Reb Shmuel Munkes
was a chosid, a pious man, of great renown.
He was once on a journey to see his Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. The hour was late and the sun was beginning
to set. He pulls over to the side of the
road, alights from his wagon, and begins to daven Mincha (afternoon
prayers).
Meanwhile, a
Czarist officer was passing by in his exquisite chariot, large enough to seat
ten people from one side to the other.
You can imagine how irate he felt upon encountering Reb Shmuel’s wagon
blocking the narrow mountain path. He spots
Reb Shmuel in prayerful rapture, oblivious to everything around him, and his
rage boils over. He jumps out of his
chariot, sword drawn, ready to unleash his full fury upon the unsuspecting
chosid.
Managing to control
his temper, however, he opens with a gruff hello. But finding himself in the midst of the Amidah
(prayer), Reb Shmuel fails to respond. The
officer waits for him until he has concluded.
After he finishes his prayers, he screams, “Empty one! When I greeted you, why did you not respond? Had I chopped off your head with my sword,
who would have held me accountable for your blood?”
לְאַחַר שֶׁסִּייֵּם תְּפִלָּתוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ: רֵיקָא, וַהֲלֹא כָּתוּב
בְּתוֹרַתְכֶם ״רַק הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ וּשְׁמֹר נַפְשְׁךָ״, וּכְתִיב
״וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם״. כְּשֶׁנָּתַתִּי לְךָ שָׁלוֹם לָמָּה
לֹא הֶחְזַרְתָּ לִי שָׁלוֹם? אִם הָיִיתִי חוֹתֵךְ רֹאשְׁךָ בְּסַיִיף, מִי הָיָה
תּוֹבֵעַ אֶת דָּמְךָ מִיָּדִי
אָמַר לוֹ: הַמְתֵּן לִי עַד שֶׁאֲפַיֶּיסְךָ בִּדְבָרִים. אָמַר לוֹ:
אִילּוּ הָיִיתָ עוֹמֵד לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם, וּבָא חֲבֵרְךָ וְנָתַן
לְךָ שָׁלוֹם הָיִיתָ
מַחֲזִיר לוֹ?! אָמַר לוֹ: לָאו. וְאִם הָיִיתָ
מַחֲזִיר לוֹ, מָה הָיוּ עוֹשִׂים לְךָ? אָמַר לוֹ: הָיוּ חוֹתְכִים אֶת רֹאשִׁי
בְּסַיִיף. אָמַר לוֹ: וַהֲלֹא דְּבָרִים קַל וָחוֹמֶר, וּמָה אַתָּה שֶׁהָיִיתָ
עוֹמֵד לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם, שֶׁהַיּוֹם כָּאן וּמָחָר בַּקֶּבֶר —
כָּךְ. אֲנִי שֶׁהָיִיתִי עוֹמֵד לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ
בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁהוּא חַי וְקַיָּים לָעַד וּלְעוֹלְמֵי עוֹלָמִים — עַל אַחַת
כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.
מִיָּד נִתְפַּיֵּיס אוֹתוֹ הֶגְמוֹן, וְנִפְטַר
אוֹתוֹ חָסִיד לְבֵיתוֹ לְשָׁלוֹם.
After he
finished his prayer, the officer said to him, Empty one! Isn’t it written in
your Torah: “Take utmost care and guard yourself diligently”? And it is
also written: “Take good care of yourselves”? When I greeted you, why
did you not respond with a greeting? Had
I chopped off your head with a sword, who would have held me accountable for
your blood? The chosid said to him: Wait for me until I will appease you with
my words. He said to him: Had you been standing before a flesh and blood king
and your friend came and greeted you, would you return his greeting? The
officer said to him: No. The chosid continued: And if you would greet him, what
would they do to you? The officer said to him: They would chop off my head with
a sword. The chosid said to him: Then does it not go without saying? You who were standing before a king of flesh
and blood, who today is here but tomorrow is in the grave, would have reacted
in that way; I, who was standing before the King, King of kings, the Holy One,
blessed be He, who lives and endures for all eternity, all the more so! The officer was immediately appeased and the chosid
returned home in peace.
One of the
lessons derived from this piece of Gemara is our duty to maintain our health
and physical wellbeing. In his laws
dealing with dangerous situations that one must avoid, Maimonides quotes the Gemara’s
usage of the verse “Take good care of yourselves.” Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer
15:39) picks up on the idea and implies that Maimonides’ following instructions
on healthy living are also derived from the same source.
The Rambam (Maimonides)
writes (Deos 4:1): Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is among the
ways of God – for one cannot understand or have any knowledge of the Creator,
if he is ill – therefore, he must avoid things that harm the body and accustom
himself to things that are healthy and help strengthen the body.
We all know
people who appear to be religious zealots when it comes to exercise. But, believe it or not, they’re not wrong! According to the Rambam, a healthy diet and regular
exercise are religious duties! Indeed,
many halachic authorities proscribe smoking and consumption of other dangerous
substances based on the obligation to ‘take good care of yourselves’ stated in
this verse.
Rabbi Moshe
Rivkash (C17 Vilna) takes the duty to look after one’s body a step
further. G-d created us in order to
bestow goodness upon us. When we don’t
maintain our physical health and wellbeing, it’s the ultimate act of rebellion
against G-d. In this regard, Judaism is quite
unique. While most other religions
emphasize heaven as the place of final reward, in our tradition, the ultimate
reward happens in the era of the Resurrection of the Dead. At the End of Days, souls will return to
bodies and walk this Earth once again.
Why is
Resurrection so fundamental to Judaism?
Because G-d never remains in debt.
If He were only to reward your soul in the Afterlife, it would be unfair
to your body. For in order to perform
mitzvot in this world, your soul needs to partner with a body. Alone, the neshomo is powerless to achieve any
goodness in this world. It can only grow
through the means of the body.
Consequently, both soul and body are deserving of reward and will
receive their recompense equally when they are reunited in the Resurrection.
The Talmud
devotes dozens of discussions to maintaining a health body, from what we should
eat to timing of meals. Mens sana in
corpore sano – a healthy mind in a healthy body – is an essential tenet of
Judaism. When a person’s physical or
mental health and wellbeing are not operating at optimal level, one’s
spirituality is bound to suffer. Rabbi
Dov Ber “The Maggid” of Mezritch used to say, “a kleiner loch in kerper iz a
groiser loch in neshoma” – a small hole in the body is a large hole in the
soul.
Spiritual
vitality is dependent upon physical vitality.
Your body is a gift from Above, but the gift is conditional on your
commitment to keeping it fit and healthy.
May you always strive to maintain a perfect vessel for your holy soul by
eating well and exercising regularly!
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