Halakha Yesaya 65:13: Shulchan Shel Arba

Out of all this it will be explained explicitly that the words are meant literally: about the actual flesh of Leviathan, about his actual skin.³¹In his insistence on the literal meaning of the Talmudic description of the banquets in the world to come, R. Bahya follows the position of his teacher, R. Solomon ben Adret (Chavel). However, there’s a certain irony here that R. Bahya uses rather non-literal midrashic interpretations of scriptural verses to support his contention that the statements about the food and setting of the banquets in the world to come are indeed to be taken quite literally. The actual flesh of Leviathan will be the food of the righteous who “bothered themselves” with the Torah and mitzvot, and his actual skin to make their dwelling place glow in order to proclaim their high status among the nations, how they served the Holy One Blessed be He and took hold of His Torah and His qualities, to what is written here refers: “And you shall come to see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him who has served God and him who has not served Him.”³²Mal 3:18. And likewise it is written, Behold my servants shall eat, and you shall hunger; My servants shall drink, and you shall thirst… My servants shall cry out in gladness and you shall cry out in anguish, howling in heartbreak.³³Is 65:13-14.