Stomachs and Souls

“And Malchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest to the Most High God. And he blessed him, and he said, Blessed be Abram to the Most High God, Who possesses heaven and earth.” (14:18)

   Malchizedek was both a king and a priest. Why is he described first as a king? Along the same lines, why does Malchizedek first function as a king by providing food and drink? Why don’t we say that more important than the physical nourishment that he can provide is the spiritual nourishment in the form of a blessing. After all, the Torah tells us, “man cannot live on bread alone.”

   Perhaps the answer can be found in a famous quote attributed to Rabbi Yisrael Salanter: “A pious Jew is not one who worried about his fellow man’s soul and his own stomach; a pious Jew worries about his own soul and his fellow man’s stomach.” This sentiment has been expressed in a shorter form as: Your gashmiyus (ie your physical wellbeing) is my ruchniyus (ie helps me realize my spiritual potential).

   The Lubavitcher Rebbe would stand for hours on Sundays to meet with people. Thousands would line up to have their moment with the Rebbe. In addition to giving a blessing, the Rebbe would hand out dollar bills. As thousands of people might wait to see the Rebbe on any given Sunday, there was a significant expense associated with this practice. According to author Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, one of the Rebbe’s assistants suggested that Chabad install large tzedaka boxes at the exit door of the greeting room in order to recoup some of the dollars back to Chabad (or their replacements, as many people kept the dollar that the Rebbe gave them). The Rebbe vetoed the idea as he did not want people to feel coerced into giving their charity to Chabad. Many other Chasidic Rebbes meet with people and give them blessings or answer their questions. Often times those who meet with Chasidic Rebbes feel inspired or inclined to make a donation to a charity of that Rebbe’s choosing. The idea that the Lubavitcher Rebbe would give dollars, instead of receiving dollars, in addition to blessings, was very unique. Rabbi Schneerson once explained that he handed out dollar bills along with blessings, because the outcome of two people meeting should always be that a third person benefits in some way.

   Machizedek also models the lesson that we should utilize all of our God-given talents to benefit others. He was a king, so he could provide Avraham and his entourage with physical nourishment. He was also a priest so he was equipped to bless Avraham as well. Malchizedek could have said, “I’ll give you food- find your spiritual sustenance elsewhere.” Or he could’ve said, “I can give you a blessing, but that’s all I can provide.” Instead he offered all that he could, based on the two roles he played.

   Let us learn these lessons from Malchizedek. We must maximize the benefit our abilities can provide to others. And we must never forget that providing material needs to others is a great way to provide ourselves the spiritual nourishment that we need for our own wellbeing.