Life: Our Most Precious Gift
Continued from Page L-1
in the theaters and circuses, and is
paid to do the work ... how much
the more so should I — who am
created in the divine image and
likeness ... take care of my body?"
(Leviticus Rabbah 34:3).
Caring for our bodies and
keeping ourselves healthy is more
than just good proverbial advice. It
is a religious mandate. Every time
we neglect our health or willingly
abuse our bodies we commit a
chillul hashem, a sin that profanes
God. Such behavior diminishes the
holiness of the body and in some
way, diminishes God.
To care for our bodies, to insure
our own self-preservation is an
ultimate affirmation of faith. Every
time we act to preserve our lives,
we are glorifying the Almighty.
Indeed, the Torah enjoins us to "Be
exceedingly heedful of yourselves
..." This commandment teaches us
not only to be heedful, but rather
we are asked to be "exceedingly
heedful" of ourselves. Other
commandments we are obliged to
observe, this commandment — the
commandment of self preservation
— we are obliged to observe in the
extreme — uncompromisingly. Such
vigilance requires a proactive
posture with regard to our health.
Despite the heightened health
awareness that seems to permeate
our culture, most of us take better
'To care for our bodies,
to insure our own
self-preservation is an
ultimate affirmation
of faith.'
care of our cars than we do our
bodies. Ours is the Polaroid
generation — in search for instant
gratification and a license to eat,
drink and be merry. In response to
this, Judaism is clear and
unequivocal: to ingest deadly
cigarette smoke into the body, to
take drugs, which alter the mind
and weaken the organs, to abuse
alcohol are worse than eating treife!
The tradition regards such practices
to be tantamount to committing
suicide, albeit on the installment
plan.
A proactive posture on health
requires us not only to be vigilant
about refraining from destructive
behavior, but it also includes a
measure of prevention to be part of
our lifestyles. Maimonides, in his
Mishneh Torah, repeatedly teaches
us to cultivate habits conducive to
health. This includes good eating
and sleeping habits. Regular
exercise and physical fitness, are
excellent ways to help prevent the
onset of illness. Those who eat
enough cholesterol to kill an
elephant and then suffer a heart
attack because of their folly have no
one else to blame but themselves.
We bear a tremendous
responsibility for our actions in this
world and that responsibility extends
itself to how we care for our bodies.
We cannot rely on miracles to cure
us or quick fix diets to spare us.
The thrust of Jewish teaching is
for us to create in our lives a
balance and control for our physical
well-being. This does not mean that
the presence of such a balance will
guarantee us to be free from illness.
It does, however show our
sensitivity toward God's creation.
Judaism allows us, even commands
us, to enjoy the pleasures of this
world. But there are times in which
to enjoy the pleasures of life and
times to abstain. There are times to
indulge and times to refrain.
c;
The Days of Awe are a time for
hesbon hanefesh — for reflection
and evaluation of our souls. They
are also a time to reflect on our
health and bodies. To be created in
God's image means to bear the
responsibility for our souls and our
bodies. For "the body," wrote
Philo, "is the house of the soul." It
is this house which bears the
imprimature of the Divine. It is our
task to make ourselves worthy
keepers of God's most precious gift
— the gift of life itself.
Rabbi Gershon is associate Rabbi
of Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
Hava Nedaber Ivrit: Knowing Holiday's Full Meaning By Its Shemot
By NIRA LEV
Rosh Hashanah, the first chag
in our luach, is different from most
of our chagim because its merkaz
is not the tevah around us or a
meorah histori, but rather, its
merkaz is ha'adam atzmo. The full
meaning of this chag can be found
in its different shemot. The shem
Rosh Hashanah means the "head,"
or the beginning of the year. The
chag is known to us by this shem
from the Mishnah only. In the
Tanach this chag is called Yom
T'ruah, "The day of sounding the
Shofar" and Zichron T'ruah,
"Memorial of the sounding of the
shofar." In our liturgy Rosh
Hashanah is referred to as Yom
Ha'zikaron, "Day of Remembrance"
and Yom Ha'din, "Day of
Judgement."
