In The Paths of Our Fathers: Chapter Three

Rabbi Shimon Would Say: "When Three Eat At One Table Without Speaking Words Of Torah There, It Is As If They Ate Of Sacrifices To The Dead,[11] For It Is Written: 'For All Tables Are Full Of Filthy Vomit When There Is No [Mention Of The] Omnipresent.'

"When, By Contrast, Three Sit At One Table And Speak Words Of Torah, It Is As If They Had Eaten From The Table Of The Omnipresent, For It Is Written:[12] 'And He Said To Me: This Is The Table Before G-d.' "

Rabbi Shimon Would Say:... "When... Three Sit At One Table And Speak Words Of Torah"

When three people discuss Torah while eating, the table becomes infused with the spiritual unity of the Torah. This concept shares a particular connection with Rabbi Shimon, for Rabbi Shimon understood Torah study as all-encompassing[13] - possessing the power to influence every aspect of our lives, even our material concerns.[14] To demonstrate this, the Zohar[15] relates that once Eretz Yisrael suffered a severe drought and the Jews appealed to Rabbi Shimon for help. When he recited a discourse on the verse:[16] "How good and how sweet it is for brothers to sit together," it began to rain.

The connection with Rabbi Shimon also explains the emphasis on "three who ate at one table." Rabbi Shimon spent 13 years in a cave together with his son, hiding from Roman persecution, absorbed in Torah study.[17] During this period, there was no third person to join them. Moreover, they were not able to study "at one table." They studied Torah without any involvement in material affairs. After this experience, Rabbi Shimon was able to appreciate the importance of "three [who] sit at one table and speak words of Torah."

(Sichos Shabbos Parshas Devarim, 5740)

Notes:

(Back to text) The commentaries interpret this as a reference to idol worship.

(Back to text) Yechezkel 41:22.

(Back to text) See the essay entitled "A Bond of Oneness," Timeless Patterns in Time, Vol. II, p. 83 (Kehot, N.Y., 1994).

(Back to text) This concept is also alluded to by referring to G-d with the name "the Omnipresent." This name highlights G-d's presence in every dimension of existence, even the most mundane.

(Back to text) III, 59b. There are several stories in the Talmud concerning Sages who prayed for rain and had their prayers answered (see Taanis 23a, 25b). What is unique about the story cited above is that rainfall came about, not as a response to prayer, but as a physical expression of the spiritual energies aroused through Torah study. See Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, p. 130ff.

(Back to text) Tehillim 133:1.

(Back to text) Shabbos 33b.