Do
not let your kids read this article. In
this sentence I am going to mention a VERY dirty word, carbohydrates. The diet de jour is abstaining from carbohyrates. Atkins must have died a
very rich - if thin- man. So many people
throughout America are now skinny, thanks to him.
In
every generation a new diet arises that the previous generation knew not. Personally, I would like to make my own
(copyrighted) suggestion for America. I
recommend fasting.
Actually,
I read in the news that people are already catching on to the idea that fasting
can reduce weight. As the New York Times
reported recently, "While millions of high-fat, low-carb devotees are
gorging themselves on steak and butter, a small group of the body-conscious
have opted to eat nothing at all."
No doubt in paying many dollars for instructions on “how to fast”, some
gurus will get fat, thick wallets.
I
fast for about 25 hours each year. So do
you. I guess that puts us on the cutting
edge of the latest fad.
I also fasted for other people; those throughout the world for whom
hunger and thirst are features of everyday life. Isaiah instructs that the fast is valueless
without alleviating the horror of everyday hunger.
True, there was a moment or two during services on the morning of Yom
Kippur when I prayed for a large cafe latte... Even a cup of joe from the 7-11
would have been welcome.
But then I pushed the idea from my mind as we stood once more for the al
cheyt. Spiritual hunger is a stronger force than stomach rumbling. The great vacuum of the soul is far more
compelling than any physical discomfort.
As my teacher, a survivor of Auschwitz, was told by his father “We can
survive food and water deprivation but not loss of hope.” In the absence of all material need, we find
wholeness.
Once a year, we forgo the worry about the next meal and join in a
communal act of contrition.
“We don't do this to lose weight, or
"detox" the body of all sort of imagined, invisible intrusions. We
don't pay thousands of dollars to expensive spas to eat virtually nothing at
all, or to nutritional consultants who promise to coach their clients in the
"art" of prolonged self-denial. We're not living on nut butter and
apple-chard juice and pretending to be healthy,” as one commentator put it.
Health, for Jews, transcends the physical
realm. What good is a healthy body
inside a mind of skewed values? Mind
you, I am not advocating obesity or callousness about one’s health but the body
houses the pinnacle of every human being, not vice versa. In other words, we are soulful beings, not
lusting animals.
An anomaly: Only the rich can afford to
indulge in this kind of purging the body.
While thousands will hungry tonight and many die of starvation, thousands
of others will pay for the privilege of fasting.
What humanity
needs continual reminding of is to feed and nourish the soul. Too often it is left out to shiver in the
cold. Life is meaningful.... As we say on Pesah, “Let all who are hungry,
come and eat...”. This time, the food is
of a different sort.
And best of all, there are no dishes.
