Stir-fry is one of my favorite ways to add color, crunch, and flavor to Pesach meals
Styling and photography by Sara Goldstein
In my last article, we explored a new mindset around food. As the most basic and frequent physical pleasure, eating is an opportunity to train ourselves to elevate the mundane into an act of serving Hashem. We do that by first wanting the food and then channeling that want to enjoy it when, where, and how the Torah allows us to. The outcome is a composed and dignified attitude toward eating, where it isn’t willpower that dictates our choices, but an appreciation for our role and responsibility as an ovedes Hashem.
While even regular eating can become a spiritual act, Rav Tzadok Hakohen teaches that because the seudos of Yom Tov are seudos mitzvah, they don’t just satisfy and support our physical bodies, they satisfy and support our nefesh.
The seudos of Pesach add another layer of spiritual opportunity. The Sfas Emes writes that Pesach derives its name from the term “peh sach,” a mouth that speaks. Until leaving Mitzrayim, Bnei Yisrael were ruled by the framework of physicality. Freeing us from the shackles of slavery and taking us as His own, Hashem elevated us beyond the realm of nature. We became spiritual beings who have the “power of the mouth” — the ability to sing Hashem’s praises.
We’re so much more than physical beings. And our seudos are so much more than physical meals. The seudos of Pesach are a chance to elevate our peh — our mouth that’s free to praise Hashem, tell the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim, drink the Arba Kosos, and eat matzah and maror — by transforming them into nourishment for our souls.
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