The mythological fall from grace begins with a food event: Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge and thus become aware of their bodies and their own awkward, embarrassed mortality.

And just as one bite causes expulsion from Paradise, so does another lead to salvation. For many branches of Christianity, redemption from sin is obtained through eating the bread that symbolizes the body of Christ.

For Jews, no holiday galvanizes the community like the Passover Seder. In the same spirit on the most sacred of all Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur, spiritual atonement comes through the denial of food.

In Islam, daylight fasting continues for the entire month of Ramadan. In both holidays the importance of food is emphasized through the act of ritually avoiding it.

The Bible overflows with episodes involving feasts, fastings, famines. The ancients recognized the importance of food not only as nourishment, but also as part of the process leading to spirituality.

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything.
Deuteronomy 8:7-9

When you set out to do a little research on what the Bible has to say about food, that quote is one you will encounter again and again, in books, pamphlets, and articles on the 'net.

A close reading of these verses reveals an order. Water first, in brooks and in depths. Then grains, wheat and barley for making of bread, the sine quo non of foods. Then vines, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey.

Meat is not mentioned in this place, a fact that some find significant. Some of those who feel moved to make claims based on what they read in the Bible say, God meant for his people to be vegetarians. I was unaware of this until I got on the Net a few days ago and started hunting. There seem to be quite a few sites devoted to arguments that Godly people are vegetarians, perhaps derived from these famous verses.

And there surely just as many devoted to arguing the opposite case, perhaps from this 3rd verse from Genesis 9. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

We are all familiar with the food rules mentioned in the book of Leviticus. These rules are basis for the keeping of kosher. No fish may be eaten that doesn't have fins and scales, milk and meat may not be mixed up together in any way, no pork, and so forth. I found several sites of the dozen or so I looked at that were devoted to these rules. Some argue that these rules were a kind of stone age wisdom about what foods were safe to eat in a practical sense, and others argue that these foods are not safe to eat only because God doesn't like them. (Nobody said it has to make sense in a logical secular way.)

In fact the Bible itself seems to give contradictory information on the subject of food. No surprise there. Still….

The sharing of food is an important symbol of peace, love, harmony in all of literature, including the Bible of course.

One of Jesus' most oft-repeated miracles is the story of the loaves and fishes, how one child's sharing of his little lunch, moved a multitude to similarly share their food. What started out as something selfish (that is each person keeping what he had brought for himself alone), turned into the true miracle: the revelation that when you stop thinking of yourself alone, and start thinking in terms of what is good for you and your neighbor, then abundance follows.

I love the story of turning the water into wine. Jesus went to the wedding in Cana with his mother. The hosts were embarrassed that they had not provided enough wine for all the guests. Mary turned to her son and said, "They have no wine!" Jesus basically shrugged, and said "what has this to do with me?" But Mary dragged him off and said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." I can just hear Jesus sighing, rolling his eyes. So he told the servants to fill the empty wine jars with water, then to start pouring it out for the guests. They all exclaimed that the best wine had been saved for last.

This is said to be Jesus' first miracle, when he was just starting out as a miracle-worker. If the story has it right, his mother was already certain of his power.

The description of meals in the garden of Mary, Margaret, and Lazarus, friends of Jesus', is very pleasant. They sat under the fig trees and the trellised grape vines, enjoying the light breezes in the cool green shade. They ate stews that were simmered with chunks of meats - maybe lamb or kid - and vegetables, beans and lentils…all seasoned with onions, garlic and spices and herbs such as parsley, coriander and cumin. The food would be brought to the center of the gathered friends, perhaps on mats or low tables. Each person would have his or her own bowl, and plenty of flat bread like pita or tortillas to dip into the communal bowl. If you've ever eaten in an Ethiopian restaurant, the food is served much that way today. A tray is brought to the table with piles of various foods on it. Each diner uses a scoop of bread to serve himself.

And now it is our turn. We have brought food for each other today. May this food be received in the blessed spirit with which it was offered. Shalom and Amen and Allahu akbar!

Ruth Semrau
11/24/02