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Lechem Mishneh: Not By Bread Alone |
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Written by Rabbi Asher Resnick
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 One of the more well-known verses in the Torah is found at the beginning of parshas Eikev - "Man does not live by bread alone." As is the case with many well-known verses in
Judaism, not only is this quote not the entire verse that it comes from, but that which is left out expresses fundamental differences between the traditional Jewish perspective and that of the world at large. Since bread symbolizes physicality, livelihood, and sustenance, these basic differences will relate to all three of these important areas of our lives.
The entire verse (Devarim 8:3) is - "And He afflicted you and made you hungry, and fed you the Manna which you didn't know and your father didn't know, in order to make you know - that not by bread alone does man live, but [rather] by all that comes out of the mouth of G-d does man live."
First of all, what is the message of the part of the verse that is most commonly quoted?
Mankind needs more than just bread (physicality, livelihood, and sustenance) to be able to live a full life. While that is an obviously true and important message which Judaism would agree with, it is also somewhat limited. As important as it is to have a spiritual element in one's life, what must be the nature of that spirituality? Can I define it however I like, or must it be defined independently of me?
Today we find a curious phenomenon of celebrities that are attracted to the study of what they call "Kaballah." This shouldn't really be so surprising. After all, every human being has a soul, and therefore a need for a spiritual dimension in their life. By defining this spiritual aspect themselves, however, they ensure that it won't intrude on their lifestyle, thereby rendering it largely irrelevant to themselves.
Judaism, on the other hand, is clear that we can not be the ones that define the spiritual element in our lives. It must both be defined by "all that comes out of the mouth of G-d", and it must govern how "man lives." We need to realize that Judaism is not only concerned with how one relates to G-d, it is just as concerned with the myriad issues involved in physicality, livelihood, and sustenance. The guidelines are just as detailed, and the consequences just as serious.
Why is the preamble to this - "And He afflicted you and made you hungry"? Rav Motty Berger often says that we view G-d as a sort of Divine superman. When we get into difficulties, we see G-d's role as the One to swoop down and rescue us. The true Torah perspective is that not only does G-d swoop down and rescue us, even the "problem" itself came from Him - and also for our benefit.
A simple way to see this is our very need for eating to sustain ourselves. Why were we designed with the need to eat about three times every day? G-d could obviously have made us to only need to eat once a day, once a week, or once a month, or not at all. It seems that the reminder of our mortality and absolute dependence on G-d is best delivered to us three times each day. That is not a problem, but a benefit to help keep us all in touch with reality. And while the topic of Yissurim (challenges and difficulties) is massive and certainly beyond the scope of this essay, this is really the model for how we are supposed to try and view all of our "problems" - they are all opportunities that we were given by G-d for our benefit and growth.
In summary, we all need spirituality in our lives, the nature of that spirituality must be defined by G-d (not ourselves), and not only does G-d help us with the "problems" in our lives, He gives them to us for our benefit as well.
As we all lift up the two loaves of bread at each of the three meals this Shabbos that symbolize G-d's supervision of our physicality, livelihood, and sustenance, let's try to remember and incorporate within our lives all of these critically important lessons.
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