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In an address to the ancient Israelites before entering the Promised Land, Moses reminds them of the physical blessings (water, springs, wheat, barley, vines, figs, etc.) they will accrue if they follow the moral/ethical teachings of the One God. In a subtle way the Israelites are taught their very existence depends on an active partnership between them and God.
This unique partnership is reflected in the way Jews recite blessings. For example, the blessing Motzei Lechem Min Ha’Aretz (“God who brings forth bread from the earth”) is not said over harvested wheat, the raw work of God, but over bread, which results from human effort. Similarly, Borei P’rei Ha’gafen (“God who created the fruit of the vine”) is not recited over freshly picked grapes, but rather over wine, which has been made through human labor. Only when God’s creations are enhanced by the work of our hands, does it become worthy of a blessing. God and humankind working together!
Physical sustenance alone is not enough for a fulfilled life; true nourishment requires a balance of the physical and spiritual. In the Talmudic tractate Bava Batra 12b, “Rabbi Avdimi from Haifa says: Before a person eats and drinks, he has two hearts, meaning his heart is unsettled because he is distracted by hunger. But after he eats and drinks, he has only one heart.” Thus, one cannot pursue the ethical demands of daily life without physical nourishment. While one cannot “live on bread alone (Deut. 8:3),” we also cannot live without it! The spiritual depends upon the physical.
This is the essence of a partnership with God!
Rabbi Howard Siegel
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