The Table

Nearly 2,000 years ago the Temple, the center of Jewish life, was destroyed. At that great moment of crisis, the table became the center of Jewish religious practices. The Rabbis transferred the Temple in Jerusalem into the Jewish home, moving its rituals, sacred space, food, blessings and prayers to the family and the family Shabbat table. In making the Jewish family table and meal the successor to the Temple, the rabbis also made Judaism portable. The family table became the center of the Jewish faith from Tel Aviv to New York City, from Ottawa to Oslo, and from Marseille to Melbourne.

Today a common saying among Jewish families goes like this: “Every home a temple; every family a sanctuary; every table an altar; every meal an offering; every Jew a Priest.”

Jewish tradition recognizes a meal as a time for intimacy, fellowship, and significant conversation. As followers of Jesus, we recognize the importance of the table as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. How many artistic renditions of the Lord’s supper have you seen? At the center of every one of these paintings is the table.

There are 76 references to the table in the Bible. The table has been particularly important in Judeo-Christian culture.

When we moved to live in Upper Volta (now called Burkina Faso) in 1980, we did not have a table, so I made one. There were only two kinds of wood available and both were imported from Ghana—an exceptionally soft wood and mahogany. I chose the mahogany. The only electric tool I had was a circular saw, and for the rest of the project I used hand tools to finish the table and two benches. The top of the table was made from three 12” wide boards and the legs were crisscrossed to form an “X”  like many picnic tables.  

We lost count of the number of times that table was disassembled to move it from one location to another. I have had to be creative in reassembling the table as there have been so many screw holes in the wood.

Our family has eaten a lot of meals around that table, and we have hosted hundreds of people around that table. We have used it in four countries—Burkina Faso, USA, Germany, and England. It is the kitchen table that the three oldest kids remember the most for mealtimes. When we moved back to the USA and lived in Clinton, Mississippi the old mahogany table was in our den. From that time on we did not regularly eat around it, but it was still used—kids did homework there, Cheryl graded papers seated at the “picnic table,” and the family played games around the table.

Over the years there were a lot of decisions discussed and finalized around that table. We ate and played games by kerosene lamps at that table in West Africa. It has been covered in Harmattan dust many times. Our family has individually and corporately read the Bible and prayed at that table while sitting on one of the mahogany benches. We have made many family decisions, cried together and laughed together at that table.

When I retired from Lifeshape, I needed a work desk and the best place in our home was the one occupied by the old mahogany picnic table in our loft. We still were using the old table when we entertained large groups for a meal in our home, and grandkids played with dolls, toys and “little people” on that table for the 12 years we have lived in this house.

There was no other good place for the old table, so, sadly, I disassembled the table once again and stored it and the two benches away.

Our culture today has forgotten the importance of the table. Tables in the home serve as a “catch-all” for keys, mail, shopping bags, etc. Families do not sit around the table for a meal much anymore. Everyone seems to eat on the go or in shifts.  My heart breaks for young families who are missing out on making memories around the family table.

Our table is out of sight today, but not out of our minds or our family’s memories. Memories are not something that you can shut up in a storage area in your home. They are made to last. Maybe one day someone else in our family might want to put our old mahogany picnic table back into service and make some more memories around it.

Our family legacy is made up of memories. Cherish them. Share them with your children and grandchildren. Share them with your friends and colleagues.

Dr. Suess once said, “Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”