Rabbi Nachman's Advice: Eating

1) If the food a person eats is pure in accordance with the dietary laws and he eats it with dignity, without swallowing it hurriedly, the powers of his mind will be restored and grow and his foolishness will be subdued. But if he eats like a glutton, then he will be overwhelmed by foolishness. He will lose his intelligence and the light of the Tzaddik will be concealed from him. He will no longer be able to learn the love and fear of God from the Tzaddik (17:2,3).

2) If you are conscious that your eating habits are bad, the remedy is to give charity to the Tzaddik and to poor people who are genuinely deserving. The Tzaddik has the power to draw people who are far from God closer, even if they were sunk in idolatry. Eating greedily causes the light of God to be darkened in the world. But through this charity, God's light is spread through the world. The powers of your mind and soul will be restored and you will see the light of the Tzaddik and learn the love and fear of God (Ibid. 5).

3) When a person attains perfect mastery of the Holy Tongue and guards the Holy Covenant in purity he has the power to stir up the sparks of the letters which exist throughout the Creation. All the pleasure he has from eating and drinking and other enjoyments comes only from the sparks of the letters. His heart is illumined and his face becomes so radiant that people are moved to return to God simply by seeing it. Everyone who looks at his face sees his own reflected there as if in a mirror -- and sees, in contrast, how far sunk in darkness he is. Without a single word of preaching he will be released from his darkness, all through seeing this person's face (19:7-9).

4) Whenever you feel a sudden strong impulse to eat it is a sign that there are forces which hate you. This sudden appetite for food is caused by the animal part of your nature. You must break the animal impulse. Then you will be free from the clutches of those who hate you (39).

5) Gluttony leads to divisiveness and strife. The glutton is an object of contempt. Other people look down upon him; they have no wish to help him, on the contrary they put all kinds of opposition in his way. But a person who succeeds in breaking his greedy impulses will find peace. And peace will also reign in the realms above. A profound and wonderful contentment will reveal itself in the world (Ibid.).

6) When a person is sunk in the desire to eat greedily it is certain that he is far from truth. A person like this is under the force of the Divine aspect of severe justice. Greed is a sign of impoverishment to come, and will subject him to contempt and embarrassment (47).

7) When a person manages to break his desire for food, God works miracles through him (Ibid.).