Eat and be Satisfied

I've been thinking about a phrase we see in the third aliyah of Parasha Emor for years, which is also said in the v'ahavta: "Eat and be satisfied" (or here, literally, "and you will eat to satisfaction.")

At some point, I'd be very curious in going through the Torah and counting how many times, outside korbanot, mention is made of eating alone as opposed to how often mention is made of eating until satisfaction.  I'd also like to review scenes in which either the forefathers and foremothers, or Moshe and his family, or really anyone, I guess, undertake some sort of meals.  

What does the Torah have in mind when it talks about "satisfaction"?  It's definitely not feeling "full" or eating "as much as you care to eat" as the modern buffet restaurants state.  It's also definitely not eating the fanciest food, or most expensive food, or even, I daresay, the most delicious food.  While it certainly must contain elements of all of those, I just feel that it speaks of something deeper - a nutritive satisfaction of both body and soul, which may be a false dichotomy to begin with as I've been meditating on recently.

Let me take a step back.  I'm recently wrapping up a brilliantly written book on Jewish meditation which I really haven't liked this entire time.  Only towards the very end did I realize why.  In a chapter about eating, the author basically encourages one to eat as little as possible because eating is - and I've heard this repeated elsewhere by some Hasidic masters - purely physical, and we should be trying to "overcome the physical" as much as possible.  I have literally heard it said, therefore, that as soon as someone transitions from eating to survive to getting any pleasure from the food, stop and push the bowl away, because then it is becoming an egotistical experience.  

I have to say in very clear terms that this ascetic approach is not ours.  

The single-minded focus on "overcoming the physical" simply cannot be true.  I can't think of a single even implication of this anywhere in the Torah.  In fact, the exact opposite is true - where we see eating mentioned, in addition to "eating until satisfaction," there is essentially a commandment to eat as much as possible or get rid of it (such as the paschal sacrifice or the korbanot - and I do wonder exactly how those kohanim were able to eat so much and still perform highly physical labor).

So, turning back to the original question, what is eating until satisfaction?  Well, it certainly has to do with intaking enough nutrients to fulfill G-d's mission for us and having energy to study Torah, carry out the mitzvot, and otherwise bring sanctity to The Name at all times.  It is not good to be hungry or, on the other hand, overstuffed in doing so.  But at the same time, it is also to take immense pleasure in the experience - the soul craves the experience, and, as the Arizal himself said, food tastes good because it has spiritual elements which deeply connect with the soul.

Hence, an elimination of the so-called physical-spiritual gap - it is not both which are being satiated, but one entity that is being satiated.  And so long as not done to excess - to a point where the body-soul is drowned, and sluggish, and cannot carry out the mission - a mission which, really, should be pleasurable - it is one of the holiest acts we can undertake.