One of the challenges of being an observant Jew is balancing mind and body. I have to admit that I struggled greatly with this during six years of rabbinical school. Day after day, I would be hunched over books, attempting to download a rich tradition from the Bible to the contemporary responsa literature, from the Mishna to modern theology, from Talmud to pastoral counseling texts, from the medieval legal codes to modern Jewish literature. There often seemed to be so little time for observing the commandment of shmirat haguf - the care of the body, and most specifically for exercise. I joked with my colleagues that an appropriate bumper sticker for rabbinic students should read, "I lost my buns in the Bet Midrash (house of study)!"
As my exercise habits suffered during these years, I could see why Judaism is often billed as "cerebral," "bookish", or even downright intellectual. While these characteristics may draw us to Judaism in the first place, it is important to realize that a full expression of Judaism must involve the whole body, not just the mind.
Aaron is a shining example of this principle. In this week's Torah portion, as we read, "Thus you will bless the children of Israel." Rabbi Yosef Chaim Karo points out that The Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Sotah 35) tells us that Aaron specifically did this with the laying on of hands. He also makes the following points about our verse:
The blessing of the priests does not merely consist of words. Rather it must have the component of the laying on of hands, in order to join the hands to the blessing of the mouth, to embody it in action and good deeds.
And thus, this is how Aaron behaved: And Aaron placed his hands on the people and blessed them. He didn't just sit there with his handed folded - he didn't make do with blessings alone. Rather he used to love peace and pursue peace, both between a person and his fellow human being and between a person and his spouse. Only in blessings like these, with the laying on of hands, is there value.
Aaron was active in his blessings by using his hands and his full body in the process of blessing. And so it is with us - our challenge is to make Judaism a vibrant kinesthetic presence in our lives that drives us forward to "love peace and pursue peace," just as Aaron did. It is not enough to study. It is not enough to be learned. And, it is not even enough to bless alone. We must involve our hands, our body, our kavannah (intent) in our blessings of others.
Rabbi Karo's question about this verse was: What does the word "thus" mean? His answer is that "thus" means "how." How do we bless? This should be our question this week. How are we acting as blessings in the lives of others? How do we bless others? Do we offer our complete being - our hands, our mouth, the fullness of our body to serve God? Do our batei' midrash, our houses of study, reflect only the cerebral learning, or are they filled with talmidei hochamim, wise students, who take seriously the commandment of shmirat ha guf, the care of the body?
We do not need to wait for Mashiach, the Messiah to make this a reality. Perhaps some day soon our bumper sticker will read, "I found my body [as well as my mind] in the Bet Midrash (house of study)!" Ken yehi razon - May it be that we all grow to use both our mind and our body in the service of God. Shabbat Shalom!