Sanctity in Eating

"A healthy body is of the ways of G-d," writes Mamonides. "Overeating is like poison to the body: most illnesses are cause by bad foods and overeating, even if one overeats healthy foods."

Moderation in eating is a spiritual ideal as well. "Be holy," the Torah instructs, "for I, your G-d, am holy." Nachmanides explains: "Since the Torah has warned only against forbidden foods... a person might presume to be 'a hedonist with the Torah's permission.' Therefore, after enumerating the things which it forbids entirely, the Torah says: 'Be holy' -- constrain yourself also in that which is permitted..."

This is the underlying principle behind the Chassidic doctrine of iskafia ("self-conquest") -- that man is not an animal who eats simply to satisfy its body's needs and urges, but a spiritual being who is the master of his physical self, and exercises control over what and why he eats.

The Torah does not advocate a life of asceticism and self-denial. It tells us to pleasure the Shabbat and rejoice on the festivals by eating delectable foods, to sanctify the holy days of the year by reciting kiddush over a cup of wine, to celebrate spiritual milestones with a festive "mitzvah meal." The Baal Shem Tov taught to regard the body not as an enemy, but an ally in the soul's service of G-d. The Torah ideal is self-mastery, dignity, and purposefulness in eating.