Pre Disposition

Pre Disposition

You are trying to convince someone to put up a Mezuzah. He is not interested. You say that the Mezuzah protects the home. He answers, “I have a friend who is religious, he has a Mezuzah on every door, yet he’s been robbed 3 times in the last 2 years; why would I put one up?”.

Someone tells you “Look at so and so, he’s been working for 50 years yet doesn’t make a living, why should I work”. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? So, why is it that when we hear about an exerciser and health buff who dies young we say “Look at him, exercising and watching what he eats all his life, and he dropped dead, and look at me, never exercised, eat what I want, and I’m fine”

These arguments and rationalizations don’t really hold water. A Mitzvah is incumbent on an individual. We can’t compare ourselves to someone else. We must put up the Mezuzah because it’s a Mitzvah, we must work because it’s a Mitzvah, and we must live healthy because it’s a Mitzvah. What someone else experiences does not enter into the equation. The mitzva is for you and you must perform it the best you can.

Another argument people use is pre-disposition. It goes something like this. Disease X is prevalent in my family, chances are I’m going to get it. That is true but the operative word is “Chances”. The reason doctors ask for family histories is so that they can monitor you for these pre-dispositions. This does not mean you are going to get the disease. In my case heart disease is a pre-disposition. My Grandfather had it and so did my Father. My Father was younger than me when he had multiple bypasses. Does that mean I am going to have it? No one knows. But I do know that if I take care of myself my chances are much better that I won’t have heart problems.

To re-enforce this idea here is something that happened five years ago. During a run another a runner came up beside me and we started talking. He told me he is from British Columbia and that he has been running since his 40’s. He was 66 at the time of our meeting. He says that he started to run for his health. In his family there is a genetic pre-disposition for diabetes, heart disease, obesity, kidney problems, etc.  His siblings, parents, and various other relatives all have some sort of related ailment. Some of them died young. Except for him. That’s what running did for him. It eliminated his pre-disposition. Now when someone tells me about genetics, I tell them this story.

Then there is the philosophical argument that people make. Hashem gives us years, there is nothing I can do about it. True. I could have made that argument when my doctor put me on blood pressure pills and told me my sugar was too high. And I could have said the same thing about my gout and acid reflux. But healthy living is for today. How am I living now? We don’t exercise to add years to our life but to add life to our years!

Here is a point to ponder. We buy a car. We take care of the car. After all, if we take care of it, we will have it longer. We don’t say things like “I don’t know how long the car will last, maybe it will get totalled in an accident, so why should I take care of it?”

It’s quite interesting that no one makes that argument regarding Parnassah. Yet we are told that the amount of money that we will earn is pre-ordained. Here is a quote by Josh Gordon from a popular song by Benny Friedman quoting a letter from the Rebbe.

“If you want to succeed you need two things, number one you need to make a decision to work hard, you need to get up very early in the morning and pound the pavement, but that’s not enough, you need alacrity and great bitachon.”.

We work hard knowing full well that the amount of money we will earn is pre-ordained. If someone told you to sit in shul all day and the money will come, you would tell them they are crazy. And when Rosh Hashanah comes around what do we ask for: Parnassah. (See Likutei Sichos 19 page 291 where the Rebbe discusses how is it that we request Parnassah during the crowning of the King). Yet when it comes to taking care of our health, we make all kinds of excuses.

I once learned a Maamer that discussed the concept of Parnassah. The amount a person will make is allocated at the beginning of the year. But it is up to that person to create the keli (vessel) to receive that brocha (blessing). If the keli is not created, then the bracha will have no where to go. So, it might be pre-determined that you will earn ten million dollars this year but if you sit around doing nothing there will be no keli and the 10 million won’t be deposited in your bank account. Who hasn’t bought a lottery ticket with the same logic. That is, “I need to create the keli”.

Can we not say the same thing for our health? The human body is designed for a certain number of years. But we must keep it healthy so that it can handle those years. The Rambam at the end of discussing diet and eating habits says that if one follows his guidelines, he guarantees that he will live his life free of sickness. Granted times have changed and the Rambams eating guidelines may not apply. But the general principle of healthy eating and exercise are even more important today precisely because the times have changed. We are no longer active like in the past and our eating habits have drastically changed. In both cases for the worse. Most people sit all day and then get in their cars to drive four blocks. Yes, the times have certainly changed, and we need to be even more vigilant when it comes to taking care of our health.

It is worth repeating what I said earlier “We don’t exercise to add years to our life but to add life to our years!”

Wishing you and yours a Kesiva V’chasima Tova with an abundance of Health and Wealth! And as a Rebbe once said: “The Torah begins with the words Bereishi Boro which can be also read as Breishis Bori – as in healthy; The first thing is that we must be healthy!”

Shmarya Richler
health@richler.org