points of view

Commentary

Judaism Means Healthy Living

W

hoever is idle and does not
exercise . . . even if he eats the
proper foods and takes care to
follow the rules of medicine, will be full of
pain for all his days and his strength will
fade away?'
When Maimonides wrote these words
in the 12th century, gym memberships
and personal trainers were as foreign
to his contemporaries as iPhones and
Facebook.
Nine centuries later, popular atti-
tudes toward fitness and nutrition have
changed. Farmers' markets are thriving,
schools are switching to whole grains
and low-fat milk, and companies are
providing incentives for their employees
to exercise. Today, few people deny that
a healthy lifestyle greatly improves one's
life. However, the American Jewish com-
munity has been slow to embrace this
wisdom into its identity.
The Torah (in Deuteronomy 4:15)
implores us to "[be] extremely protective
of [our] lives," from which rabbis derived
the concept of shmirat haguf, literally

protecting one's body. This protection
has been viewed to include physical
health and wellness. Shmirat haguf is
difficult to accomplish given the fact that
many Jewish traditions revolve around
food.
There is a well-known
adage regarding Jewish
ritual: We won, let's feast; we
lost, let's fast. Unfortunately,
between the deep fried food
on Chanukah and the choles-
terol-rich food on Passover,
traditional Jewish comfort
food does not inherently
align itself with a healthy
lifestyle.
Moreover, there is a notion
that observing the laws of
kashrut inherently equates
with maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
While the jury is still out on any health
benefits of keeping kosher, in this day
and age, kashrut is not sufficient to ful-
fill the requirement that one take care of
his body.

As a community, we must redouble our
efforts to take care of our health. How
better to affect change on a communal
level than by reaching out to the youth?
Teaching our children about fitness and
healthy cooking in a warm and
energetic environment will
ensure that they internalize the
importance of a healthy life-
style.
Earlier this year, a passionate
group of social entrepreneurs
founded a new overnight sum-
mer camp called Camp Zeke.
Zeke, which is derived from
the Hebrew name Yechezkel,
connotes immense strength.
Immense strength, emanating
from a joyful, healthy and active
lifestyle is what the camp seeks
to instill in its campers. Camp Zeke will
be the only Jewish camp where children
will enjoy their classic summer camp
experience while simultaneously eating
healthful food and learning valuable les-
sons from experts in exercise, cooking

"As a community, we
must redouble our
efforts to take care of
our health."

and nutrition.
Camp Zeke will utilize traditional
camp activities from capture-the-flag to
communal meals — which at Zeke will
be prepared by the campers — as learn-
ing opportunities that will remain with
campers long after the summer is over.
The time-honored Jewish teaching that
physical and spiritual well-being go hand
in hand is an integral part of Camp Zeke's
mission and will help to fill a current
void in the Jewish community.

❑

Benjamin is a New York-based attorney and
freelance writer who works closely with Camp

Zeke.

Commentary

How Much Tolerance For Intolerance?

T

olerance is justifiably one
of liberal Democracy's most
cherished values. But what
do we do when tolerance, with its
openness to multiple views, permits
and even supports intolerance? This
is particularly an issue today when
open prejudice against Jews and
Israel, and anti-Semitism, go unchal-
lenged.
Fundamentalism and prejudice
are rife in the Middle East, where
many countries practice forms of
gender, religious, ethnic and sexual
apartheid. Yet, Saudi Arabia remains
a U.S. ally despite the fact that
women there are subjugated and it
is illegal for Christians to pray in
public.
The most egregious forms of
anti-Semitism are rampant in
the Middle East. Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood President Mohamed
Morsi libeled Jews as apes and pigs,
yet U.S. leaders speak of the Muslim
Brotherhood as a moderating force.
Similarly, we turn a blind eye
to the anti-Semitism, intolerance
and corruption that are rife in the

116

May 23 • 2013

Palestinian Authority. We do so even
though these practices and views
violate two pillars of America – tol-
erance and pluralism.
Unfortunately, the United Nations
and Europe also condone intoler-
ance. In Europe, anti-Sem-
itism remains a serious
problem, but it is often
camouflaged by politi-
cally correct speech and
rationalized as political
discourse about Israel.
Terrorism against Israel
is frequently excused or
rationalized.
Michael Totten, in his
book The Road to Fatima,
wrote that one of liberal-
ism's "greatest dilemmas"
is the question, "How
much do the intolerant deserve tol-
erance?" He was speaking of the
difficulty a weak nation like Lebanon
faces, despite its history of liberal-
ism, in dealing with an intolerant
terror organization like Hezbollah.
This phenomenon is not just a
Lebanese problem. It is widespread.

We live in a world where many
enlightened nations and their cultur-
al leaders excuse terrorism because
they are sympathetic to liberation
movements, or because they view
the terrorist group as the weaker
party.
Many Western intel-
lectuals subscribe to a
moral standard in which
the party that is weaker in
arms or political strength
is morally right. Anti-Israel
rhetoric is the most promi-
nent example of this bias.
Today, Israel is perceived
as the stronger party, and
Palestinian terrorism is
justified as the weak fight-
ing against the powerful.
This moral framework has
allowed many to express their latent
anti-Semitism under the guise of
morality.
How should we resolve this dilem-
ma?
We should see other countries
and movements as they really are,
not as we wish they were. When we

"We live in a
world where many
enlightened nations
and their cultural
leaders excuse
terrorism..."

deal with a United Nations domi-
nated by non-democratic countries,
or an Arab world that still promotes
hatred and prejudice, we should
acknowledge that reality instead of
retreating to the passivity of moral
relativism. We should act respon-
sibly and wisely, and stop excus-
ing those who are intolerant and
threaten our national and foreign
security interests, and threaten our
values.

❑

Eric R. Mandel, MD is co-chair of
StandWithUs-New York.