The reality is simple and indisputable: our health depends on two major factors:
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The actions we take to care for our own health.
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Factors that affect our health but are beyond our control.
When it comes to what we cannot control, we place our trust in HaShem.
That is why praying and asking HaShem to protect us from diseases, and to help us heal when we are ill, is essential.
At the same time, Judaism teaches that there is a strong interaction between HaShem and the physician.
Being a doctor is one of the noblest professions, because the physician acts as a proxy of God.
In my own words: HaShem heals us through the doctors.
When a surgeon operates, we believe that HaShem is guiding his hands.
For this reason, unlike certain other religions or cults, Judaism considers it a mitzva — an obligation — to visit doctors regularly and entrust ourselves to their care.
As the Tora commands:
וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם
“You shall diligently guard your lives.”
Maintaining good health requires, first of all, routine medical checkups — especially when we have, or suspect we have, any symptoms of illness.
Keeping ourselves healthy also means staying away from bad habits.
For example: smoking.
If I smoke, I cannot expect HaShem to protect me from the consequences of tobacco.
Nor can I expect the doctor to perform miraculous treatments on my lungs while I continue to smoke.
In addition to avoiding bad habits, we must also adopt preventive habits.
Many of these “segulot” for preventing illness were formulated by haRambam — Maimonides — 800 years ago.
Maimonides, who was not only a great rabbi but also a famous physician, devoted an entire chapter of Mishne Tora (Hilkhot De’ot, chapter 4) to preventive medicine.
Anticipating the modern concept of “preventive medicine” by eight centuries, Maimonides discussed diet, sleep, physical exercise, hygiene, and more.
Let’s begin with what he taught about eating habits.
The first thing we must improve, according to Maimonides, is our eating. He teaches us that we should eat in moderation: eat to live, and not live to eat.
In De’ot, chapter 4, halakha 2, Maimonides warns about overeating — in Hebrew, akhila gasa — gluttony:
“One should not eat until his stomach is full, but only up to three-quarters of his total satisfaction.”
In other words, it is actually good to feel a little hungry after we finish eating. It is a desirable and healthy habit.
We live in a time when most of us, Barukh HaShem, have food on our tables.
In the United States, for example, the major public health problem is no longer malnutrition, but overeating.
Obesity has become an epidemic and is now the number one health risk for millions of people.
Maimonides said it explicitly in 4:15:
“Overeating (akhila gasa) is toxic to the body of any person. It is the main source of all diseases. Most illnesses that afflict a person are caused either by eating harmful foods or by filling the stomach and overeating — even with healthy foods.”
He adds that King Solomon already warned about this in Mishle (Proverbs) 21:23:
“Whoever cares for his mouth and his tongue preserves his soul from anguish.”
“Caring for his mouth” includes avoiding harmful foods and refraining from overeating.
Finally, I leave for the end what I consider the most practical and powerful piece of advice from Maimonides regarding eating habits:
4:1 — “Do not eat unless you are hungry.”
SEGULA: Repeat these words of Maimonides in Hebrew with nekudot:
לְעוֹלָם לֹא יֹאכַל אָדָם אֶלָּא כְּשֶׁהוּא רָעֵב וְלֹא יִשְׁתֶּה אֶלָּא כְּשֶׁהוּא צָמֵא
Eating healthily and avoiding overeating will help us enjoy a long life of good health.
