20.4.09

knowing how to eat, or eating how to know?

The Zohar on parashath VaYetze mentions the teaching of our sages that a child will not learn to speak until s/he tastes bread. (wheat) The Zohar explains that it is only through tasting bread that a person can begin to develop intellectually. [I believe (though I may be mistaken) the Tanya explains that it is only through speaking that a child can become aware of what is going on inside themselves and in that way come to consciousness and intellectual understanding.]

That is the reason, the Zohar continues, that HaShem gave us bread from heaven in the wilderness. It was only after tasting the man[na] that we could begin to speak the words of Torah and to digest its wisdom.

We are told that Matzah is the bread of emunah. It seems to me now that we spent seven days eating matzah, only now can we begin to speak of Emunah, to truly taste Emunah, and to attain true wisdom in Emunah.

Comments


Related posts

Blog Widget by LinkWithin