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Though not looking to become beauty contest winners, women are taking weight matters seriously.
Munchkin • Beginner
Iniermedia+e • Advanced
All ages and all levels
An Orthodox Diet Craze
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Ruhama Appleboim gives Israelis food for thought.
NECHEMIA MEYERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
I
sraeli dieticians are now en-
joying their usual upsurge in
business with the onset of
summer as innumerable
women agonize over the fact
that they bulge out of their
bathing suits. But in Israel, diet
consciousness isn't limited to
women who parade about in
such "immodest garments."
It also encompasses a large
number of Orthodox ladies who
wouldn't dream of wearing a
bikini or size eight jeans, but
would love to don a size 14 dress.
The high priestess of dieting
among the Orthodox is Ruhama
Appleboim, daughter of a well-
known Chasidic rebbe. She came
to understand the importance of
dieting when she found that the-
matchmakers weren't having
any success in finding her a
groom, even though she came
from a highly respected rab-
binical family. This was because
the moment a prospective moth-
er-in-law saw that Ruhama
weighed 240-plus pounds, she
immediately vetoed the pro-
posed match.
Ruhama eventually sought a
miracle diet in the United
States, but all she managed
to find there was an unsuitable
husband, whom she divorced
in due course. It was on her
return to Israel that she took
herself in hand, lost 130 pounds
and became the talk of Ortho-
dox Jerusalem. Indeed, she was
soon deluged with requests for
advice from women in that com-
munity. Later on, such requests
came from secular women as
well.
She holds separate sessions
for the religious women and the
secularists because their outlook
on life (and, therefore, on diet-
ing) is so different. Moreover,
she points out that the partici-
pants come to get support from
one another, and this is more
likely to be forthcoming when
groups are relatively homoge-
neous.
"Overcoming the
desire to eat without
limitation makes
one more
righteous."
— Ruhama Appleboim
Needless to say, considering
Ruhama's religious background,
she doesn't allow men into her
sessions.
Orthodox women, says
Ruhama, may come, ostensibly
at least, for health reasons, it
now being understood that be-
ing overweight endangers a per-
son's health. But they are also
more interested than they used
to be in their external appear-
ance, thanks to the influence of
Orthodox female immigrants
from English-speaking coun-
tries.
According to Ruhama, there
is quite a difference between Or-
thodox and secular women when
it comes to talking about their
bodies. The secularists do it all
the time; the religious never do.
They speak to some extent
about their appearance, but
mostly stress health considera-
tions.
Each group faces its own pit-
falls. The Orthodox women, for
whom the purchase of prepared
foods is considered a disgrace,
are always cooking and, there-
fore, always tempted to taste a
little of this and a little of that.
On the other hand, they don't sit
in front of television sets munch-
ing on fattening tidbits because
Orthodox rabbis don't allow
their congregants to watch TV.
Ruhama tends to use religious
themes when talking to religious
women. Speaking about the
need to exercise restraint, she
quotes the famous maxim: "A
hero is one who keeps his desires
in check." And, she adds, "over-
coming the desire to eat without
limitation makes one a more
righteous person."
To the secular, such an ap-
proach may seem farfetched.
But, the fact is, it works. ❑