You will eat very old [produce], and you will clear out the old from before the new.
The other day my wife who is cuter than a pomegranate
paused from making soup to clean out the refrigerator.
Much was discovered during her excavations and
questions were asked such as are you still eating cheese?
Things get old in the fridge if they’re not attended to.
I’ve seen leftovers become sentient and threaten
new loaves of bread. Throwing away food that has
become old rubs against all of our sensibilities.
What a waste…of the time we spent preparing it,
of the money we spent to buy it. What about the people
who don’t have the luxury of throwing away food?
What must they think? It says in the Torah we must
eat the very old fruit before the new. And if we don’t
along with a very long list of obligations, the most
terrible things will happen to us – Shock, disease,
hopeless longing. Someone will bake ten loaves
of bread and all of that won’t be enough to
satisfy our hunger. I remember the first time I was
at a buffet in Las Vegas. A sign said Take all you want
but eat all you take. Little did I know I was studying Torah
right there in the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino.
Every time I go to the market, I count my blessings
I can put whatever I want in the basket. It wasn’t always
this way for me. I feel my wife’s pain when she
bemoans the old cheese. I feel her frustration when
the waste basket fills up with whatever we didn’t eat.
The key word there is waste. Head to your fridge now.
Put whatever you find there in your mouth.
Try not to be a glutton about it.
These are the gifts of your happenstance.