Taster’s Choice

There are certain minhagim that men should keep in their back pocket. One such example is the mitzvah of tasting Shabbos food on Friday. When your wife asks you why you are touching the food that she worked so hard to prepare, you should state, “I am fulfilling the verse of toameh chayim zachu.” Admittedly, the mitzvah is to taste the Shabbos food to see if it needs more salt or spices, not just to satisfy one’s gastronomical urges. But that is just nitpicking.

Another custom that is good to follow is the practice of not eating leftovers. If you call home and ask, “What’s for dinner?” and your wife answers, “Leftovers,” your response should be, “It’s not my minhag.” I am exaggerating a bit, but not by much. There is nothing wrong with eating leftovers per se. To wit, the Mishnah Berurah (157:4) quotes the Zohar that states that one should not cook food for the next day, nor leave over food for the next day. The upshot of this practice is that with an empty fridge and pantry, one’s prayers for sustenance will have an added urgency. It also means that you’ll have to visit the supermarket every day. Once the food has already been left over and is available there is no custom not to eat it. So the retort “It’s not my minhag” would really be misleading. One of my daughters really hates leftovers and I hope she doesn’t read my article and get any ideas. She doesn’t mind eating our relative’s leftovers or a neighbor’s leftovers. There is just something wrong with ours. Perhaps she is makpid on this very Zohar and can’t stand the fact that we are not in compliance with divrei Kabalah. She holds our family to a higher standard!

While the Zohar advises that empty cupboards are meritorious, our Gemara in Menachos says that it is a curse. There is a verse in Devarim (28:66) that is part of the tochachah which states, “Your life will hang in the balance, and you will be frightened night and day, and you will not be sure of your livelihood.” Rebbe Chanin expounds the verse as follows: “Your life will hang in the balance” refers to an individual who has enough food for one year but is unsure about the following year. “You will be frightened night and day” refers to an individual that always purchases food on a weekly basis and worries about attaining food for the following week. “Your life will hang in the balance” refers to an individual who buys food daily. He constantly worries if he will have funds to purchase food for the following day. This verse refers to a punishment that Hashem will mete out if his mitzvos are not followed.

How is it possible that a situation that the Zohar considers advantageous could simultaneously be considered a curse? Further, this was the exact situation that Hashem lovingly put the dor hamidbar in! Each day the Bnei Yisrael had to daven for sustenance. They had to pray daily that the man would come down from the Heavens. There were no leftovers from the man available to be eaten the next day. Was this considered a punishment?

R’ Chaim Shmulevitz states that in fact the very same scenario could either be a curse or blessing. If an individual takes advantage of his empty kitchen to develop a relationship with Hashem, then there is no greater berachah. Hashem gave the dor hamidbar a chance to come ever closer to Him and to develop a relationship with Him. They developed true bitachon, reliance on Him, as a son relies on his father. This relationship engenders true happiness and bliss. On the other hand, an individual who has no bitachon or reliance on Hashem, is truly cursed. If his cupboard is bare, he doesn’t know where tomorrow’s food will come from. His days are filled with cumbersome worry and fear. That truly is a living Gehinom.

We should view all the trials and tribulations that we as humans inevitably suffer from as a chance to develop a true relationship with Hashem. Once we reach the highest level of bitachon, we will no longer have to eat leftovers.