I have a question. The other day I was at my friend’s place and we were sitting at the table having a snack. Suddenly, his grandmother came over and said to us, “Take your feet off the table. Jews don’t put feet on the table!” Of course I did as she said, but was wondering: Is what she told us about not putting feet on the table really a Jewish thing?
Yes, it’s a Jewish thing. If your friend’s grandmother’s concern was for hygienic reasons, then she wouldn’t have mentioned that Jews don’t do it. Rather, it would likely be something that many people — Jews and non-Jews — would be concerned about. Rather, she was referring to a widespread Jewish custom, probably dating back thousands of years, to “honor thy table” and not act in a degrading way towards a table on which one eats.
The basis for this is a statement by our Talmudic Sages (Chagiga 27a): In the time of the Temple the Altar would help atone for a person; nowadays, a person’s table atones for him. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) explains that this is due to a person being able to provide hospitality to guests, feeding the poor and needy. This trait of hospitality and loving-kindness (chesed in Hebrew) is one of the defining characteristics of the Jewish People — a caring way of life that Jews throughout all generations have “inherited” from our Forefather Abraham.
Speaking about feet on the table reminds me of a story that happened with me when I was a young child. I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Queens, NY, during summer vacation. They were both Holocaust survivors who came from traditional, religious families. They both spoke with heavy eastern-European accents. When my uncle saw me sitting with my feet up at the table he scolded me, “No food on the table! We put food on the table!” I didn’t have a clue what he was saying! Finally, my aunt heard this and came over and explained that he was telling me to take my foot off of the table, because Jews aren’t supposed to put feet on the table. Rather, the table is meant to be a special and somewhat “holy” place in the home, meant for eating food to keep ourselves healthy, celebrate the holidays with happiness, and that the table was a place where guests, the poor and the needy would always be welcome to share in the blessing of food we receive from Above.
