Physical desires are not as physical as we think. Obviously, they are not an integral part of the body as an arm or a leg, as we see that after the spirit departs the body no longer craves food. Desire, in fact, is an expression of the life force the Creator implanted within our bodies, the Nefesh, that craves sustenance and pleasure. Even its gratification is not from the physical world itself; by eating we seperate the spiritual elements in the food from their physical shells: spirit touches spirit and dust returns to dust.
A higher part of our being is the spirit, the Ruach, which is the district of the emotions, where love, hate, anger, accomplishment and other sentiments all dwell side by side. Like a candle the Nefesh and the Ruach constantly fluctuate, craving, being depressed, sometimes both, and most often — all of them and then some. The initials of Nefesh and Ruach together even spell the word Ner, a candle.
In the Tabernacle, right outside the innermost chamber, there were candles constantly. In the morning they were extinguished and prepared for the evening when they would be lit till the next morning. Although candles constantly fluctuate, by placing them perpetually adjacent to the Holy of Holies, the Neshama of the Sanctuary, they acquired a certain degree of permanence. Miraculously the six side candles, which represented the Ruach, all faced the middle candle which represented the Nefesh.
Indeed, so essential is the Nefesh that right next to the candelabra was the table on which the Show-bread were placed. Unlike regular bread which is limited by the constraints of time and space, these loaves stayed piping fresh all week long. Although many Kohanim shared them, they all became full after eating a mere morsel, because the little bit of physicality in them was packed with satiation. It was not a physical satiation. It was the Nefesh receiving sustenance from the holy Name Lechem, which amounts to the numerical equivalent of three different punctuations of the Tetragrammaton, and is an expression of Hashem's Simple Will to Give.
Although we no longer have those holy loaves, their spiritual source still exists, and anyone who eats regular bread with the intention with which the Kohanim ate the Show-bread can tap into that holy Source of sustenance. When we light Shabbos candles and watch them flicker, we can watch our spirits flicker and dance to that Holy Light.
Adapted from Rabbi Vali's book on Vayikra. Questions and subscriptions can be mailed to: the Yeshiva