"Kavannah for Living"
- Unit 9
Exercise
(If you miss a study unit along the way,
you can access the materials in the Kavannah for Living Archive: archive.)
B’rucheem haba’im, chevrah. Welcome to the
conversation!
Prelude:
The idea that a person needs exercise is a relatively new one.
Before the
rise of the industrial age and the vast urban centers it spawned, most
people got exercise by schlepping water, doing laundry, walking, chopping
wood, and the rest of one's daily chores. At the time, Jewish tradition did
not encourage exercise as much as deplore laziness, as in the famous saying
from Proverbs:
"The lazy person buries his hand in a dish and will not even bring it back
to the mouth!"
While the idea of setting aside time for cardio-vascular and muscular
development may have its roots in Greek gymnasiums, it is clear from Jewish
sources that the body was to be appreciated and taken care of. The following
Talmudic blessing concerning physical health articulates this idea:
Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Source of the Universe who
with wisdom
formed the human body, creating openings and pathways, marvelous in
structure, intricate in design. If but one of them, by being blocked or
opened, fails to function, it would be impossible to exist and stand before
you. Praised are You, Eternal, Healer of all living things Who sustains our
bodies in wondrous ways.
This blessing was said at times when one was particularly grateful
for their
health -- after going to the bathroom.
In the first years of the State of Israel, Chief Rabbi Rav Kook was a
passionate advocate for a "body" centered spirituality. In Orot, he
wrote:
...the way of healing is to generate vessels, explications, and plans, which
will pave paths to actual implementation based on the loftiest
illuminations. For this reason, there is such a demand for freedom of spirit
and strength of body, for only a strong spirit and healthy body can contain
without shattering the highest illuminations and withstand active life full
of vigorous creativity, and derive therefrom ways of life.
THE RITUAL:
As you exercise, take time to listen to your breath and heartbeat.
Meditate,for a moment, on the line from Psalm 150:
"Let all breath praise God, Halelluyah"
Commentary by Reb Zalman:
Each morning when I wake up I begin with a series of stretches. Instead of
waiting to say all the brachas associated with the body during the morning
tefillah, I say them as I stretch. Mateer Asurin - who frees the bound -
our
bodies are bound when we wake up - fixed into whatever position we slept in
-- Zokayf k'fufeem - straightens the bent - that is a bracha for
stretching
the back. Hamichin Mitzadev Gaver - fixing one's footsteps - that is a prayer
that one could say on a morning walk, or even a treadmill. Hanotein l'ayayf
koach - who gives strength to the tired - this is an overall kavannah for
taking care of the body.
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