If There Is No Flour, There Is No Torah

The Kesav Sofer asks why the Mishnah chose so specific an example as flour. Why not say, if there is no food, or no bread, there is no Torah? He answers that there are three times when we need food to sustain us: Shabbos, Yom Tov and the weekdays. A person who toils in Torah must be able to concentrate and learn without worry. If on Shabbos and Yom Tov, when it is a special mitzvah to eat, delight and rejoice, he worries from week to week that he may have no food, he becomes preoccupied. He thinks, what will be next week, and where will I find food for the next Shabbos and Yom Tov, and he cannot concentrate on his learning. During the week too, when there is no mitzvah to enjoy special dishes, if he lacks basic needs such as enough food, the worry is even sharper. The Torah of a worried person is non-existent. The word flour, קמח, is an acronym for the three times: Kodesh, Moed and Chol. If there is no food at those times, there is no Torah.