It might sound like a funny question, but did you ever wonder why we speak about the Shabbos table as if it were a different piece of furniture than the table we use the rest of the week? Sure, some people only use the formal dining room table for special occasions, but it’s the same table that sits in your home seven days a week. Or is it? There’s an oft-repeated question: Is Judaism a race or a religion? It stumps most people because you can have a Jew who doesn’t practice Judaism and a practitioner who isn’t really Jewish.
The truth is that Judaism, as laid down in the Torah which G-d gave Moses at Sinai, is a spiritual race and a physical religion, which are intertwined. A Jew by birth may practice other faiths, but her soul is holy. A person wearing Tefillen or keeping Shabbos without being so commanded may be doing a physical act, but the spirit isn’t there. In fact, a non-Jew who keeps Shabbos is liable for the death penalty because Shabbos, with all its spiritual and physical manifestations, is a gift to the Jewish People alone.
Everything in the world has a physical aspect and a spiritual one. When we speak of a Shabbos table, we’re not referring to the ornately-carved mahogany furniture or the minimalist IKEA special. The physical dimensions don’t matter but the spiritual ones do.
A Shabbos table is when people eat a meal in celebration of the relationship we have with G-d. When we recite the Kiddush to bear witness that He alone created the world and everything in it in six days, resting on the seventh, and when we sing songs of joy and praise while eating delicious food, THAT is a Shabbos table. A Shabbos table is not a place for gossip or politics or anger. It’s a place of serenity and joy.
There’s an old tale of a King who visited a Rabbi and tasted the cholent. He was completely taken with the food and asked that his chefs prepare it for him. They tried, but it didn’t taste the same.
The Rabbi explained, “We have a special spice, called Shabbos. That is the ingredient which gives such an otherworldly taste to the food. I’m sorry, but you cannot bottle or buy this spice. It is a special gift that G-d has given to His chosen people.”
Parshas Beraishis reminds us of how even though Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden, G-d built a special back door through which we can enter for one day a week. When we eat the meals on Shabbos and feel the desire to connect to G-d, we are back in Paradise – every single week.
