The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidus, was once visiting the home of Rabbi Yaakov Koppel. When Rabbi Yaakov danced in front of his Shabbos table for an hour, the Baal Shem Tov asked to explain this unusual custom. Rabbi Yaakov replied: Before I taste physical food, I absorb the food’s spiritual essence. In doing so, I become so excited that I sing and dance!
Everything in the physical world is a metaphor for a deeper spiritual concept.
Eating is to the body what knowledge is to the soul. When we eat, we internalize the good part of the food – and through that we grow and develop. Similarly, when we learn a new piece of information, we must chew it over, digest it, and integrate it into our very being. Only then can we truly grow in wisdom and spirituality.
timesofisrael.com Arie E. Pelta
The Noam Elimelech teaches that the primary aspect of a mitzvah is not its technicalities and details, but rather the love we put into its performance. This does not mean to say that we should disregard the technicalities; on the contrary, we must perform them accurately and to the best of our ability. Nevertheless, when God weighs the two components of a mitzvah, He considers the love we put into its performance to be greater than even the act itself. Aish Rabbi Abba Wagensberg