Styling and Photography by Baila Rochelleiner
As women who cook and bake, we know that turning out that perfect dish takes thought. No, it’s not throwing the steak on the grill that takes brainpower. It’s not peeling potatoes that needs concentration, and no foodie rises to fame because she finally figured out how to squish all the chicken legs into one 9×13. The real time and thought goes into flavoring our dishes so that they’re transformed from bland to delicious.
Hashem told Bnei Yisrael, “Barasi yetzer hara, u’varasi lo Torah tavlin — I created the yetzer hara, and I created Torah as its antidote” (Kiddushin 30b). Learning Torah is Hashem’s prescription for freeing ourselves from the yetzer hara.
But the word tavlin, antidote, also means “spice.” One of the ways that Torah keeps us from sin is by training us to live mindfully. We don’t just pour spices on impulse. Haphazardly pouring unlimited cayenne pepper, basil, and turmeric onto just about anything would end in disaster. Spicing takes time and thought; it forces us to be mindful, to make conscious choices, sometimes even to take out a measuring spoon when things get sensitive.
The Torah transformed us from people who were suddenly free to people who were responsible for harnessing our freedom and channeling it to make the right choices. It behooves us to live and act not impulsively, but mindfully. In that way, Torah is like tavlin. It is the spice, the mindfulness that Torah brings out in us, that enables us to overcome our animalistic urges and behave royally instead.
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