0108 - Eating With a Knife

00:01 Till after Tishrei, Tov Shin Lamed Alef, the Rebbe would eat the Yontif meals upstairs on the second floor in the apartment of the Friedrich Rebbe, and there would be a minyan of the elder Chassidim by the table. And the Seder was that during the meal, Rashag or Reb Shmuel Evitan or others would ask questions, and the Rebbe would answer, and there was some discussion. Also Pesach, this happened during the Seder, but not during the Seder, during the Haggadah, but during the Sheil Shulchan Aruch when they would eat the meal. So Tov Shin Lamed, the second night of Pesach, Rashag says to the Rebbe that he noticed that the Rebbe doesn't eat with a knife on Pesach. Is there any reason for it? So the Rebbe says, no, there's just nothing to use a knife for. By the way, he said, I do use a knife. I use a knife for karpas. I use a knife for charasis. But otherwise, there's no reason to use a knife. That's why I don't use. But not because of Pesach, because if there's an inyan not to use a knife, it would be not only Pesach, it would be any Yontif, any time. And then the Rebbe said that when a goy eating with a knife, he said the Friedrich Rebbe says, held very highly of the Munkatcher and the Minchas Elazar. And the Minchas Elazar writes it's a good inyan to eat with a knife because it says in Zayyar, that when you eat bread, it's like you're

01:14 holding a sword because during eating, that's when you have the yetzer hara that's fighting you to eat with a tayve. The Rebbe didn't tie choices, but that's the pshat. And therefore, you have to fight the yetzer hara. And a sword is what you use when you go to war, when you fight. So when you hold a knife, it reminds you that you're holding a sword now that you're fighting the yetzer hara, so it gives the keach to overcome the yetzer hara. And therefore, there is an inyan to use a knife to eat with a knife. And then they spoke about whether eating with a fork. Rashag said that the Friedrich Rebbe did not use a fork, and the Rebbe said that he did use a fork. The Rebbe Rashab sometimes didn't use a fork. But anyway, went back to the inyan with a knife. And the Rebbe said that he doesn't eat with a knife, mechlal. Why? Because his father didn't eat with a knife. And the Rebbe explained that he saw that his father didn't eat with a knife ever, so he asked him why. So the Rebbe said his father told him, because on Yom Kippur, it's a mitzvah, Erev Yom Kippur, it's a mitzvah to eat. The Gemara says if you eat on Erev Yom Kippur, it's like you fasted. So in order to show that it's a mitzvah to eat, he would use both hands. But in order to make it should be beila, it should be clear that especially for

02:24 Erev Yom Kippur to eat with both hands. So a whole year, he didn't want to use both hands. When you eat with a knife, you have to use both hands. So he didn't want to eat with a knife. Now, it doesn't mean that on Erev Yom Kippur, he ate with a knife. He only ate with a fork, but he held it with both hands. But had he eaten with a knife always, it would always be with two hands because there's no other way you could use a knife when you eat. But melee didn't do it. And the Rebbe said, and that's why I do it too. I therefore don't eat with a knife because there's a din of kibbud av, and the din of kibbud av is also l'achamei, say that's the lashon the Rebbe said. And therefore, as kibbud av, it was good for my father, it's good for me. And this is as kibbud av, I don't eat. But it's not a hero l'rabim, it's not hero for everybody. And then the Rebbe turned around to his left, and a lot of bochrim were standing there. I was there too. Actually, I was the first one in the line there. And the Rebbe looked at the bochrim. He actually gave, looked at me, but you could see that he would look at all the bochrim. But since I was standing there first, he looked there, and he said, And don't look at me why I don't because this is not a hero protest.

03:35 This is only something for me. And from then on, the yeshiva bought knives for the bochrim to eat, and the bochrim started eating with a knife. Till then, it was, it's so balabatis, a bochrim should use a knife. It looks like it's a balabos. But since then, they bought knives, and everybody started eating with a knife because the Rebbe said that it reminds you of na'amei apum char belechu.