The Fruits of the World to Come
By Nechama Dina Smith
BS"D
Junk food is an endless topic. Some of my children are extremely self-disciplined and won’t touch sugar or anything unhealthy. They do not learn this from me. The other day, after avoiding sugar for a full three weeks, I chanced upon a stash of Milk Munches in my closet. Every time I went to put clothing away, I just had to take one more little bar. Until they were all gone. To be honest, the taste is unreal. You close your eyes and are on a different planet. As for the ingredients, let’s not go there.
It’s interesting that in this past week’s parsha, the first Torah portion of the Jewish year, Adam and Chava were not allowed to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. It was Friday, and they were meant to wait till Shabbos when Hashem was going to let them partake of it. There are different opinions as to what fruit this was, but one thing we know is that it must have been delicious. And following that forbidden bite, we were ousted from that beautiful garden.
However, the deliciousness of the fruit gives us a glimpse into true delight. In fact it seems that all fruits are from the Garden of Eden.
And every Shabbos, when we are supposed to get a taste of Gan Eden, we are supposed to have sweetness, supposed to buy treats and experience the pleasure of Shabbos.
Could it be on the Tree of Knowledge hung individual Milk Munches? Or mini cheese Danishes? Because I could relate to that! And relate to that extreme craving--that you’ll forfeit anything just to have one. Forfeit your teeth, your stomach feeling lousy, your skin breaking out, your allergies worsening, and possibly making more likely such serious risks as diabetes and cancers. This is the equivalent of losing out on the chance to live in Gan Eden! Is it really worth it? But the taste...that heavenly taste! Yet that feeling is transient. In that moment you swallow, and you are done.
They say in the times of Moshiach, when we will have Gan Eden once again on this earth, desserts will grow on trees.
Yes! Candies growing on trees in the World to Come...There must be a connection. Treats are other-worldly.
But we are not yet living in that era. It’s not the right time. And if junk food is eaten at the wrong time, they wreak havoc and ruin our life on earth. Just like what happened to Adam and Chava.
On Shabbos we are supposed to enjoy good food. Shabbos, when the entire day we are busy with experiencing G-dliness and praising our Creator, must also be a day of pleasure and enjoyment. Shabbos is said to be one sixtieth of the World to Come.
So I experimented and said, in honor of Shabbos I will buy cheese Danishes, chocolate babkas, and chocolate milk. And I think theoretically that could work. But the problem is once you break your good habits and get back into the sugar mode, you fall into a pit and can’t get out!
So I feel like we should definitely put effort into making special, delightful food for Shabbos. Because that will bring us closer to feeling the eternity we were meant to have and will one day have again. But we will save our utter bliss for Moshiach’s time when G-d will lovingly make tasty treats grow all around us, at our fingertips, on the branches of fragrant trees. But until then we must look at ingredients and get as close to heavenly taste as we can--with ingredients that are wholesome.
So...let’s go for the juicy, sweet fruit in season like watermelon, mango, cherries, grapes, golden berries, apples, and jackfruit, served fresh or worked into salads, pies, cakes and compotes...to give us the feeling of the World to Come but at the same time to keep our bodies healthy on this earth. Then we can keep living and doing wonderful things, learning Torah, doing mitzvos, and helping others, with strong, sound bodies and minds, unhindered by any health problems.
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