Parshas Beshalach
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
~ A diet is when you have to go to some length to change your width.
~ Dieting is wishful shrinking
~ It’s not the minutes spent at the table that put on weight, it’s the seconds!
~ I hate those yo-yo diets …the plastic is bad for my teeth!
~ My friend just bought the Keto Diet book, and so far he’s already lost 35 … dollars!
~ Did you ever try the Fatkins Diet? You get everyone around you fat so that you can look skinny by comparison!
~ I myself am on a “seafood†diet …whenever I see food I eat it!
So why am I starting off this week’s Torah e-mail with lame diet jokes, you ask? Just have a little patience, read on, and you shall see…
In this week’s exciting, jam-packed Torah portion, Parshas Beshalach, the Jews miraculously cross the Red Sea on dry land while the entire Egyptian army behind them is drowned. The Jewish people then travel to a place called Marah, where they complain about the taste of the water. So what else is new?
At Marah, G-d makes the following promise to them: “If you hearken diligently to the voice of the L-ord, your G-d, and do what is just in His eyes, give ear to His commandments and observe all His decrees, then any of the diseases that I placed upon Egypt, I will not bring upon you, for I am G-d, your Healer.†(Exodus 15:26)
The end of the verse is difficult to understand: After all, if G-d promises not to bring upon us any of the diseases that befell the Egyptians, then why do we need G-d to be our “Healer†if we’re not going to get sick?
Perhaps we can answer this question with a story about the famous Torah scholar, philosopher, leader, astronomer and doctor, Moses Maimonides (1134-1208):
Maimonides became the physician of Sultan Saladin of Egypt in 1180. One day, the Sultan said to Maimonides, “All the years that you have been my personal physician, I have maintained good health, thanks to your devoted care. Yet because of this I have never had the opportunity to test your powers of healingâ€. Maimonides responded, “The greatness of a doctor can be seen in his ability to prevent disease more than in his ability to heal it. We see this in the Bible (in our weekly Torah portion, Parshas Beshalach) where G-d tells the Jewish people: “any of the diseases that I placed upon Egypt, I will not bring upon you†– i.e., you won’t get sick at all - for I am G-d, your Healerâ€.
Maimonides is teaching us that the greatest “healer†is one who can help his patients stay healthy through preventative care, and not to wait until it’s already too late.
In the Eighth Blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei (Amidah, or “Silent Prayerâ€) we request of G-d: “Heal us, G-d, then we will be healed ….â€
The blessing seems to be repetitious. After all, if G-d heals us then of course we will be healed! Based on the above, we can interpret this blessing as follows: Heal us, G-d, from preexisting conditions and ailments, and keep us healthy – immunize and protect us from future illness.
Now I am certainly no expert when it comes to health and medicine. This much I do know, though. To maintain one’s optimal health and not get sick, there are two basic rules that must be followed: …(1) eat less, and (2) exercise more! It’s that simple!
In the year 1198, Maimonides wrote a book called Regimen of Health for the Egyptian sultan Afdal Nur al-Din Ali who suffered from attacks of depression accompanied by physical symptoms. Maimonides teaches that physical convalescence is dependent on psychological well-being and rest.
Here is a brief excerpt from the book in which Maimonides mentions two keys to maintaining good health for one’s entire life:
“If a man would conduct himself in the same way he cares for the animal upon which he rides, he would be saved from many serious illnesses. You do not find a person who gives his animal an excessive amount of fodder; rather, he measures it according to what it can tolerate. He, however, eats excessively, without measure or thought. Furthermore, he carefully considers his animal’s movements and exercises so that it remains healthy and does not become ill. He does not do this for himself and pays no attention to physical exercise, which is the fundamental principle for the preservation of health and the repulsion of most illnesses.â€
One Friday evening we invited our neighbor down the block to join us for the Shabbos meal. As our guest was a holistic medicine practitioner and very passionate about living a balanced life, the table conversation gravitated towards the topic of holistic nutrition, dieting and longevity.
[Ed. Note: “Holistic†medicine is a form of healing that considers the whole person -- body, mind, spirit, and emotions -- in the quest for optimal health and wellness. According to the holistic medicine philosophy, one can achieve optimal health -- the primary goal of holistic medicine practice -- by gaining proper balance in life - dz]
After the meal was over, the doctor came over to me and said: “Rabbi, I have been watching you the entire meal, and do you have any idea how much food you ate during the meal? The only proven way to increase longevity… is through reduced caloric intake! Just eat less!â€
I believe there are (at least) two reasons why most people (myself included!) have such a hard time eating less and exercising more as a way of preventing illness and maintaining good health… even though it has been proven many times over that this is what needs to be done:
(1) Most people are somewhat lazy (again myself included!), and are looking for a quick fix to lose weight without having to put in too much effort.… witness the wacky, trendy diets that are out there these days.
(2) Most of us are used to the “western†approach to medicine where you wait until you’re sick to get treated, as opposed to the more ‘holistic†approach to medicine mentioned above.
I would like to conclude with a short blessing: “May G-d bless you with the willpower and inner strength to do what you know you need to do in order to live long, happy, healthy and meaningful lives!â€
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