{"id":176,"date":"2015-03-18T14:53:54","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T14:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/btus\/?p=176"},"modified":"2020-10-28T20:54:43","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T20:54:43","slug":"our-daily-bread-more-than-the-sum-of-its-calories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/btus\/2015\/03\/18\/our-daily-bread-more-than-the-sum-of-its-calories\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Daily Bread: More Than The Sum of Its Calories"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Screen<\/a>The restaurant was bustling. Joyous noise and laughter filled the room as waiters and waitresses\u00a0bustled to and fro, bringing trays of food or removing the empty plates of sated diners. The\u00a0tables were filled with people enjoying their meals\u2014extended families celebrating a birthday or\u00a0graduation, small families sharing the evening together, friends crowding into a booth, laughing\u00a0about something. Couples, some older, sharing an intimate meal by candlelight.<\/p>\n

At one table, the conversation drifted to a meal that the group had enjoyed in the past. At\u00a0another table, they discussed their plans for the following dinner even though they had yet to\u00a0finish the elaborate meal on the table before them.<\/p>\n

And everywhere you looked, there was food. Food. Food. Food.<\/p>\n

We need food. Along with air and water, it is essential to our survival. However, unlike air and\u00a0water, which we too often take for granted, our thoughts are drawn to food; we look forward to\u00a0meals; we talk about food even when we\u2019re eating.<\/p>\n

Our eating habits are defined\u2014and constrained\u2014by rituals, culture and preference. We eat to live\u00a0but, because we are created in God\u2019s image, even those things that are necessary for our\u00a0corporeal existence can be given greater meaning. Food is more than the stuff we eat. More than\u00a0air and water, food has meaning to us. We enjoy an intimate relationship with food. From the\u00a0finest meals prepared at four-star restaurants to the most modest meal found in every culture\u2014\u00a0the sandwich\u2014food is central to our sense of who we are.<\/p>\n

So, what are we? Physical animals who, like all beasts, must consume food to live or are we\u00a0something more? The answer to our question can be found in the modest sandwich.<\/p>\n

Whether plain or elaborate, bland or delicious, it is the cornerstone to our eating habits, always\u00a0enjoyed\u2014whether a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich or an elaborate sandwich with \u201call\u00a0the fixings\u201d\u2014but too rarely appreciated for its symbolic weight as for its taste and its calories.\u00a0For a sandwich can be so much more than the sum of its parts, it can represent freedom and\u00a0independence.<\/p>\n

In other words, sometimes a sandwich is more than a sandwich.<\/p>\n

The essence of the sandwich, the concept of placing various fillings between two pieces of\u00a0bread, lies in a practice meant to reinforce a memory of slavery and hardship and, therefore,\u00a0emphasize a sense of autonomy. It was the rabbinic sage Hillel who, to honor the gift God\u00a0presented to the Jewish people in redeeming them from their bondage in Egypt, combined the\u00a0Passover offering with matzah, and maror (bitter herbs) at the Temple to remind himself of the\u00a0blessing of redemption without losing sight of the bitterness of slavery. For Hillel, it was not\u00a0enough to eat the Passover meat and matzah, both of which signify God\u2019s miracles in releasing\u00a0the Jews from slavery, and maror (bitter herbs), which serves as a reminder of those difficult\u00a0times, separately; they must be eaten together so as to make sure that the happy and sad\u00a0memories are as united as the separate sandwich items.<\/p>\n

For how could one truly appreciate freedom without slavery? And how could one possibly survive the latter without the promise and hope of the former?<\/p>\n

Despite the noble Hillel sandwich, history assigns the honor of \u201cinventing\u201d the sandwich to John\u00a0Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Montagu\u2019s purpose was significantly less noble than Hillel\u2019s.\u00a0Montagu happened upon the \u201csandwich\u201d by requesting roast beef between two slices of bread so\u00a0that he would be better able to eat while continuing to play cards. Following his example, men of\u00a0the upper class began to order sandwiches while gambling, and it came to symbolize games and\u00a0gluttony.<\/p>\n

The sandwich\u2014is it a symbol of freedom and grace or gluttony and gambling?<\/p>\n

Or both?<\/p>\n

With the explosion of industry in Western Europe in the 19th century, along with the advent of\u00a0pre-sliced bread, the sandwich\u2019s popularity rose significantly as its simplicity and portability\u00a0made it a staple in middle-class and working-class households. Soon, lands and cultures outside\u00a0of Europe, including the United States, caught the \u201csandwich bug.\u201d As bread\u2014long the \u201cstaff of\u00a0life\u201d but not always so convenient or abundantly available\u2014became a more essential part of the\u00a0European and American diet, the sandwich became a quick, easy part of a meal, or even the\u00a0entire meal itself.<\/p>\n

Every culture embraced its own version, using its own type of bread and filling, usually\u00a0ingredients common within that culture\u2019s customs and traditions. In Mexico and Central\u00a0America where bread takes the soft, flat and pliant form of the tortilla, the sandwich is called the\u00a0burrito\u2014with the tortilla grilled or steamed and wrapped around fillings such as beans, rice, and\u00a0meat. In Southeast Asia, where flatbreads called roti or chapati accompany most meals, though\u00a0they are not normally used to make what we might commonly think of as a sandwich, diners\u00a0often make use of chapati to get every last bite of food by wrapping them around each morsel of\u00a0the dish. If that is not a sandwich, what is?<\/p>\n

