This evening we explore what we as Jews may not eat due to health risks, including the most baffling example of prohibiting eating fish together with meat. I tell the story of my involvement with DESK (Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen in New Haven, CT) and a blessing made by Brother Dennis and me. Then we explore why in Jewish law the blessings before eating are short, while blessings after eating are much longer. We explain this according to Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, based on the context of the verses in our Parsha - when we are most satisfied, we run the greatest risk of forgetting God, so then we must focus our gratitude at that moment, and we see this demonstrated by a poem by Emily Dickinson. We analyze one blessing after eating where we thank God for what we received and also for our deficiencies. It is only because I have deficiencies that I need you, and vice versa. Everyone has deficiencies that force us to need each other and form families and communities. Finally we analyze the 4th paragraph of Birkat HaMazon (grace of meals) written and established to remember the double miracle of those warriors of Bar Kochbah killed in Beitar. The opportunity to bury them only years later leads to a message that we hold dear throughout our long exile and dispersal, and has more meaning for us today than ever before.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.