Lazer Beams

Mitzvot and Body Health

Hello Rabbi,

Does the performance or violation of the mitzvot affect the body? More specifically, I have a pain in my right leg that no doctor has been able to cure? Is there something spiritual I may have done wrong or a correction to make? Thank you! Wim B., Amsterdam

Dear Wim,

A 16th century CE scholar from Tzfat, Rabbi Elazar Azikari (who composed "Yedid Nefesh" and was a colleague of the famed father of Kabbala Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) wrote a monumental book called "Sefer Hacharedim", or The Book of the (G-d) Fearing. In this book, he takes each part of the body and lists the corresponding mitzva. There are 613 mitzvas that correspond to the 613 parts of the body. The fulfillment of a mitzva adds to the spiritual vitality of the corresponding body part, and the spiritual vitality strongly influences the physical health of that particular body part.

For example, tefillin affects the left arm and the front part of the head. Belief in G-d affects the heart. Eye problems can often be traced to stinginess (refusal to give charity) or to looking at forbidden things. It's quite noteworthy that cervical cancer is almost unheard of among woman who practice family purity. The list is long and elaborate.

The famed Shatzer Rov of London o.b.m, the grandfather of the Melitzer Rebbe of Ashdod, would go to the doctor when he was sick and simply request a diagnosis. Then, he would go home and improve his practice of the mitzva that corresponds to his sick part of the body in order to cure himself.

I often use the Sefer Charedim in helping others. I've seen it do things that the doctors can't do. All a person needs is faith. Physical sicknesses are rooted in spiritual causes, since the spirit is the life force. Therefore, many physical ailments can be cured by Teshuva, that is, correcting a mitzva that in turn healthfully influences a certain part of the body. That's it while standing on one foot.

As far as the pain in your right leg, ask Hashem in your daily hitbodedut sessions to enlighten you as to what has brought on the pain and to help you to make teshuva for the root cause. I'd also suggest that you check if you haven't insulted your father or fail to honor him in any way.

Stay healthy, Wim. Warm regards to all our friends in Holland. Blessings always, Lazer

Ploy for An Easy Birth

Rachel T. from Israel has discovered a ploy for an easy birth.

The doctors told her to expect a rough delivery because of certain complications, in this, her fourth childbirth. Rachel strengthened herself in emuna, and reminded herself that Hashem decides what kind of childbirth experience she'll have and not the doctors.

Rachel wrote me an email and said: "I went into labor at 9 AM on Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, Rebbe Nachman's birthday. I figured that the best thing I could do would be to fulfill Rebbe Nachman's advice, to do an hour of hitbodedut (personal prayer). I went into hitbodedut, and started talking to Hashem. The stronger the contractions, the more I spoke with intent to Hashem. At exactly 10 AM, when I finished my hour, a healthy baby boy was born naturally with no complications. This was the easiest childbirth I ever had. You can guess what the baby's name will be..."

Hitbodedut in labor - what an idea for an easy birth! Mazal Tov to Rachel T & family. We here at the Beams pray that all expecting mothers have healthy pregnancies and safe and easy deliveries, amen! 

Land of Milk and Honey: Dates and the Secret of Fertility

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev says that The Land of Israel is conducive to fertility.

The Torah calls the holy Land of Israel the "Land of milk and honey;" Rashi elaborates that the "honey" refers to dates from the date palm.

Dates, especially those grown here in Israel, have magical qualities. If you know anyone with a fertility issue - man or woman - the following simple Land-of-Israel fertility enhancer is bound to help them:

Get a liter of fresh goat's milk. Take 8 big dates or 12 medium-size dates and soak them in the milk overnight. In the morning, use a blender to grind the dates in the same milk. Add a half teaspoon of cardamon powder (hel in Hebrew) and a tablespoon of bee honey (natural, with no additives) and 10 dried untoasted almonds. Blend it all together and drink at least 250 cc's of the mixture (about 9 ounces). The effects are remarkable.

The above "Date Shake" not only does wonders for fertility, but it enhances stamina as well.

Don't forget to send me an invitation to the Bris.

 

 

Beware: The Expanding Succoth Waistline

My good buddy Yankel'e "Dry Bones" Kirschen, the creator of Emuna Outreach's mascot little Natty Emuna , really hits home. The perenniel post-holiday problem of many Jewish people is the added calories, pounds, flab, and cholesterol of a week of eating and rejoicing in the Succa. As the Beams is committed to the health of body, mind, and soul, we've composed a few guidelines to combat the expanding Succoth waistline.

