나훔 2:5의 Halakhah

It is well known that the majority of the children of Adam have sleeping hearts and theyslumber; they eat with the blood and they spill blood themselves.³¹This whole paragraph, which in Hebrew is all rhymed prose, is a remarkable pastiche of Biblical allusions; nearly every phrase has a Biblical source. See Chavel, who lists as sources Is 11:7; Hos 4:18; Prov 23:30; Ez 48:20; Prov 16:28; Nah 2:5; and Ps 37:4. There are others, including Prov 15:17 (see next note). Like an ox eats straw they eat their bread, and their souls are wasted and devastated, drunk from the wine of lust and not of the wine of intellect; their drink turns on them.³²Hos 4:18. In their quest for more intense stimulation of their senses, their souls are far from the way of truth. There are some, witless and ignorant, or capricious, who enjoy without blessing or neglect blessings. There are some fools who spit the good of the world into their vessels; if they drink from their bowl, they will forget the point of their eating at their tables, and the light of their calm will flash away like lightning. But unique is the one who fears and delights in the Lord even over a dinner of vegetables.³³An allusion to Prov 15:17: “Better a meal of vegetables where there is love, than a fattened bull where there is hate;” and Midrash Mishlei 15:1 (on it), which R. Bahya quotes and discusses at length in his commentary on the Torah (Be’ur, 2:376-7). The midrash’s point is to teach derekh eretz – “good manners.” Even a poor host, who invokes the blessings of God, can make his “meal of vegetables” more palatable to his guest, than a rich host who says the wrong thing, though serving his guest a sumptuous meal. It is worth quoting the whole midrash:
“BETTER A MEAL OF VEGETABLES WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THAN A FATTENED BULL WHERE THERE IS HATE.” (Prov. 15:17) R. Levi said, “About whom did Solomon say this verse? About two men who met him after he had lost his kingdom and was wandering from door to door looking for a job. Two men met him, who recognized him. One of them came up, prostrated himself before him, and said to him, “My lord the king, if it pleases you, take a meal with me today.” Immediately he went with him. He had him go up to the best seat, slaughtered a bull, had many delicacies brought to him, and began to recite to him all the things having to do with his kingdom. He said to him, “Remember how you did such and such a thing on such and such a day when you were king.” But as soon as he reminded him of the days of his kingdom, he began to cry and moan. And so it was for the whole meal until he got up and left having cried himself out. The next day, his host’s companion met him. He began to prostrate himself before him, and said to him, “My lord the king, if it pleases you, take a meal with me today.” He said to him, “Perhaps you seek to do for me as your friend did yesterday?” He said, “My lord, the king, I am a poor man, but if it pleases you, take a meal with me today of the little bit of vegetables I have.” At that very moment he went to his house. The man washed his hands and feet, brought him a little bit of vegetables, and began to console him. He said to him, “My Lord the king, the Holy One Blessed Be He surely swore to your father that the monarchy will never cease from your line, as it is said, “The Lord swore to David a firm oath the He will not renounce, ‘One of your own issue I will set upon your throne’” (Ps. 132:11). It’s just the way of the Holy One Blessed Be He to rebuke and then repent from rebuking, as it said, “For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes, as a father the son he favors.” (Prov. 3:12). But He will restore your kingdom to you.
R. Hiyya said…when Solomon got his kingdom back, he wrote in his wisdom, “’BETTER A MEAL OF VEGETABLES WHERE THERE IS LOVE’ which I ate at the poor man’s home, ‘THAN A FATTENED BULL WHERE THERE IS HATE’ which the rich man who reminded me of my sorrow fed me.”