Together with various other forbidden practices, the Torah admonishes: ?Do not eat the blood.? (Leviticus 19:26) Literally, the verse reads: ?Do not eat over the blood.? What does it mean to ?eat over blood?? One explanation offered by the Sages is as follows: ?Do not eat before you have prayed over your blood (i.e., for the sake of your soul).? (Brachot 10b)
Why is it so important to refrain from eating before saying the morning prayers?
?The blood is the soul.? (Deuteronomy 12:23) The Torah uses the word ?blood? to refer to the nefesh, the lowest part of the soul. The nefesh is the basic life-force, common to both man and beast. The desires of the nefesh are by nature physical, but the human intellect can guide and direct them. This is in fact the function of prayer - to refine and elevate the emotional and imaginative parts of the soul. Through prayer, we bind our feelings and desires to pure and holy aims.
On this basic emotive level, what we do in the beginning of the day sets the tone for the entire day. Our initial feelings and impressions accompany us throughout the day. If we start off the day by eating, then we have already weighed our souls down with the burden of satisfying physical wants. This establishes the desires of the nefesh as base and animalistic. Yet, if the very first act of the day is prayer, then we have ensured that the initial impressions on the soul will be pure, directed towards higher and holier aspirations. While the day is fresh and the soul is unburdened with negative images, prayer can make its impact, impressing upon the soul the sublime goal of drawing close to the Creator.
[Based on Olat Riyyah I:248; Ein Aya I:61]
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Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.
Why is it so important to refrain from eating before saying the morning prayers?
?The blood is the soul.? (Deuteronomy 12:23) The Torah uses the word ?blood? to refer to the nefesh, the lowest part of the soul. The nefesh is the basic life-force, common to both man and beast. The desires of the nefesh are by nature physical, but the human intellect can guide and direct them. This is in fact the function of prayer - to refine and elevate the emotional and imaginative parts of the soul. Through prayer, we bind our feelings and desires to pure and holy aims.
On this basic emotive level, what we do in the beginning of the day sets the tone for the entire day. Our initial feelings and impressions accompany us throughout the day. If we start off the day by eating, then we have already weighed our souls down with the burden of satisfying physical wants. This establishes the desires of the nefesh as base and animalistic. Yet, if the very first act of the day is prayer, then we have ensured that the initial impressions on the soul will be pure, directed towards higher and holier aspirations. While the day is fresh and the soul is unburdened with negative images, prayer can make its impact, impressing upon the soul the sublime goal of drawing close to the Creator.
[Based on Olat Riyyah I:248; Ein Aya I:61]
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Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.