Question: All our thoughts and intentions come from the body. What is the best way to take care of the physical body? I know from my own experience that if I have gotten enough sleep, I am ready to engage in things connected with spiritual work.

Answer: Of course, the healthier a person’s body is, the better prepared they are for inner work. This is well known. We are obliged to give the body what it needs. The ancient Romans said: “A healthy mind in a healthy body.” By “mind” they meant the animal soul, but nevertheless, the principle remains. Therefore it is necessary to sleep, eat, wash the body, and take care of it.

When I lived in Rehovot, there was a young man that lived nearby who was raising a very expensive horse. The way he was caring for and cherishing it was unbelievable! It was his whole life. This image remained vividly in my memory. That is how one should care for the body. Of course, our entire life should not be focused on it, but we must give it what it requires.

This is how we should act. Let the body work for us, for the human being within us! For that purpose, I am ready to take care of it.

Rabash took great care of his body. I bought him all the necessary groceries—vegetables, fruit, and chocolate. He regularly took blood tests, and paid close attention to maintaining his health.

We used to go to the sea together. Until he swam 600 strokes, he would not come out of the water. And if we did not go to the sea, then there was walking, an hour and a half at a time. I had to sing something fast-paced, and we would walk to that rhythm for an hour and a half. In the middle of the walk we would stop for ten minutes, during which I was allowed to ask a question, and then we continued. At that time he was already 80 years old.

We also attended swimming or gymnastics sessions with a membership pass. My wife remembers that we used to spend three to four hours a day doing sports and physical exercises. Some people can sit all day long, but Rabash could not; his body required physical activity. I bought him a bicycle, and every evening he exercised on it doing 400 revolutions. That was not easy at all!

Once I was going through a terrible spiritual descent. At that time a yoga instructor used to come to us, and he taught us, not philosophy, but exercises that helped develop the body’s flexibility. I was in such a state then that I said, “I am not capable of doing this.”

“All right, then do not,” Rabash replied. “I will continue alone.”

He continued practicing with the yoga teacher at home, and in a few days I returned.

Rabash did everything according to a schedule. He assigned time to eat, time to drink, and so on. He never drank while eating, and never ate while drinking. His attitude toward the body was always very precise and disciplined. There were also things that I found very hard to endure.

For example, he did not allow the air conditioner to be turned on.

“This is natural heat; there is nothing to be done about it,” he would say. And we endured it.

“If you want, turn on a fan. It is like the wind; that is acceptable.”

My blood pressure would rise terribly. I felt as if I were about to explode. The temperature all around us was 40°C (104°F). Rabash tried to behave in relation to nature in the simplest possible way.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/26, Rabash, “What Are the Times of Prayer and Gratitude in the Work? ”

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