Why Jews eat Fish Before Meat
Behaalosecha
It is an ancient Jewish custom to eat fish before eating meat. We do this on Shabbos, Yomtov and at Simchas.
There are many reasons offered for this custom. In the Chassidishe Parsha on Behaalosecha, the Alter Rebbe offers the following fascinating explanation according to the teachings of Kabbalah;
In Parshas Behaalosecha Bnei Yisroel complained about having only Man to eat. They craved meat and asked “who will feed us meat”?
As punishment, Hashem told Moshe that He will give the people meat and that they will eat it for a full month until it comes out of their noses and nauseates them.
Moshe replied “the people who I am in their midst are 600,000 on foot and You say ‘I will give them meat and they will eat it for an entire month’. If the sheep and cattle were slaughtered for them, would it suffice for them? If all of the fish of the sea were caught for them, would it suffice for them?”
It seems that Moshe was questioning where he would be able to obtain so much meat. But the Alter Rebbe explains the deeper meaning of Moshe’s question.
The Jewish people asked for meat and Hashem told Moshe that he would give them meat. There was no request for fish. If so why then did Moshe mention fish?
Whenever we eat, we are engaging with the physicality of the world. Our engagement with physicality is for the purpose of elevating the world and refining it to be more holy. When we eat, the food we consume becomes part of us and gives us energy. Our Kavana when eating and channelling that energy into serving Hashem, is what effects this elevation.
By definition, for the Neshama to descend and involve itself with physicality entails a degree of spiritual descent. But not all foods are quite the same.
Meat is a very coarse food. Our sages teach that an Am Haaretz cannot eat meat. This is because someone who is on a lowly spiritual level lacks the spiritual strength to be able to elevate such a material food. Unable to elevate the meat, its coarse physicality would be liable to trap them in desire and bring them down spiritually.
A Talmid Chochom has the spiritual standing to be able to eat meat with the proper intentions and is able to elevate it and channel its energy into serving Hashem.
Even though Moshe was a Tzaddik of the highest calibre, for him, getting involved with such a coarse food, even with holy Kavanos, would be too great a descent from his spiritual level.
Moshe said that these are “the 600,000 people that I am in their midst”. Moshe felt that his presence amongst Bnei Yisroel would have elevated them to his level. If so, how can I give them meat and bring them down to its level?
When Moshe said “If all of the sheep and cattle were slaughtered would it suffice for them” he uses the words ומצא להם. This can mean that the meat would pursue and ’find’ them and pull them down.
Our sages teach that whatever exists on dryland has a counterpart under the sea. Fish are the meat of the sea.
In Chassidus, the sea and dry land represent two different ’worlds’. The dry land where everything is exposed represents Alma d’isgalya, the revealed created worlds. The sea, which is covered over by water, reflects Alma D’iskasya, the worlds which are hidden within the Divine reality.
Therefore, fish is considered to be more spiritually refined (aidel) and elevated than meat. Eating fish represents a lesser descent into physicality, but a descent none the less.
For Moshe, and hence for Bnei Yisroel who were under his influence, even fish would have been too great a descent. And so he said that not only meat but “even if all the fish of the sea were gathered”, the fish too would pursue them and bring them down.
Hashem responded to Moshe “has Hashem’s hand been shortened?” Hashem is capable of providing the experience of eating meat in a way that they will not be spiritually reduced.
And so, Hashem gave the Jewish people quail. In Kabbalah, birds come from a higher spiritual source than both meat and fish. Whilst the quail was meat (physicality), it possessed a spiritual quality, represented by the fact that the quail was very fatty - oil represents spirituality.
Whilst we are not quite on the level of Moshe and his generation and hence we do eat both meat and fish, none the less, the Alter Rebbe adds a lesson for us as well.
For a Jew to descend straight down to engage with the coarse materialism of eating meat, even for the purpose of elevating it, would be too great a descent. It would shlepp him down into its coarseness.
So first we break the descent by first eating the more spiritually refined flesh of fish. Once we have successfully engaged with and elevated the meat of Alma D’iskasya and conditioned ourselves with a lesser degree of descent, we can then progress to the main course, to engage with the more material meat of Alma D’isgalya and successfully elevate it from coarse flesh into G-dly energy.
