The King's Letter

In a kingdom far away, there once lived a King and his beloved son, the prince. One day, it dawned on the king that there was a difficult, but necessary lesson his beloved son needed to learn. And that was, to understand the people of the kingdom. How could the prince ever be expected to one day rule a kingdom properly, if he had never met or spoken with those he would be governing?

So with bags packed, the prince tearfully but obediently left the palace, travelling to a very distant province of the kingdom. Dressed like a commoner and acting as such, the prince began to mingle with the people of the city. As time passed, he really began to understand the common people and their needs. But all the while, the prince longed for his home, and for his father - the king.

One day, a letter arrived, addressed to the prince's name. Excitedly he opened it, revealing a letter from his father, the king! Incredible!
The prince was so overjoyed he couldn't contain himself. He began to dance and sing with great emotion. But the beggars and commoners next to him looked at him like he was crazy! And understandably so. "How could they", thought the prince, "ever hope to understand how I feel right now? They could never dream of receiving such a letter!"

So the prince devised a plan: "I will be sponsoring a massive feast!" He shouted. "Everyone to the tavern!" As the masses swarmed to the tavern with joy, and food and drink were passed around, everyone began to dance and sing with reckless abandon, the prince included! But there was one major difference: The commoners celebrated because of the food and drink, while the prince was celebrating the letter he had received from his father, the king.
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Food and drink, Challah & fine wine, fish and meat, are all major components of Jewish celebration of holy days.
"...And you call the Sabbath a delight." (Isaiah 58:13)
We sing and dance in joyful celebration of Shabbat and the holidays we were given by G-d, our King. But as we know, we are made up of 2 parts: A body, and a soul. On these holy days where a special G-dly Light Shines, our souls intrinsically sense this light, and desire to celebrate wholeheartedly! But alas, our souls were placed in physical bodies that only know of physical things. So what can the soul, the King's child, do to celebrate? It gives the body a pleasure that it can understand and relate to, much like the commoners of the town in the story. But while the body is celebrating the food and drink, the soul is celebrating the "letter from the king" - the holiness of the Shabbat or holiday. A letter of connection sent from G-d, our Father and King.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel