[Avodah] healthy eating and exercise--hashkafic aspects

[Moshe Feldman]

On 6/22/07, Newman,Saul Z <Saul.Z.Newman at kp.org> wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/2558mx  jonathan rosenblum  goes after the sacred cow of the
> diet/exercise characteristics of the haredi male....

RJRosenblum focuses on v'nishmartem me'od l'nafshoseichem as the
reason to eat and exercise properly.  In addition to v'nishmartem
me'od, there are additional Hashkafic reasons to eat properly.  Hashem
created the world in a way such that a person will be healthier if he
is careful to eat healthy foods rather than better-tasting unhealthy
foods.  Just as we are careful to only kosher food, we should be
careful to eat only healthy food.  With regard to both kosher &
healthy food restrictions, we control our ta'avos when we limit what
we eat.  As the control of ta'avos is a thread which connects many
mitzvos, why not add healthy eating to the list?

Moreover, when a person succumbs to his ta'avos and eats too much
unhealthy food, he is in danger of falling into the trap of living in
order to eat, rather than eating in order to live, which violates kol
ma'asecha yi'hu l'shem Shamayim.

In addition, we make brachos on foods to constantly remind ourselves
of Hashem's beneficence.  When a health-conscious person spends time
thinking whether a given food is healthy for him or not, he too can
use the opportunity to think that he is eating to be healthy, and that
healthy foods are a gift from Hashem.

I think that it's harder to find additional hashkafic aspects of
exercising other than v'nishmartem me'od.  After all, exercise takes
time, and ideally one should not waste a second.  True, one can always
listen to a shiur while exercising, but usually this is not the
optimal form of learning.  Perhaps, one could use the following
thought to enhance exercise: if one exercises in natural surroundings,
one can simultaneously appreciate the nifla'os ha'Borei.  I bicycle in
Gush Etzion in breathtaking scenery.  For those who are zocheh to live
in Eretz Yisrael, one also can be mekayem walking/going 4 amos in EY
(cycling should count as rachuv k'mehalech dami); certain gedolim are
said to have walked on different routes on different days (the
implication being that each new 4 amos is a separate mitzvah) and
appreciating the Land that Hashem has given us.

Kol tuv,
Moshe