Coping with Holiday Eating

For the first time in years, I made homemade challah for Rosh Hashanah. Unfortunately, it was delicious: soft, airy, with just the right amount of honeyed sweetness. At the table I could not resist reaching for a second piece, but at least I was disciplined enough to take only half a second piece.

The High Holy Days are designed as a time for self-reflection and festive meals, including sweet foods. These holiday meals, so thoughtfully and even beautifully prepared, can nourish us physically, spiritually, and psychologically, too.  But with the Holy Day season now in full swing, many of us are now simply full, making self-reflection something we must push off till after a nap. When Yom Tov meals stretch out nearly three weeks, from Rosh Hashana through Sukkot, they can add up to become a caloric nightmare. We may be filled not only with challah dipped in honey but also with regrets when our clothes begin to strain against our expanding bellies. Been there, done that.

Food temptation is as old as time. In the Garden of Eden, God issued a single commandment related to eating: “From every tree of the garden you shall surely eat; and from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you should not eat from it.” (Genesis 2:16-17). Despite a nearly limitless buffet, Eve and Adam couldn’t resist the forbidden fruit. The cost was high: An eviction notice from Paradise.

In the new book “Body & Soul: The Torah Path to Health, Fitness and a Holy Life,” authors Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld and Dr. Daniel Grove highlight the significance of this commandment appearing so early. “Introducing the concept of mitzvah with a story about eating and self-control is a subtle and fascinating choice,” they write. Logically, one might have guessed that interpersonal mitzvot such as loving one’s neighbor and treating others with kindness, or the mitzvah to worship God and not any other deity, might have preceded it. They add, however, “The epitome of a mitzvah is self-control in the face of food taavah (temptation).” With food temptation ever-present and sometimes overwhelming, self-control with food becomes a paradigm for actualizing our full Godly potential.

This discipline may be tougher than ever. Modern food production is designed to get us addicted to salt, sugar, and fat. Unhealthy products jammed with these ingredients are the ones manufacturers market most aggressively. The lure of unhealthy foods is “one of the greatest and most universal tests of our times,” the authors write.

It’s been a lifelong mission for me to slowly, steadily become more disciplined with eating. I’ve made a lot of progress and am no longer tempted to overeat, but I’ve also had to make peace with a body that stubbornly clings to several more pounds than I feel is fair. I bet my metabolism joined a union with a workweek of only 20 hours.

My cooking has also evolved. Even when preparing Shabbat and holiday meals, I don’t pour sweet or fattening sauces over my meat or chicken. I serve crustless vegetable quiches, fresh roasted vegetables sprinkled with herbs and olive oil, and healthy salads. Still, I’m no extremist. I whip up the same cinnamon chocolate chip coffee cake most every week. It’s a delicious crowd-pleaser, lighter than any bakery cake. Besides, everybody knows the antioxidants in chocolate are healthy, and release feel-good endorphins, too.

Our guests seem relieved not to have to face down heavy potato or noodle kugels at our table. Other than kids, many people today are mindful of their weight and health, and try to avoid eating more than is good for them. This is doubly true when they are just hours away from another Shabbat or holiday meal. In my experience, light makes right in the cooking and eating department.

“Eating is a central pillar of what it means to be human,” observes Rabbi Akiva Tatz, quoted in the book. “It is the energy that keeps body and soul together . . . by absorbing the energy of the world and incorporating it into what you are.”

And so the struggle to find that balance between body and soul continues, one half-piece of challah at a time.

Judy Gruen is the author of several books, including “The Skeptic and the Rabbi: Falling in Love With Faith.” Her next book, “Bylines and Blessings,” will be published in February 2024.