Healthy Jewish Living: An Introduction

Health and Judaism: The Connections

There is no wealth like health.

Apocrypha of Ben Sira, 30:16

Judaism teaches us that we are obliged to care for our health.  Both the Torah and the Talmud are filled with references about the importance and obligation we have to our care and well-being.  Furthermore, this well-being should include care for every aspect of our lives to include our minds, bodies, and spirits.  The idea, that much of the length of our lives concerns the upkeep and maintenance of our health is an interesting one.  When a person considers the idea that mitzvot (good deeds) are those actions that improve the well being of our communities and our world, they take on a new significance.

Maimonides and Hillel: Two Perspectives

The great sage and physician Maimonides taught that care of ones body and health was interwoven with devotion to G-d (1135-1204 CE) Mishneh Torah: Laws Re: Moral Dispositions and Ethical Conduct. And the sage Hillel viewed the body as a house to the soul that should be well cared for.  He viewed the act of caring for ones body as both as a mitva and also as an act of devotion Tosefta Sotah 4:13.

Certainly we can all benefit when we take the time to examine our actions and consider their health benefits.