The same applies to eating. When a person recites the Birchos HaNehenin with the proper mindset, as we have elaborated above, meditating and reflecting upon the enormous miracles that lie therein, his eating won’t drag him down into materialism—to the contrary, it will only elevate him. Often, a person comes to eating feeling elevated, but he emerges with a feeling of deflation, as though he went down a level in spirituality. This is because he is connecting to the aspect of dinim in his food—that is, to the material part that he sees in front of him. He views his food through a material, gashmiyus lens—and thus connects with the Elokim Attributes of teva.
However, when a person recites his berachos in the proper way, thinks into it, meditates upon it, and appreciates what kind of miracle is transpiring here, he doesn’t enter into the dinim—to the contrary, he becomes elevated through his eating. How much can a seudas Shabbos elevate a person... it’s painful to see the missed opportunities. “The Street” pulls a person... it causes a person to look at the seudah through such a mundane lens.
It is true that—especially during Shabbos—we elevate the mundane through our avodah of eating. But we must make sure to elevate what we eat—not allowing what we eat to drag us down!
The Proof Is in the Battle
Indeed, we see that the yetzer hara wages a great battle in this area—and we must ponder why this is.... Why does he invest so much to battle our awareness of these miracles? The proof of how important it is lies in the battle that the yetzer hara wages against it.
When a person approaches the endeavor of eating, if it wouldn’t matter all that much what he is thinking about at the moment; the yetzer hara wouldn’t be waging a mighty battle to distract him from the miracles. The yetzer hara knows very well what he’s fighting for! He knows that these meditations affect a person now as well as in the future, and they alter his entire outlook and conduct. He knows that the proper reflection and meditation upon the miracles as he eats bring about tremendous אלוקית, התגלות Heavenly Revelations.
Everyone can bring about אלוקית התגלות—for the truth is that everything is Elokus. This is the truth. Comes “The Street” and places a lid, another...
