Dear Friends,
“Man (humankind) does not live on bread alone.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
I imagine that most of us are familiar with this teaching. I think my mother preached it again and again, and likely, so did many of our moms, especially those who watched romantic movies of the 1930s.
So, what does it mean?
Commonly, it implies that human beings need far more than the merest food to sustain us. Most simply, one could submit; we need vegetables and fruit as well.
But the text would be trite if that was its sole implication. After all, the verse continues, “Man (humankind) does not live on bread alone, but that one may live on anything that the Eternal decrees.” Surely, the verse was referring to the manna that God provided to nourish us in the wilderness. If we could live on that odd seed stuff, then we could surely thrive with richer, healthier foodstuffs.
However, the verse has evolved to offer other connotations. Humanity needs far more than just food for sustenance. We need art and music, shelter and security, caring and love. If we only survived on food, we would be no different from ants and lizards.
Yet, we are vastly different.
A 19th-century sage taught, “Note that it says on—and not by—bread alone. Human beings are bidden not to stake their lives merely on gaining a livelihood, eating in order to work, and working in order to eat. Their true purpose should be learning in order to teach, observe, do, and uphold truth and faith.”
Indeed, the text states that we do not live on bread alone. And it rejects living on bread alone. To be truly human, we need to transcend the daily routine and not be mere slaves to provender. Further, by extension, the one who lives only by attaining stuff—cars, houses, clothing, adornments, titles, and more—is living by bread alone and missing the potential purpose of their lifetimes, which are at risk of being wasted. I recall the old bumper sticker, which read, “He who dies with the most stuff wins!” Of course, it was a mockery.
Moss Hart smartly wrote, “You can’t take it with you,” in the movie of the same name. Just as wise Lionel Barrymore stated to the business shark, Jimmy Stewart, in the 1938 film, it is true whenever our verse is read.
One cannot live on bread alone and still be a successful human being.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
“Man (humankind) does not live on bread alone.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
I imagine that most of us are familiar with this teaching. I think my mother preached it again and again, and likely, so did many of our moms, especially those who watched romantic movies of the 1930s.
So, what does it mean?
Commonly, it implies that human beings need far more than the merest food to sustain us. Most simply, one could submit; we need vegetables and fruit as well.
But the text would be trite if that was its sole implication. After all, the verse continues, “Man (humankind) does not live on bread alone, but that one may live on anything that the Eternal decrees.” Surely, the verse was referring to the manna that God provided to nourish us in the wilderness. If we could live on that odd seed stuff, then we could surely thrive with richer, healthier foodstuffs.
However, the verse has evolved to offer other connotations. Humanity needs far more than just food for sustenance. We need art and music, shelter and security, caring and love. If we only survived on food, we would be no different from ants and lizards.
Yet, we are vastly different.
A 19th-century sage taught, “Note that it says on—and not by—bread alone. Human beings are bidden not to stake their lives merely on gaining a livelihood, eating in order to work, and working in order to eat. Their true purpose should be learning in order to teach, observe, do, and uphold truth and faith.”
Indeed, the text states that we do not live on bread alone. And it rejects living on bread alone. To be truly human, we need to transcend the daily routine and not be mere slaves to provender. Further, by extension, the one who lives only by attaining stuff—cars, houses, clothing, adornments, titles, and more—is living by bread alone and missing the potential purpose of their lifetimes, which are at risk of being wasted. I recall the old bumper sticker, which read, “He who dies with the most stuff wins!” Of course, it was a mockery.
Moss Hart smartly wrote, “You can’t take it with you,” in the movie of the same name. Just as wise Lionel Barrymore stated to the business shark, Jimmy Stewart, in the 1938 film, it is true whenever our verse is read.
One cannot live on bread alone and still be a successful human being.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
