Breakfast is the most important meal of the day… according to modern day health professional. Despite 93% of Americans agreeing with this statement, 44% of the American population skip it (source).   Yet the importance of eating breakfast is not a modern discovery; our sages have been promoting that meal for centuries.

I did not know this, as I do not learn Talmud and Gemorah in school (as there are many other areas in Judiasm that girls should master first which are more useful to them) yet I heard this from a Dvar Torah my brother in law said, so I got the source.

Rabbah asked Raba ben Mari: “Whence comes the proverbial expression, ‘Sixty runners speed along, but cannot overtake him who breaks bread in the morning?’”

Further along the page (Bava Metzia page 107b) it continues saying the benefits of eating breakfast.  I am just bringing up a few:

Eating breakfast…

…saves one from the heat

…saves on from the cold

Human’s are warm blooded animals and therefore our bodies regulate our temperature using energy. We get this energy from he food we eat.

…Makes a foolish person wise

This is not meant to be taken literally, rather it gives a person the concentration

… Makes a person win his court case

again, this is also not meant to be taken literally and one should not rely on breakfast alone to win a court case, rather eating breakfast will enable one to think clearly and be emotionally balanced. So next time you are having a debate tournament, make sure to eat breakfast before

…makes one able to learn torah

This has been backed up by science, in fact many schools in America now offer a breakfast program to ensure that the students begin the day putting their best foot forward, and be able to learn to their full potential

….makes one able to teach Torah

With proper mental function it will be easier to get ones point across not to mentionhave the energy to teach

….ensures that people will listen to what you say

As mentioned before, when one has eaten a good breakfast, they are ablre to contruct their thoughts clearly and are emotionally balanced. People will listen to you as you will be easier to understand

…makes one remember their learning

A study done by University of Ulster, that tested memory and attention of girls and booy srevealed that girls did better and remembered more when they had eater breakfast. The University of Florida and University of Minnesota analysed 80 breakfast studies and proved that the breakfast-eaters had better a memory then the breakfast skippers.

 …kills the worm in ones intestine (germs)

This is reffering to germs. I do not have proof for this, yet in Sanhedrin 107b it says:

… 83 illnesses are dependent upon the gall, and all of them may be rendered void by eating one’s morning bread with salt and drinking a jugful of water.

So we have two claims from the sages… maybe someone can research a proof for us?

Then there are two more, one being that it prevents jealousy (maybe by feeling satuated one does not covet) and the last one is that it make him love others…

Yet the importance of breakfast is not limited to the Talmud, the Shulchan Orah (Code of Jewish law) writes that one should make certain to have a small repast after the morning prayers.

So what are you waiting for? Eat breakfast and nowadays you can even tweet about it!

Next Weeks Topic: Which couples from the Tanach met at a well or had a well play a part in their eventual marriage?

Primary Source for the above article: Talmud Bavli, Mesecta Bava Kama, Daf kuf-zayin amud beis