TORAH AND HEALTH

The primary focus of living beings in both the plant and animal kingdoms is providing for their health. This includes safety concerns and the well-being of progeny.  For most creatures, this is a constant struggle, leaving little time for recreation. Survival of the individual and the species are the evolutionary imperatives. In the animal world, the priorities are finding food, creating shelter, avoiding predators, and mating. All in their time.

Human beings have developed systems that afford us the luxury of free time. This can be filled with many types of work and avocations. We choose how to best use our self-directed periods of liberty.

An important and highly recommended option is to pursue healthy habits and activities. The purpose of this is to give ourselves more quality time that contains good health. Some endeavors will also give us more time.

If health deteriorates, the ability to perform other tasks decreases. Doing things that enhance a health body is the greatest priority. Making the body stronger and more resilient gives us stronger and more resilient bodies. The opposite is weaker and less resilient bodies. Obvious, right? Just because something is clearly apparent does not mean it is done.

The Torah recognizes this in its usually cryptic approach.

The third Book of the Torah is titled Leviticus (Vayikra in Hebrew, meaning “He called”). The final Parasha of Leviticus is Bechukotai. This Parasha begins as follows (God is instructing Moses what to say to the Children of Israel):

“If you will walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and perform them, then I will provide your rains in their time, the earth will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will yield its fruit.”

What does it mean “If you will walk”?

It means to move around. People are healthier if they move around a lot. Keep moving as much as possible all the waking hours. Aging is faster when we are sedentary. Moving slows the aging process. It is never too late in life to start moving more.

To embody God’s statutes and keep God’s commandments, one must be as healthy as possible. We can learn and understand strategies to achieve and maintain optimal good health.  God wants us to make ourselves healthy and maintain this state of well-being. Without good health, the effectiveness of a spiritual journey will be impaired. Successfully performing God’s commandments is less likely when the body is impaired by illness or deterioration.

Unfortunately, many suffer some disability or malady despite sincere efforts to follow excellent healthy lifestyle practices. These people can still do their best to maintain and even improve their wellness. For one thing, most can find some ways to move more.

Walking is the epitome of moving around. To follow God into a spiritual life, we must be as healthy as we can. A basic lifestyle design of keeping moving helps to achieve that goal. In the Torah, in this Parasha, this concept is expressed as a directive to “walk into God’s statutes.”

Try to incorporate some movement into all inactivities. Walk rather than drive, if feasible. The more you walk, the greater your ability to walk further and faster.

When sitting, bounce a leg or isometrically contract your abdominal and/or buttock muscles.

When standing, practice swaying a little or constantly take steps. You may have to hold onto something solid if your balance is off. Shift your weight from one foot to the other and back.

Moving improves circulation, strengthens muscles, improves bone density, and conditions joints.

Some people sway when they pray. This is good for balance, coordination, muscle strength, bone integrity, circulation, cardiac function, and joint stability.

I walk a cleared path in a well-lit hallway with no obstacles or obstructions while I am reading a book. Back and forth. This can be dangerous, so be careful when trying this. Make sure it is right for you. You don’t want to trip or run into anything.

Another option is to do your reading while on an exercycle or treadmill. There are also foot pedal exercisers that you can use while sitting in a chair.  

If you are sitting and watching TV, having a discussion with others, or for any reason, get up frequently and do a little pacing. You might be pleasantly surprised to see others follow your good example.

When you are a passenger in car or bus, boat or airplane, you can stretch your neck and your hands. Learn more about stretching and exercise in Dr. Jack Zoldan’s health book, “IF EVERYONE SAYS I LOOK SO GOOD, THEN WHY DO I FEEL SO TERRIBLE?” My book is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions.

Move your legs. Tighten your buttocks. While traveling by air, get up out of your seat when the seat belt light goes off, even if you do not feel the need to do so.

Take advantage of grip strength tools that you can do while sitting. Keep a 2, 5, or heavier hand weight nearby while sitting to do mild weightlifting, including arm curls.

If you work with a computer, get a desktop device that allows you to raise the computer so you can be standing part of the time. These are easy to adjust; permitting you to raise and lower the computer, and move yourself from sitting to standing, while continuing your work.

Take breaks from any sedentary activity to walk around the area for 2-3 minutes a few times every hour.

Go for a walk in nice weather. Great way to break up a routine and enliven your day. It can be a 5-10 minute activity. If done with regular consistency, the benefits are greatest.

Structure your time with several different activities or work requirements that require moving to a different room or position. One idea is to interrupt what you are doing and go clean or organize something in your home or at work. Another is to stop what you are doing and bring clothes to the washing machine or take out the garbage.

This walking advice is one example of many in the Torah that illustrates the primacy of seeking physical health over spiritual endeavors. The Torah recognizes that we live in a material world that is finite and spatially contained; the opposite of the spiritual universe from which ours arose. Acknowledging this fundamental reality, the Torah prescribes many health practices.

God wants us to achieve in the material world so that we can more successfully acquire and bridge to the spiritual world. First concentrate on developing healthy routines for your body. As these habits become established, go deeper into pursuing spiritual health. These endeavors are complementary and self-reinforcing.

The effort to awaken and nurture our spiritual natures is the original purpose of the Creation. Pair this with enhancing your bodily health.