Several years ago, when gas was still $1.99 a Gallon, I was once at a Gas Station preparing to fill up my car, when I suddenly realized that I was holding the wrong kind of fuel nozzle in my hand. I quickly pressed cancel and then proceeded to pump the correct gas into my car. I realized that had I put the wrong kind of fuel in my car, I would have ended up damaging my engine and would have wound up with an expensive repair bill.
The car that I drive is not the only engine I have to deal with and add fuel. Two years ago, I went and put the wrong mix in my snow blower and since then it has pretty much stopped working. My arms and shoulders felt that mistake every time a big snowstorm hit us.
Then there is the ultimate machine that we deal with each day, our bodies, which need to be nurtured right and given the correct balance of nutrition and movement. If we start loading our body with the wrong fuel and nutrition, we start to feel the difference pretty soon as eventually it all catches up with us. Thus if we want to feel right and feel energized, we need to make sure we are eating and drinking right, sleeping right and exercising enough.
In Judaism, we are taught that there is another important valve that helps our human motor be energized right, and that is our soul. Judaism teaches that for a human being to burn and shine correctly we need to ensure that we are providing the right kind of fuel and doing it in a balanced and healthy manner. Therefore, while we have our Elliptical or Jogger for our daily physical workout, we also need to ensure that we have a good spiritual workout each day, to keep us spiritually healthy and help us see the world around us with the right perspective and balance.
In fact, in many Jewish sources the body and soul are often compared to a candle and flame, with each element feeding and helping the other to ensure that they shine properly and achieve a shared productive goal. Spiritual fuel is not just an abstract feel good concept with no real meaning; rather it is a critical element of being able to connect with our inner self and who we are. The right spiritual balance helps us achieve genuine happiness and fulfillment, fosters healthy and wholesome relationships, helps us be driven and active in helping those in need and those who are less fortunate than us, and of course it helps us keep and develop our relationship with G-d, the source of all the above.
In this week’s portion, we read about the seven-branched Menorah that was lit each day in the Temple. Each one of the seven branches had its own flame, but with the wicks facing inward to the central flame. Spiritually this represents the various spiritual approaches that we all have, but ultimately they all are stemming from one stem, and the flames are all turned towards one common goal. The flames, amounts, and types of fuel that we all have may vary, but each part if critical for a healthy flame (individual) and a healthy Menorah (People).
In truth, our Chabad Center and the home of each and every one of us are really spiritual work out centers, where we spend time doing some spiritual workouts, including but not limited to, self reflection and improvement, prayer, Torah Study, healthy relationships, and lots of different kinds of actions and Mitzvot that help us get where we need to in life, and help us make the world and society around us the place that it needs to be. We have lifelong free membership at these workout places, now our challenge is to get on the spiritual treadmill each day.
Back to the Elliptical. Shabbat Shalom
Yisroel