The b\u00e1nh m\u00ec is a Vietnamese sandwich made with a Vietnamese baguette and native Vietnamese\u00a0ingredients like coriander, hot peppers, fish sauce, pickled carrots, meats, and tofu. Falafel, fried\u00a0balls or patties made out of chickpeas and spiced fava beans, is often served sandwiched in the\u00a0\u201cpouch\u201d of pita bread and has become a principal food in the Middle East.\u00a0The universality of sandwiches and their significance to regional and world cultures cannot be\u00a0overstated. Following its introduction in 1940, McDonald\u2019s quickly became the most successful\u00a0restaurant chain in history, all thanks to their signature sandwich, the Big Mac!<\/p>\n

Yes, sandwiches are universal and universally enjoyed. But unlike Hillel\u2019s sandwich, they are not always \u201cgreater than the sum of their parts.\u201d The Torah teaches that man does not live by bread\u00a0alone. It is with the wisdom of this insight we return to the significance and importance of that\u00a0first \u201csandwich\u201d\u2014Hillel\u2019s.<\/p>\n

While perhaps not as well known or universally enjoyed as the Big Mac, with its \u201cbillions and\u00a0billions\u201d served, the Hillel sandwich is a more perfect example of how food nourishes more than\u00a0our stomachs; that a sandwich is much more than its parts; is much more than mere taste and\u00a0calories. The Hillel sandwich makes clear that food must also feed the soul.<\/p>\n

As with the entire Passover Seder and meal\u2014which is not designed solely to gather with family\u00a0and enjoy one another\u2019s company, have a satisfying meal and engage in conversation\u2014the point\u00a0of the Hillel sandwich is not merely to eat but to think and to feel as well. Hillel does not seek to\u00a0deny the pleasures of eating. Far from it. Just as Judaism does not deny or turn away from\u00a0physical enjoyment, neither does Hillel. However, he rebels against reducing eating, or any\u00a0action, to mere physical satisfaction; to do so robs it of meaning and diminishes our\u00a0understanding of God\u2019s role in our lives and in the world.<\/p>\n

To enjoy and appreciate the luxuries we have accumulated is our obligation, but it would be\u00a0pointless and inherently disrespectful if we viewed the acquisition of luxuries as being the point\u00a0of our lives. So, when we celebrate the blessings of our freedom, it would be disrespectful if we\u00a0did not also make sure to honor our ancestors\u2019 hardships in Egypt. Noting how the Jewish people\u00a0won their independence from slavery is as important as, if not more important than, taking\u00a0pleasure in that independence. This complex balance, this intricate idea of honoring the past\u00a0and living in the present, of embracing two divergent feelings to create a single whole, is\u00a0realized in the simplicity of the Hillel sandwich.<\/p>\n

What does the Hillel sandwich teach us? That we do not need meats, cheeses, vegetables, and\u00a0sauces piled high for our sandwich to be fulfilling. Quite the opposite\u2014our sandwich is fulfilling\u00a0because of the meaning it contains, not the calories.<\/p>\n

As we see in the Hillel sandwich, food is nourishment and symbol. Similarly with the other Seder\u00a0foods; the maror enlivens our taste buds but also reminds us of the bitterness of slavery. The\u00a0charoset, with its sweet texture, brings to mind the mortar our ancestors used to build the\u00a0pyramids. The karpas reminds us of the season of our redemption, when the cold depths of\u00a0winter gives way to the rebirth of Spring.<\/p>\n

Or the Four Cups of wine we drink at the Seder. For millions, wine numbs and denies feelings.\u00a0For Jews, on Seder night, wine teaches us the sweetness of God\u2019s blessings, of our redemption\u00a0and our freedom, of overcoming the yoke of enslavement.<\/p>\n

The most significant part, though, is that after God has helped us overcome, after He has\u00a0redeemed us, we cannot accept that redemption as an assured state.<\/p>\n

How many times, after overeating, have we told ourselves that we would \u201cnever be hungry\u00a0again.\u201d And yet, as surely as day follows night, we hunger once more. Our feeling of being sated\u00a0passes; satisfaction is precarious. So too, salvation must always be looked upon as a precarious\u00a0condition, one that could be taken away at any moment.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the powerful symbolism of the food we eat helps us keep our lives\u2014the physical and\u00a0the spiritual\u2014in balance. By eating matzah and maror together we are reminded that God\u2019s gift\u00a0of salvation is always there, but we must remain aware of it for it to touch our lives. Without all\u00a0of the proper ingredients, freedom could not possibly taste as sweet. One could not exist\u00a0without the other.<\/p>\n

RABBI DR. ELIYAHU SAFRAN HAS BEEN SERVING AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF BEHIND THE UNION\u00a0SYMBOL SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1997.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The restaurant was bustling. Joyous noise and laughter filled the room as waiters and waitresses\u00a0bustled to and fro, bringing trays of food or removing the empty plates of sated diners. The\u00a0tables were filled with people enjoying their meals\u2014extended families celebrating a birthday or\u00a0graduation, small families sharing the evening together, friends crowding into a booth, laughing\u00a0about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOur Daily Bread: More Than The Sum of Its Calories - Behind the Union Symbol<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/btus\/2015\/03\/18\/our-daily-bread-more-than-the-sum-of-its-calories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Daily Bread: More Than The Sum of Its Calories - Behind the Union Symbol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The restaurant was bustling. 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