Parashat Ekev - English

Devarim - Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky

B’nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica 

Mitzvot Observance and Health 

      This week’s parashah begins with the blessings promised by God to the people of Israel if they observe His commandments, once they settle in the land of Israel.  The following verse caught my attention:   “And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness; and He will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee, but will lay them upon all them that hate thee” (Deut. 7:15).  It would seem that God promises health to those who fulfill the mitzvot, as if observing the commandments served as a sort of vaccine against all illnesses.

      

    Many sages understood this verse literally, that is, if you respect Jewish law, you will enjoy perfect health.  Thus, for example, Rashi (on Shemot 15:26) explains that God is “like this physician who says to a person, ‘Do not eat things that will cause you to relapse into the grip of illness.’”  If you follow the laws of Torah, good health will never abandon you.

    

    Of course, it is difficult to accept such a literal interpretation, since we all know pious people who get sick, and people who never observe the commandments but enjoy perfect health.   That is why we must interpret the verse in a different way.

     

     Removing ourselves from its literal meaning, there is another way to understand our pasuk.  Sforno, a medieval Italian commentator, says (commenting on Shemot 15:26) that the purpose of mitzvot is to heal peoples’ souls, removing from them the illnesses of greed, envy and futile thoughts, so that we may be holy before God.  That is to say, according to Sforno we should not understand that God will cure us from illnesses if we observe the commandments, but rather that if we live in accordance with His precepts, we will be spiritually healthier.

    

     Rabbi Moshe David Vialli, quoted by Rabbi Mordechai Edery in his Chumash, wrote:  “you should know that for the time being the human body is too weak, and if people eat and drink lavishly, and toil and work too much, their weak constitution will not be able to bear it and will catch illness… that is why God promises people that if they observe His mitzvot… He will remove the illnesses that they have brought upon themselves, by changing the order of nature in them.”

    

     According to this last explanation, we must understand this verse bearing in mind that the submission to the system of mitzvot serves as a guide to live a healthier and happier life.  It is in this sense, then, that if we fulfill the commandments, we will suffer fewer illnesses and enjoy better health.

     

     I fully agree with this interpretation, for I believe Judaism offers us a system for healthy living, giving us the tools to build a honorable and happy life.  We all know that today’s rhythm brings us stress and puts us in a bad mood, and in the long run, that can sicken us.  We live in a rush, with too many economic and work concerns, with little time to rest and enjoy family and friends.  The system of mitzvot offers us a framework that helps us regularize our lives, making it more relaxed and allowing us more time to devote to what matters most.

    

     If we observe the commandments, we must devote some daily time to our family and our children’s education.  We must choose our food with care, thanking God for the food we have.  We must pray and meditate several times per day, forcing us to take spiritual breaks in our hectic day.  Each day, we must devote some time to study, to our spiritual and intellectual development, which allows us to grow as human beings and abandon the model of tirelessly producing machines.  We must devote an entire day of the week to God, to our family, to our friends, to ourselves, forcing ourselves to rest physically and mentally from our daily concerns.

     

    Judaism, the observance of the commandments, gives us a chance to lead healthier and deeper lives, devoting the deserved time to the things that matter most in life, helping us understand what it means to be alive, and showing us how to live worthier and more meaningful lives.  That is how we should understand the verse we are discussing today:  if we observe the mitzvot, we will naturally live better, appreciating what is important and managing our valuable time more wisely…  and without a doubt, we will also gain in health!

    
 Shabbat Shalom!