You will eat and you will be satisfied and you will bless Hashem, your G-d, for the good land that He gave you. Take care lest you forget Hashem...lest you eat and be satisfied...and your heart will become haughty and you will forget Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slaves..."
In the midst of an awe-inspiring message in the beginning of this weeks parasha, a seemingly random emphasis is suddenly put on what we do when we eat. The parasha starts out telling us what wonderful rewards we will receive if we listen to Hashem (a topic I will certainly re-visit another time) and then goes on to recount the many things Hashem had already done for us while we were in the desert. Last, it begins telling us about the Land we are being brought to and all of the wonderful things we can expect to receive there when, all of a sudden, we are told that when we eat and become full, we should bless Hashem. I would be ok with that, except that just a few lines later the Torah again begins talking about what happens when I eat and become full. Only this time, it tells me that if I don't bless Hashem afterward - I am haughty.
What gives?!?
I am absolutely horrible at fasting. It is not uncommon for me to spend much of a fast-day in bed with a migraine and to feel extremely weak at the end of the fast. I know this to be the case, I am fully aware of it and I mention it any time I discuss the practice of fasting with others. And yet, when it is not a fast-day, do I appreciate the fact that I am able to eat? Do I actively think about the fact that if I wasn't putting that food or drink in my mouth I would probably be lying in bed feeling sick? The answer, sadly, is no! Despite my appreciation for food when I cannot have it, when I can - it is taken for granted.
In this weeks parasha, we are given a list of gifts that Hashem is going to lay upon us - streams, wheat, figs, honey; we are promised that we will eat without poverty and lack nothing; we will have stones of iron and mountains full of copper. Then we are reminded, when you eat from these gifts and you feel that you are full - remember to thank Hashem for all that He has given you. Remember to appreciate it! For if you do not thank Him for the food that He gave you and you do not stop to recognize that all that you have, He gave to you - then you will have forgotten Him!
I remember when I was a Freshman in college, I used to substitute at a Yeshiva in Boro Park my brother taught at to make some money. One time I was particularly low on cash and my bills were coming due when I received a phone call from the principal asking if I could come in to work the next day - perfect!! For the next 24 hours I walked around (literally) saying "I'm so lucky, I'm so lucky." I did this until I received another phone call from the principal telling me that the teacher I was to be subbing for could make it in at the end and so he didn't need me. Hashem taught me a profound lesson that day. "You think you're lucky, he asked. I'll show you that you and luck have nothing to do with it" Bli Ayin Hara, ever since that day I always make it a point to stop and thank Hashem when something goes well.
The lesson I was taught that day is the same lesson we are being taught in this weeks parasha. The Torah is reminding us that, even for something as seemingly insignificant as eating, when we get full - we should recognize that it was only through the hand of Hashem. Of course, this rule applies to any other "gift" that He gives us.
May we all be zoche to recognize that everything we receive in this world is only given to us because Hashim wills it to be that way. Once that realization is made, may we succeed in showing our appreciation to him properly. In doing so, may we merit to see the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days.Shabbat Shalom!
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