Beware of the cakes: Many people want to make a blessing on the Succa every time they enter it. But, one really shouldn't make a blessing unless he eats something. For that reason, many folks eat cake ("mezonos", at a minimum amount of a little over and ounce) so they can say the "Leshev B'Succa" blessing, the blessing to sit in the Succa. If a person eats 2 ounces of cake 3 times a day, that adds another 840 calories to his daily intake. The Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a says that one should make a "Leshev B'Succa" blessing only when eating a proper meal that includes washing your hands and breaking bread. So, don't eat cake for the purpose of making a blessing to sit in the Succa. If a person eats 3 average-sized portions of cake a day for the 9 (outside of Israel, 8 in Israel) days of the Succoth/Simchat Torah holiday, he'll gain more than two pounds. We suggest eating sliced fresh carrots or sliced green apples instead of the cake.

Beware of the liquor: Many people make a "Lechayim" every time they visit the Succa of a friend and relative. In Israel, quite a few people that barely touch alcoholic beverages all year long keep them on hand to serve guests, and end up toasting glass-per-glass with the guest. A one-ounce shot of vodka or 86-proof Whiskey is 70 calories, while an ounce of a 72-proof liqueur such as Kahlua or Banana Liqueur is a hefty 117 calories. 3 "Lechayims" a day is enough to pick up another half pound during the week of the holiday. Adding that to the cakes (see above), you've already gained 2.5 pounds during Succoth. Putting the weight on is so much easier than taking it off.

Beware of sweet beverages: Succoth is a time when parents allow the Pepsi and the Coke to flow frely all week long. Now hear this - an 8-ounce glass of Coke Classic is a whopping 97 calories, just as caloric as the equivalent amount of beer or of a slice and a half of bread. A person that drinks 6 glasses of cola a day will gain almost a pound on Succoth, please wreck his teeth in the process. We suggest that you reach for the mineral water, sparkling water, or herb tea instead, for they have zero caloric value.

Beware of snacks: People like to munch in the Succa. We all know that you can't eat one Frito or potato chip - therefore, those plastic bags empty fast. One ounce of fritos, potato chips, or our Bamba and Bisli add another 160 calories to your calorie-aglore score. If a person drinks two glasses of cola and consumes two ounces of snack foods a day, he'll gain over a pound during Succoth. Again, fresh carrot and cucumber sticks are a virtually non-cloric and healthy replacement for the junky snack foods.

So, with the cakes, the l'chayims, the cokes and the snacks alone - without the heavy meals that include kugel and fat meats, you've already gained close to 5 pounds. And, if you drink diet beverages and use artificial sweeteners, you might not gain the weight but you'll be likely to suffer from headaches and anxiety.

True, tradition is important; that is, as long as it doesn't ruin your health. Here at the Brody homestead, whole-grained rice, buckwheat groats and quinoa have replaced fried farfel and oil-dripping kugel. We don't fry, but boil and bake. We eat loads of veggies and fresh fruit, and drink local mineral water. Fish and lean poultry have replaced the beef and veal. Dessert is homemade applesauce, fresh cantelope cubes, or an almond-stuffed fresh date. Our bread is home-baked and whole-grain. We want to control what enters our bodies; the manufacturers care about making money, not about our health. That's why we don't buy their products. Our bodies weren't designed to digest the myriad of chemical additives and preservatives that they force-feed us.

The Rambam gives an important reminder - don't eat until you're full. The stomach resembles a washing machine - if you overload it, it can't do the laundry. By the same token, an overloaded stomach can't digest, resulting in indigestion, another common Succoth ailment.

A great way to combat the the expanding Succoth waistline is to walk for an hour a day. Better yet, while you're walking, talk to Hashem in personal prayer. That way, your body gets its exercise and your soul gets its nourishment, that is none other than connecting with Hashem. What could be better? Emuna Outreach and the Beams wish you a happy and healthy Succoth with no indigestion and no expanding waistline, amen.

