Spirit and Story
Welcome to Spirit and Story, where you will find the latest thoughts and reflections by CLAL faculty and associates on the contours of our contemporary spiritual journeys. A new article will be posted here every other week.
To access the CLAL Spirit and Story Archive, click here.
Our authors are especially interested in hearing your responses to what they have written. So after reading, visit the Spirit and Story Discussion Forum where you can join in conversation with CLAL faculty and other readers.
Abundance
By Janet R. Kirchheimer
A few weeks ago, I went to the wedding of a very good friend. The next evening, a group
of us made the couple a sheva brachot. (Traditionally, for a week after the wedding,
friends and relatives make a party for them each day. At the conclusion of the grace after
meals, the seven blessings [sheva brachot] recited during the wedding ceremony are again
recited.) As we planned the food for the party, we worried that there wouldn’t be
enough food and, of course, we ended up having too much food. Most of it went into the
garbage, but I was able to take some to a homeless man who usually sleeps on the steps of
a church in my neighborhood.
I was taught that wasting food is a sin, and I felt I had committed a big one that
evening. I think that my motives for the sheva brachot were good, but I couldn’t get
rid of a gnawing feeling that I should have done more. Like most people, when I have
guests, I want to welcome them by preparing a special meal. I think it’s part of the
mitzvah of hachnasat orchim – of welcoming guests. Just like Abraham (Genesis
18:5-8), who made sure his guests had enough food, I want to make sure I have prepared
enough.
Recently, I read Jennifer Krause’s article in E-CLAL, entitled
"Sacrifices." I was struck by her description of Jo Jones of Great Britain whose
pedigreed dairy cows had to be destroyed when they were infected with foot and mouth
disease. She had 228 cows and knew each one by name. I could identify with Jo Jones and
feel the love she had for her herd. This past summer I gardened with my dad. While
I’m not comparing vegetables to living creatures, we knew each and every plant. We
knew how many buds were on the eggplant that wasn’t doing well in the southeast
corner of the garden. We knew that plant wasn’t going to produce fruit, but we kept
hoping -- maybe we could save it if we gave it more water or manure. We both felt bad when
we had to pull it out of the dirt. We also knew where the cucumbers were taking shade in
the uncut grass to escape the midday sun. We knew the color red of each tomato and how
close each was to being ripe. We had a relationship with the garden.
In the birkat hamazon (grace after meals) according to the Spanish and Portuguese custom,
the final section begins, “With what we have eaten, let us be satisfied, and with
what we have had to drink, let it be for health, and what we have left over, may that
bless others, even as it is told of Elisha that he set food before them and they ate and
left over according to the word of the Lord….” This last portion is taken from
II Kings 4:44. The people felt blessed by God to have food after a famine. They felt that
they had received so many blessings and that there were blessings left over.
In light of my experiences, I want to read the grace after meals with additional meaning.
I am grateful for the blessings I have received from God. I have abundance in my life,
especially an abundance of food, and I want what is left over to become a blessing for
others. I do not want the blessings I have left over to go to waste. My friends and I
decided that the next time we prepare a celebratory meal, we will try not to make so much
food and will donate any leftovers to a food pantry or homeless shelter. I want to take
the blessing of abundant food seriously, and I hope that the lessons of my recent
experiences will ensure that.
To read additional articles by Janet Kirchheimer, click here.
