Delicious Dairy

The Torah is what keeps us alive as it is our spiritual sustenance. This explains why it is compared to bread and water since we can’t live without it.

In a similar vein, the Torah is called an עץ חיים, a tree of life.

This is just as one who is drowning clings tightly to the strong tree he encounters, with all his strength, since that is what his life depends on.

It is in this pasuk that we find an allusion to the custom of eating dairy on Shavuos, the Yom Tov of Torah. The first letters of חיים למחזיקים בה, a tree of life for those who grasp it, spell חלב!