This past Shabbat, a seven-year-old boy approached me and asked, “Rabbi, is there a mitzvah to eat gefilte fish on Shabbat?” I answered that there is indeed a mitzvah to eat fish on Shabbat, but there is certainly no obligation to eat specifically gefilte fish. I would hate for someone to lose their connection to Judaism because they don't enjoy gefilte fish...

The truth is that gefilte fish was born out of necessity. In Eastern Europe, many Jewish families lived in great poverty. To make one fish feed an entire family, it was ground up and mixed with bread, onions, and eggs. What began as a practical solution eventually became one of the most recognizable symbols of the Shabbat table.

In this week's Parshah, Beha'alotecha, the Jewish people complain in the desert: “We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for free.” They longed for the fish of Egypt, yet failed to appreciate the blessings they already had.

Perhaps this contains one of the messages behind eating fish on Shabbat. Our Sages compare the Jewish people to fish: just as a fish cannot live without water, a Jew cannot live without Torah and holiness. During the week we are busy with work, responsibilities, and the pressures of daily life. But on Shabbat, we put aside our phones, our work, and our worries, and reconnect to the true source of our lives.

A fish lives its entire life in water and knows that its existence depends on it. Likewise, on Shabbat, a Jew is reminded that all blessings, livelihood, and success ultimately come from Hashem. The Jewish people in the desert saw fish as a reason to complain; we eat fish on Shabbat as a reason to give thanks.

The real “taste” of gefilte fish is not the fish itself, but the experience of Shabbat—returning to one’s natural environment, like a fish in water.