This book is intended as a grateful offering to Natalya Leonidovna Trauberg, who believed that “the rivers of heaven flowed with milk, water, wine and beer” and who, like few people, knew how to brighten the darkest times with mercy. It was she who once suggested getting together and “talking about food in culture.” The authors of the collection - biblical scholars, historians of religions, cultural scientists, ethnographers, art historians and literary critics - tried to present several possible approaches to one of the most ancient cultural archetypes, or rather, to arrange a “feast of understanding” from various offerings, gathering divided people and eras around a common table, where they “simple and beautiful substances” await.