As part of my efforts to feel greater happiness (simcha) and joy, I have begun working out and watching what I eat. I already feel a little better, but is my new focus at odds with traditional Judaism?

Unfortunately, there are some in the community who have taken a negative view of proper nutrition and physical fitness for a variety of reasons:

1. Exercise is a waste of time: wasting time is a serious offense in traditional Judaism and the Rabbis taught us to preoccupy ourselves mostly with Torah study, good deeds and prayer. It is sometimes difficult to find time to exercise when one also prays three times a day (in addition to all of life’s other responsibilities).

Joshua Kulp, a founder of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, has written about how it took him a while to realize that he shouldn’t view his passion for endurance sports as a waste of time:

I’ve tried to justify to myself and others why I’ve been wasting so much time running and biking when I could have been devoting more time to study. I’m done with that. From here on in I’m not a Talmud scholar who does triathlon as a hobby nor am I a triathlete who has a day job teaching Talmud (and long nights writing about it).

I’m both.

2. This is the way we’ve always done it: as we’ve learned from Tevye, tradition is VERY important in Judaism. Unfortunately, many Jewish culinary traditions were established way before modern concepts of nutrition were understood.

Rabbi Reuven Spolter wrote in Jewish Action several years ago:

Orthodoxy, of course, does not demand overeating and unhealthy living. Yet, especially in America, the Orthodox lifestyle has led many into a dangerous cycle of overeating and indulgence.

I can sadly testify firsthand that this is also a problem in the Holy Land. Between Shabbat meals, Kiddush and the many holidays (latkes are coming soon!), sometimes the Jewish waistline suffers.

3. Being in shape is a sign of vanity: this belief probably dates back thousands of years to the Hanukkah story. The ancient Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, conquered Jerusalem. Greek society idealized the human body  and spent much time developing their physical attributes and thinking about their looks, and even held sporting events where competitors preened without clothing.

To this day, Judaism frowns upon vanity (picture those who stand in front of the gym mirror, flexing in different poses knowing that other gym-goers are watching). Sometimes people who are really into fitness can cross over into being self-obsessed, which leads me to my next point…

4. Physical fitness is frivolous: in addition to exercise being considered a waste of time (#1 above), some also think it is frivolous. “It’s bad enough you aren’t studying Torah or doing good deeds,” goes this line of thinking, “But you are avoiding those crucial endeavors to throw a ball through a hoop with your friends or ride a bicycle like a child.”

5. Exercising is immodest: going back to the Hanukkah story, Judaism values modesty and emphasizes inner beauty, as opposed to outer beauty. Working out sometimes involves tight clothing, seeing scantily clad members of the opposite sex (and being seen by them), working out in close proximity to the opposite sex, etc. Rather than trying to find a way to remain modest and stay in shape, some solve this problem by simply avoiding the gym and physical fitness.

Condemned to be Unhealthy? 

So does this list mean that traditional Judaism discourages Jews from exercising and eating right? No. Despite the very real concerns presented above, sincere adherents to Judaism know that we should strive to live long, healthy lives (“L’chaim!” as we say. Just don’t hit the booze too hard, or then you will really be unhealthy).

Good nutrition and exercise are also CRUCIAL to obtaining and maintaining simcha (it’s much harder to be happy when your body physically aches or you are in pain from serious health problems).

Keep an eye out for my next blog post, which will explain how the principles of a healthy lifestyle have been embedded in Judaism from the very beginning…

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