Weekly Letter: Spiritual Health and Physical Health
The new month of Iyar – is known as the moth of “healing.” The letter we are sharing is from THE LETTER AND THE SPRIT – English letters of the Rebbe, by Nissan Mindel (Volume III, Health and Medicine) .
In this letter to a doctor, the Rebbe stresses the general injunction to care for one’s health, a basic mitzvah in the Torah. Kosher dietary laws are much more than health laws.
Nutrition guidelines in general have been undergoing substantial changes from time to time and from place to place – so we must be very careful when applying the authority of Torah (which is eternal and unchangeable) to values and concepts that are changeable. Spiritual and physical health go hand in hand.
By the Grace of G-d 2nd of Teves, 5739
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dr.
Fairfax, Calif. 94930
Greeting and Blessing:
This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter in which you write on the subject of nutrition, having suggestions how to improve the nutritional aspects of kosher diet, particularly in regard to institutions providing dormitory and food facilities for students, etc.
I trust that you have broached the subject, in a suitable way, to such institutions. For, inasmuch as my duties are clearly defined by long-standing tradition and have to do with purely spiritual aspects of promoting Torah study and the observance of mltzvos and Ylddlshkelt in general, it would be difficult for me to initiate any action in the said area.
Needless to say, health care is one of the basic mitzvos of the Torah, and the immutable kosher dietary laws, though much more than mere health laws, also call for moderation, etc. However, it has to be borne in mind that when it comes to specific nutritional evaluations, these have been undergoing substantial changes from time to time and from place to place, not always commanding unanimity even among experts in the field. Hence, one must be most circumspect in applying the authority of the Torah – which is eternal and unchangeable – to concepts and values that are changeable. Thus, I can, and do, emphasize the mitzvah of ‘You shall guard your health very carefully” only in a general way, but as to specifics, this must be left to the nutritional experts. There is surely no need to elaborate to you on the above.
Since you have written to me on this subject, I am prompted to make a pertinent observation.
It is, of course, highly commendable to be concerned with the improvement of physical health, which, as mentioned, is one of the basic tenets of Torah Judaism; and acting from a position of faith in G-d and in His Torah is bound to make such efforts both nearer to reality and more successful. At the same time I trust that such concern should, a fortiori, elicit a profound concern for spiritual health, the health of the neshama, and likewise with the same degree of dedication to G-d and His Torah. There are, as you know, many individuals and groups that need influence and direction to help them realize that the spiritual health and physical health go hand in hand together, especially where Jews are concerned. It is a primary duty and privilege of every Jew to help fellow Jews in accordance with the mitzvah of V’Ohavto L’Re’acho Komocho the Great Principle of the Torah. This duty and privilege is all the greater in respect of persons whom Divine Providence has blessed with a position of prominence and influence, and we have the assurance that “words coming from the heart – especially when coupled with a living example – enter the heart and are eventually effective.”
If you will let me know your full Hebrew name, together with your mother’s Hebrew name, and the same in regard to your wife, I will remember you both in prayer as requested.
Wishing you hatzlocho, and hoping to hear good news from you,
With esteem and blessing,
