Shaping Up

One thing I learned very early on was that we often make mistakes, but we can learn from them and be strengthened by them. Life is not easy and at times when we have too many options, we can simply make the wrong decision. Hashem lets us go in whichever direction we choose and although we may not even be aware it was a blunder at the time, we are sent subtle (or not-so-subtle) messages to help us find the right path. No one is immune. Even the greatest Tzaddik (righteous individual) is subject to failure, each on his or her own level. The challenge is correcting our errors and moving on with a smile on our faces and joy in our hearts, knowing that it is all from Hashem.

Several years ago the company I was working for opened a new gym for its employees. Like everyone else, I was excited for the opportunity to finally be able to work out on the latest equipment. I had never used a treadmill before and at some point during my first attempt, I somehow tripped and fell. I landed knee first on the quickly rolling conveyor belt which forcefully dragged me backwards and threw me onto the floor behind. After gaining composure from the initial shock, my first instinct was to look around to see if anyone had witnessed my awkward fiasco. B”H, I was alone in my humiliation. Like falling off a horse, I quickly got up and jumped back on before anyone had a chance to notice. Similarly, when we stumble and fall in our daily lives, in our personal holiness or our service to Hashem, Rabbi Lazer Brody, shlita, teaches we must pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and make a new start. These incidents, individually prescribed by G-d Himself, allow us to improve ourselves and grow; but only if we search for the significance of the slip-up and strive to make changes.

At the time, my spiritual level was probably at a post-teshuvah all-time low. I did what I had to do, going through the motions of religious observance, but something was missing. (B”H, I finally discovered emuna) I should have been looking for a message in that embarrassing incident yet falling off the treadmill meant nothing more to me than a couple of sore knees. I was almost double the age of most of my co-workers. Also, unlike many of my colleagues, I was a religious, married woman who covered her hair and tried to perform the mitzvot (commandments, good deeds). Although the gym had separate hours for men and women, it was not exactly the proper place for a frum (religious) wife to be found. Rather than being a righteous role model and sanctifying Hashem’s name, I was acting like a silly, secular teenager.

While there is technically nothing wrong with going to a separate fitness center, we must be cautious as to how we spend our time. The often profane, impure music blaring into our souls eats up whatever spiritual gain we may have recently acquired. We must also consider the time it wastes and takes away from other more holy endeavors. And most importantly, we ought to ask ourselves why we need to exercise in a gym at all? Yes, it’s important to maintain our health and to feel good about oneself, but we can get plenty of exercise in the privacy of our own home for a lot less money. Or we could walk in the fresh air which beats stale air conditioning anytime, providing it’s done with modesty.

In the disc, ‘Your Beauty’, Rabbi Brody says the key to blessings is modesty. When a woman guards her beauty with humility, when she walks, speaks and acts in a dignified manner, it illuminates her soul. He tells us the Vilna Gaon explained that when a wife is modest to the point that her husband trusts her explicitly, mind, body and soul, the Divine Presence is always in their home. The Divine Presence brings with it many blessings rich in abundance and good health. With a modest wife, it is so much easier for the husband to reinforce his commitment to her with love, respect and desire. She is consequently helping him to keep from looking at other women and possibly sinning. Of course, a man must also work on his own modesty and guard his eyes from anyone other than his wife.

The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) had specific views on maintaining a healthy lifestyle with proper diet and exercise in order to cultivate one’s spiritual well-being. He wrote in Hilchot Daiot (4:1) “It is Darchai Hashem (the way of G-d) to have a healthy body since it is most difficult to develop when one is sick.” In light of this, we understand it is essential to preserve our health and keep fit. This enables us to have maximum energy and clarity of mind, facilitating our ultimate goal to serve G-d.

Just as we try to keep in shape by working out our physical body, we should make an exhaustive effort to exercise our soul as well, for our neshama (soul) is for eternity. Our bodies are simply the temporary clothing of the soul, the vessel which allows us to perform our duties in this world. Far more worthy than any benefits gained by building our muscles is the expansion of our heavenly essence as we increase our knowledge of Torah and attempt to live its wisdom.

Without our neshama, the spark of existence which our Father in Heaven breathed into our bodies, we would be nothing more than a lifeless pile of flesh and bones. It is the unity of body and soul that allows us to be who we are and complete our earthly tasks. A husband is not complete without a wife, a body requires a soul to be whole and similarly, Hashem needs His people to bring His ultimate plan to perfection. By shaping up both our physical and spiritual selves we will be blessed to carry out G-d’s Will as we pray each morning to sincerely “understand and elucidate, listen, learn, teach, safeguard, perform and fulfill all the words of Your (G-d’s) Torah’s teaching with love.” May all of our efforts bring true harmony to the world as we await Mashiach, the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and our final Redemption. Amen.