: “I felt as though the book completely addressed my relationship with food. The book has been profoundly helpful and inspiring, steeped in Torah knowledge and wisdom. Thank you for writing it.”

Now residing in Yerushalayim, Jacobi is available in-person and online via her private sessions and workshops on eating and health coaching. She also assists her clients by evaluating their underlying medical conditions and prescriptions. She researches ways to counteract any future negative impact from long-term prescriptions by ensuring that her clients are on the best diet possible for their optimal health. She can be reached by email at [email protected].

“The Intimate Act of Eating” and “The Moral Act of Eating” by Deborah Jacobi were published in 2023 by Targum Publishers, Jerusalem, Israel. They are available for purchase on Amazon, at West Side Judaica, Judaica Plus, Torah Treasures, Pomerantz, and at other Judaica stores in Flatbush, Monsey, Crown Heights and throughout the U.S. and Israel.