Hora’ah – הוראה – Teaching
The Tanya describes the teachings of a sage, and the transmission and reception of these idea, in terms of ‘ingesting’ them, using terms such as ‘flesh, blood and inward parts,’ to describe the life-benefiting nourishment one receives. The teacher and student become intimately connected in this manner.
Since through the knowledge of Torah the Torah is absorbed in the soul and intellect of the person and is encompassed within them, it is therefore called the “bread” and “food” of the soul. Just as physical bread nourishes the body when it is ingested and absorbed within it, and [when] it is transformed there into blood and flesh of one’s own flesh, and only then will the body live and be sustained; similarly, through the knowledge and comprehension of Torah by the soul of a person who studies it well, with the concentration of his intellect,to the point where the Torah is grasped by his mind and is joined with him so that they become one, [the Torah thereby] becomes food for the soul. It becomes inner life for it, from the Fountainhead of life, the blessed Ein Sof, Who is clothed in His wisdom and Torah that are in [the soul] of the Torah student. This is the meaning of the verse, “Your Torah is in my inner parts,” It is similarly written in Etz Chayim (Portal 44, ch. 3) that mitzvot are the “garments” of the souls in Paradise. Torah on the other hand is the food of the souls in Paradise which had engaged in Torah study for its own sake during their life on this earth. It is similarly written in the Zohar.
Tanya, Chapter 5
“A man can travel on a narrow path, or he can travel on a broad, smooth road. How do the two paths differ? In the number of people who have been that way. The path that only few have gone remains narrow and bumpy, whereas the feet of the multitude tread out a broad and smooth roadway. The righteous (those who remain faithful to man’s spiritual goals) travel on a ‘path’, the wicked (who have self-indulgently allowed themselves to stray after material goals) travel on a ‘road.’ The road of the wicked is well-troden; many others have traveled it before. Tzaddikim, on the other hand, walk a way that only a select few have passed.”
The Juggler and the King, Aharon Feldman, p. 36
New Testament
“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”
John 6:54-56
““Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13,14