Ten Tips for an Easy Yom Kippur Fast

Fasting doesn’t necessarily mean suffering. There’s quite a bit we can do to alleviate the bodily and mental stress that normally accompanies a fast. The day before the fast, follow the following guidelines:

 

1. Cut down your caffeine intake to minimize headaches. That means stop drinking coffee, tea, and cola at least eight hours before the fast, and preferably twenty-four hours before the fast.

 

2. Avoid salty, spicey, and fried foods on the day before the fast.

 

3. Avoid white sugar, white flour, and white rice. Eat whole-grained foods such as brown rice and whole-wheat bread or challa.

 

4. Drink a lot of water all day long.

 

5. Eat a good breakfast that includes fruits, veggies, eggs or sardines, and whole grains.

 

6. The pre-Yom Kippur meal (se'uda mafseket) should include baked or broiled fish, a veggy salad, consomme, a small portion of chicken or turkey, and a side dish of complex carbohydrates. Substitute sweet deserts with watermelon or other water-retaining fresh fruit, and a cup of herb tea with a whole-grain cookie.

 

On Yom Kippur:

 

7. The more you immerse yourself in prayer, the less you'll think about food.

 

8. Rest between prayers. Don’t run around outside, especially in the hot sun. Save your voice for prayers. Idle talking will make you thirstier, and will detract from the holiness of the day.

 

After the fast:

 

9. Drink two glasses of water, and then eat solids gradually, so as not to shock the digestive system. Begin with fruit, like plums or grapes. The worst thing people do is to consume pastries and soft drinks, or “lekach un bronfan” (cake and liquor) right after the fast (these are unhealthy anytime, all the more so right after the fast when they give your body a shock of glucose).

 

10. Forty-five minutes to an hour afterwards, one can eat a balanced meal with protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables. After eating, relax for an hour with your favorite book (preferably Gemara of the laws of Succoth from Shulchan Oruch) and your favorite beverage, then begin constructing your Succa.

 

Attention diabetics, heart patients, folks with high blood pressure, and people whose health depends on regular medication - you must be especially careful to ask your doctor if you are capable of fasting, and then consult with your local rabbi, giving him the doctor's exact opinion. For many such people, it is a mitzva not to fast on Yom Kippur.

 

The Israel Cancer Association recommends that cancer patients not fast without approval from their physicians. Fasting could cause considerable discomfort in cancer patients, who need a lot of liquids to alleviate side effects of chemotherapy. Again, first consult the doctor and then the rabbi. Give the rabbi all the details that you received from the doctor.

 

This past Tisha B'Av, I policed my synagogue looking for sick people who were fasting without authorization. It's no mitzva to get yourself rushed in an ambulance to the emergency ward because you were fasting without authorization.

 

Don't let children (boys under the age of 12 or girls under the age of 11) be overzealous. Make sure they eat on time.

 

With G-d's blessing and the above guidelines, you'll have an easy fast. May all of us be signed and sealed in the Book of Long and Happy Lives, amen.

 

The Price of a Habit

Dear Rabbi Lazer,

I don't know what to do. My legs have become terribly swollen and I have a problem with varicose veins. The doctor gave me a diuretic a year ago; the swelling has cut back but now it seems that my kidneys are affected. My doctor wants to add another med to protect the kidneys. Is there some kind of spiritual remedy? Janet from DC

LB answers: Do you drink soft drinks, diet soft drinks, or coffee, and how much per day? 

Janet responds: I only drink 2-3 Diet Cokes and maybe 4 cups of decaf coffee. I only use good artificial sweeteners.

LB: Diet soft drinks are poison. So is processed decaf coffee. Get rid of all these beverages and all artificial sweeteners and replace them with mineral water, club soda, and herbal tea. Within three weeks, you'll see a dramatic change in the swelling and in the vein problems. Be sure to walk a half hour a day. Just stop and think about the price your body pays for the diet-Coke habit or for the artificial sweeteners. You could be saving a load on doctors and meds if you only kick the habits that are detrimental to your health. There's no better spiritual remedy than overcoming bodily urges that are detrimental to the gift of health that Hashem gives us. Have a great week! Blessings always, LB

Stay in Shape

Here at the Beams, we like to help folks stay in shape on all 3 levels of body, mind, and soul. Just because you work in an office or sit behind a desk doesn't mean that you have to neglect your body. So, here's another edition of our "Armchair Commando" series:

Have a wonderful and healthy week!