There are many reasons offered for this custom. In the Chassidishe Parsha on Behaalosecha, the Alter Rebbe offers the following fascinating explanation according to the teachings of Kabbalah;
In Parshas Behaalosecha Bnei Yisroel complained about having only Man to eat. They craved meat and asked “who will feed us meat”?
As punishment, Hashem told Moshe that He will give the people meat and that they will eat it for a full month until it comes out of their noses and nauseates them.
Moshe replied “the people who I am in their midst are 600,000 on foot and You say ‘I will give them meat and they will eat it for an entire month’. If the sheep and cattle were slaughtered for them, would it suffice for them? If all of the fish of the sea were caught for them, would it suffice for them?”
It seems that Moshe was questioning where he would be able to obtain so much meat. But the Alter Rebbe explains the deeper meaning of Moshe’s question.
The Jewish people asked for meat and Hashem told Moshe that he would give them meat. There was no request for fish. If so why then did Moshe mention fish?
Whenever we eat, we are engaging with the physicality of the world. Our engagement with physicality is for the purpose of elevating the world and refining it to be more holy. When we eat, the food we consume becomes part of us and gives us energy. Our Kavana when eating and channelling that energy into serving Hashem, is what effects this elevation.
By definition, for the Neshama to descend and involve itself with physicality entails a degree of spiritual descent. But not all foods are quite the same.
Meat is a very coarse food. Our sages teach that an Am Haaretz cannot eat meat. This is because someone who is on a lowly spiritual level lacks the spiritual strength to be able to elevate such a material food. Unable to elevate the meat, its coarse physicality would be liable to trap them in desire and bring them down spiritually.
A Talmid Chochom has the spiritual standing to be able to eat meat with the proper intentions and is able to elevate it and channel its energy into serving Hashem.
Even though Moshe was a Tzaddik of the highest calibre, for him, getting involved with such a coarse food, even with holy Kavanos, would be too great a descent from his spiritual level.
Moshe said that these are “the 600,000 people that I am in their midst”. Moshe felt that his presence amongst Bnei Yisroel would have elevated them to his level. If so, how can I give them meat and bring them down to its level?
When Moshe said “If all of the sheep and cattle were slaughtered would it suffice for them” he uses the words ומצא להם. This can mean that the meat would pursue and ’find’ them and pull them down.
Our sages teach that whatever exists on dryland has a counterpart under the sea. Fish are the meat of the sea.
In Chassidus, the sea and dry land represent two different ’worlds’. The dry land where everything is exposed represents Alma d’isgalya, the revealed created worlds. The sea, which is covered over by water, reflects Alma D’iskasya, the worlds which are hidden within the Divine reality.
Therefore, fish is considered to be more spiritually refined (aidel) and elevated than meat. Eating fish represents a lesser descent into physicality, but a descent none the less.
For Moshe, and hence for Bnei Yisroel who were under his influence, even fish would have been too great a descent. And so he said that not only meat but “even if all the fish of the sea were gathered”, the fish too would pursue them and bring them down.
Hashem responded to Moshe “has Hashem’s hand been shortened?” Hashem is capable of providing the experience of eating meat in a way that they will not be spiritually reduced.
And so, Hashem gave the Jewish people quail. In Kabbalah, birds come from a higher spiritual source than both meat and fish. Whilst the quail was meat (physicality), it possessed a spiritual quality, represented by the fact that the quail was very fatty - oil represents spirituality.
Whilst we are not quite on the level of Moshe and his generation and hence we do eat both meat and fish, none the less, the Alter Rebbe adds a lesson for us as well.
For a Jew to descend straight down to engage with the coarse materialism of eating meat, even for the purpose of elevating it, would be too great a descent. It would shlepp him down into its coarseness.
So first we break the descent by first eating the more spiritually refined flesh of fish. Once we have successfully engaged with and elevated the meat of Alma D’iskasya and conditioned ourselves with a lesser degree of descent, we can then progress to the main course, to engage with the more material meat of Alma D’isgalya and successfully elevate it from coarse flesh into G-dly energy.