Eating and Resurrection

When people are hungry, they grow tense and ill-mannered. As the human body requires food for survival, the absence of food causes it to feel threatened. Eating eliminates the threat to the body's existence, deactivating the internal mechanism that had caused the irritability. The body that faced the threat of demise is revived and rejuventated.

The experience of eating is an experience of receiving life; in a very real sense, it constitutes a form of Techiat Hametim (resurrection). Food restores life and vitality much the way HaShem will one day restore life to the deceased. The gift of life can be given only by HKB'H. When a person eats, he receives life from HaShem, he becomes the beneficiary of a precious gift that only HaShem can give.

The Arizal claimed that a person can gain greater spiritual elevation from eating on Shabbat than from praying. When a person prays, his prayer is not always accepted immediately; when he eats, however, his body and sould are instantly revived, directly by HKB'H.

The talmudic sages teach that the table is like the altar in the Temple, and the meal we eat like the offerings that brought us close to God.

Reincarnation or "gilgulim" is an integral part of Jewish belief. One of the main reasons for the brachot hanehenin (blessings before and after eating and drinking) is to help reincarnated neshamot (souls) thru the blessing to complete their tikun. 'Borei Nefashot' is a blessing that 'Hashem recreates the soul and give life to all souls." This is also the blessing that we will say at Techiat Hametim.

When perceived in this light, eating has the potential to inspire an individual with a sense of connection to HKB'H.