Why does Judaism constantly involve physical celebrations eating, drinking, gold, silver, weddings and every other kind of festive occasion? Why not just go onto some mountaintop and meditate?
The Gemara on amud aleph Discusses Shmuel‘s principle of אֵין קִידּוּשׁ אֶלָּא בִּמְקוֹם סְעוּדָה There is no valid kiddush except in the place of one’s Shabbas meal. The Gemara then sites an incident as a proof:
However, Rav Anan bar Taḥalifa said to the students: Many times I stood before Shmuel, and he descended from the roof to the ground floor and recited kiddush again.
The Tiferes Shlomo רב שלמה רבינוביץ 1803-1866
תפארת שלמה ימים טובים שבת ז
Notes a symbolic meaning in these Talmudic passages:
The recitation of kiddush in the area where one eats, as well as the descending from the roof to the ground floor represents a meeting of heaven and earth, spirituality and physicality. That is, the celebrations of Sabbath and festivals require a blending of physicality with spirituality. True, one can be completely spiritual. However, that is not in the spirit of Torah observance. Rather, it is to elevate the physical voluntarily onto a spiritual plane. Therefore, one must recite kiddush, that is the spiritual ecstatic experience, while having a meal, the physical. One must, as it were, come down from the roof and go to the ground floor in order to fully fulfill the sanctification of the Sabbath and the holiday.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation 
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