[Avodah] Eikev "Let All Who Are Hungry, Come and eat"

[Cantor Wolberg]

"And you will eat, and you will be satisfied, and you shall bless the  
Lord your God..."
(Devarim 8:10).

What is interesting is that the Torah is commanding us to "eat," "be  
satisfied," and then "bless the Lord."  Why would we have to be  
commanded to "eat" and "be satisfied" (unless we had anorexia); even  
animals do that without having to be told. In fact, we usually have to  
be told not to eat so much.  The answer lies in "...and you shall  
bless the Lord your God."  In other words, blessing God is not a  
natural thing to do.  How many people we have known who eat just like  
animals and then leave the table unaware of God's beneficence.  The  
Torah is telling us that by "blessing the Lord your God," eating  
becomes a praiseworthy and holy act.  And the Torah is telling us to  
"be satisfied," which doesn't mean to gorge and stuff ourselves. In  
satisfying our hunger, one eats to live but shouldn't live to eat, and  
is always mindful of one's Creator by "blessing God" after the meal.

In his work on Torah-derived table manners,  R' Bachya ben Asher  
writes:   When one finishes eating he should remain at the table for  
some time, as Chazal said (Berachot 54b), "If one extends his meal,  
his life will be extended."  Why?  Because the longer a person sits at  
the table, the greater the likelihood that a poor person will chance  
by and will be fed. This is somewhat reminiscent of the Pesach Seder  
where we say "Let all who are hungry, come and eat..."  Somewhat like  
feeding the poor in our country on Thanksgiving and xmas.  But the  
Talmud is saying this should take place every day, at every meal.

In this vein, we find a verse (Yechezkel 41:22) where the words  
"altar" and "table" are used interchangeably, and Chazal explain that  
just as one's sins are atoned for upon the altar, so they are forgiven  
when one feeds the poor at his table. (So great is this mitzvah,  
writes R' Bachya, that some people have their coffins built from the  
wood of their table so that the boards can "testify" on their behalf  
before the Heavenly court).

rw
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