Shmirat ha-Guf Value: Shmirat ha-Guf
Shmirat ha-guf means “guarding the body”. It is the mitzvah to treat your body as a holy place. In the Torah we are told: “Take care of yourself, and guard your soul diligently” (Deuteronomy 4:9). Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav taught, “Every person must take great care of his or her physical body” (Likutei Moharan I, 22:5). Rabbi Elliot Dorff wrote, “American law would permit me to eat a half-gallon of ice cream every night of the week. I might be stupid to do so because I will look and feel terrible and endanger my life, but that is my choice. In Jewish law, though, I do not have that right because I have a legal duty to take care of my body, since it belongs to God.” Our bodies are holy, and how we use them is a sacred choice. Shmirat ha-guf is not just about working out. It is also about drugs, drinking, health care, and a lot of other big issues. Guarding our body has to do with many different things we have to do or not do.
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