If I even mention the subject of this article up front, the chances are youll roll your eyes and stop reading right now.
So I shall introduce this delicate and critical topic through the backdoor.
First of all, you may slice and dice the shades of the Jewish community any way you please, and this topic includes every imaginable shade, every shade of Jewish identity, from the most secular to the most religious and everyone in between, every Jewish community.
No matter how dedicated to Shabbos one might be, one consequence of this as yet unnamed topic seriously degrades the enjoyment of Shabbos for many.
Not to mention, basic joie de vivre all week long.
And try this:
Heart trouble. Check.
Ulcers. Check.
Stroke. Check.
Joint replacements. Check.
Some forms of diabetes. Check.
Not to mention: Premature death. Check.
It is not I who have discovered this topic. I bring nothing new to the table. Go back some 800 years ago to the great medieval scholar, Asher ben Yechiel (Rosh). He tells us in his slim volume of ethics, which is divided into seven parts, one of which is reviewed daily in many yeshivas in the month before Rosh Hashanah:
Do not overeat. Many illnesses result from this.
There, its out of the bag.
My topic: Obesity.
The corollary of my topic: Exercise.
Shabbos? What has this got to do with Shabbos, you ask? I ask: If a person is overeating all week long, how are Shabbos treats able to be savored as treats? Whats special about Friday night dinner, say, if, at least in quantity, one is consuming the same thing all week long?
When the ancient masters Hillel and Shammai debated about when during the week one should put away something special for Shabbos, their positions had a common denominator: Something needs to be sacrificed during the week for Shabbos.
Of course, the issue goes beyond Shabbos to basic, yes, basic comfort as a human being, all week long.
And the issue goes to health.
People say: I dont have time to exercise.
Nobody says that being overweight is good. Nobody defends it. Yet, the rationalizations behind losing weight and staying healthy are endless: I dont have time. Im already so overweight that nothing will help. My wife feeds me too much. My husband insists we eat out. I have no self-control. I like food. I am depressed so I eat.
One moment, please. I have no self-control? Jews, who fast 26 hours on Yom Kippur (and others times), have no self-control? Quite the contrary, our very religion entails self-control.
I have no time. This reminds me of a beautiful anecdote in the recent biography of the late Mrs. Batsheva Kanievsky of Bnei Brak. One of her relatives raised a very large family in two rooms. Figuratively, people were piled on top of each other. Yet, this family invited guests for Shabbos. Impossible! How did they fit in? Said the head of the household:
When one of my married children wants to come for Shabbos with their children, somehow, we find room. If we can find room for them, we can find room for others.
If we can find time for everything else, we can find time for exercise.
Somehow, some men already find time to take an hour of their busy business day every day before it even starts. Every single day! They go to the synagogue to don tefilin and pray. If there is time for this mitzvah, there is time for something else that is also a mitzvah: not to deteriorate.
Needless to say, exercise is no guarantee. G-d runs the world.
Terrible diseases happen, even to fittest people. We all know this.
Equally, we all also know that, statistically speaking, there is a Divine choice afforded to most of us to enable us to avoid physical deterioration. It our responsibility to stay healthy enough to enjoy Shabbos, to be there for our spouses and our children be there, quite basically. As in, be alive.
Also needless to say, some eating disorders are beyond self-control and exercise. Equally, this is the exception, not the rule.
On Rosh Hashanah, we seek to be written and sealed in the book of life. To earn that, we seek to better ourselves, to reform, to repent (to do teshuvah). Let our physical capacity to do and to enjoy mitzvos be included in our focus on teshuvah.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
