Spiritual Food | Rabbi Ari Enkin

this week's torah portion is a kev and in it we read the famous verse man does not live on bread alone what does it mean that man does not live on bread alone well we're human beings we need food so we eat bread and by extension all other foods that we eat hopefully healthy foods we need that to live but man does not live on bread alone means it's not enough to fill your body to take care of the physical we also have to take care of the spiritual in the same bread in the same food we can take care of our souls at the same time how so we're told that bread and by extension all food is holy it has sparks of godliness when a person sits down and recites a blessing before eating a blessing after eating eats in a proper manner eats kosher food you release the spirituality in your bread and in your food and when we release the spirituality we nourish not only our bodies we also nourish our souls and keep it healthy as well so we see from here that meal time is an opportunity for spirituality opportunity for connecting to god with our blessings before and after our meals and in fact this week's torah portion also tells us about the birkat hamazon the grace after meals that after we've eaten we have to thank god for our food and in this way we fulfill the verse man does not live on bread alone meaning we don't merely live for the physical nourishment we have to ensure to unlock this spiritual nourishment as well