The Special Flavour of the Holy City
A lesson from the Tiferes Shlomo Parshas Reeh
לא תוכל לאכול בשעריך
You may not eat it in your gates
You may not eat it in your gates
In Parshas Reeh, the Torah teaches that one may not eat certain sacred foods outside of the city of Yerushalaim. These include Maaser Sheini, firstborn animals, Shelamim offerings and the like. They may only be eaten within the walls of the Holy City.
The Torah phrases this prohibition is a strange manner. Instead of saying “do not eat it in your gates”, which would be the standard formula for a prohibition, the Torah says “you are no able to eat it in your gates”.
The Tiferes Shlomo explains that when a person would eat in the holy city of Yerushalaim, the Kedusha of the city would permeate the very food that one was eating, giving it a unique flavour and experience that could not be replicated outside of the Holy City.
We find a basis for this in the Gemara that describes a special flavour that is imbued into food that is prepared for and eaten on Shabbos.
This is the inner meaning of the verse “you are not able to eat the Maaser of your grain in your gates” - meaning that even if one was eating holy food like Maaser, one would not be able to eat it in the same heightened state and holiness as one would experience in Yerushalaim.
As a result, this would ensure that the Jewish people would feel the uniqueness of the Holy City and constantly yearn to return there and experience its flavour.
The Tiferes Shlomo connects this to the Chassidic practice of eating from the Tish of the Tzaddik. Like food eaten in Yerushalaim, the holiness of the Tzaddik’s presence imbues this food with holiness and enhanced flavour.
The Torah phrases this prohibition is a strange manner. Instead of saying “do not eat it in your gates”, which would be the standard formula for a prohibition, the Torah says “you are no able to eat it in your gates”.
The Tiferes Shlomo explains that when a person would eat in the holy city of Yerushalaim, the Kedusha of the city would permeate the very food that one was eating, giving it a unique flavour and experience that could not be replicated outside of the Holy City.
We find a basis for this in the Gemara that describes a special flavour that is imbued into food that is prepared for and eaten on Shabbos.
This is the inner meaning of the verse “you are not able to eat the Maaser of your grain in your gates” - meaning that even if one was eating holy food like Maaser, one would not be able to eat it in the same heightened state and holiness as one would experience in Yerushalaim.
As a result, this would ensure that the Jewish people would feel the uniqueness of the Holy City and constantly yearn to return there and experience its flavour.
The Tiferes Shlomo connects this to the Chassidic practice of eating from the Tish of the Tzaddik. Like food eaten in Yerushalaim, the holiness of the Tzaddik’s presence imbues this food with holiness and enhanced flavour.