Each of these names conveys
the special mashmaut of this chag.
Rosh Hashanah, marking the
hatchalah of a shanah chadasha is
Ljehafffrii
THE JEWISH NEWS
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May 10, 1991
Associate Publisher Arthur M. Horwitz
Jewish Experiences for Families
Adviser Harlene W. Appelman
L 2
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FRIDAY, SEPT. 13, 1991
a time of solemn cheshbon nefesh,
a rethinking of our derech chayim,
of our ma'asim, of our avar and our
atid. It is a day of judgement both
in the Divine sense, being judged
by Ha'kadosh Baruch Hu and in
the personal sense, judging
ourselves. Rosh Hashanah is a Day
of Remembrance — not only of
meoraot chashuvim that occurred
"Rosh Hashanah . . . is a
time of solemn cheshbon
nefesh, a rethinking of
our derech chayim."
be'avar ha'rachok both in the
history of the olam and the history
of our am, but also remembering
the dvash and the oketz that
occurred in our personal life.
According to our masoret the
olam was created on Rosh
Hashanah and this chag is yom
ha'huledet shel ha'olam. It is not,
however, a chag of simcha,
chagigot and mesibot like the non-
Jewish New Year the way it is
celebrated all over the world. If we
rejoice it is only because of our
emunah in Ha'Shem as the God of
Life, Melech Ha'Chayim, who has
given us life, and our tikvah that
through T'shuvah and ma'asim
tovim will inscribe us in Sefer
Ha'chayim.
The biblical shemot, Yom
Teruah and Zichron Teruah indicate
the main event of Rosh Hashanah
which is t'keeat Shofar — the
blowing of the shofar. The shofar,
which is usually keren shel ayil, is
an important semel of our masoret.
It reminds us of akeidat Yitzchak
— The Binding of Yitzchak, when
Avraham Aveenu was ready to
commit the utmost act of emunah
and God substituted the ayil for
Yitzchak. The Talmud says that
when God hears the shofar on
Rosh Hashanah, He gets up from
His throne of justice and sits down
on His throne of rachamim, to give
us another chance. T'keeat
Ha'Shofar serves as a siman to
remember those me'oraot
historiyim which made Yisrael an
am, whether on Har Sinai or on its
entrance into Yisrael, or on the
occasion of the proclamation of
Shnat Yovel. In history all of these
occasions were announced by
t'keeat ha'shofar.
Shanah Tova!
Meelon (Dictionary)
a holiday
chag
a calendar
luach
a center
merkaz
nature
tevah
an event
meorah
historical
histori
Man himself
ha'adam atzmo
shem (p.shemot). .. a name (names)
The Bible
The Tanach
meaning
mashmaut
a beginning
hatchalah
year
shanah
new (feminine)
chadasha
moral stock
cheshbon nefesh
taking, introspection, self
examination, moral reckoning
way of life
derech chayim
deeds
ma'asim
past
avar
future
atid
Ha'kadosh Baruch Hu ....The Holy
One Blessed Be He
important
meoraot chashuvim
events
. in the distant
Be'avar ha'rachok
past
world
olam
nation
am
honey
dvash
sting (of a bee)
oketz
tradition
masoret
yom ha'huledet shel ha'olam ....the
birthday of the world
joy
simcha
celebrations
chagigot
parties
mesibot
faith
emunah
hope
tikvah
Repentance
T'shuvah
good deeds
ma'asim tovim
Sefer Ha'chayim...The Book of Life
a horn of a ram
keren shel ayil
a symbol
semel
Abraham our
Avraham Aveenu
Father
faith
emunah
mercy
rachamim
a sign
siman
The Sinai Mountain
Har Sinai
a Jubilee
sh n at yovel
Ms. Lev is Director, Hebrew
Language Lab; Agency for Jewish
Education Director, Department of
Hebrew, Community Jewish High
School Associate Professor of
Hebrew language and literature,
Midrasha College of Jewish Studies.
(