A Foundation of Health2 min read

Hashem’s love letter to the Jewish nation, the holy Torah, begins with the words, “Bereishis bara Elokim es hashomayim v’es ha’aretz.” Literally translated, these words mean, “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.” Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Ishbitz perceives a deeper level of meaning.

Everybody knows that the first step in building a structure is to lay a proper foundation. Only a fool would consider running wires or installing plumbing before building a sturdy frame rooted in cemented groundwork. It is only once a foundation has been formed that the myriad details of the construction can commence. The Ishbitzer teaches that in much the same way, when Hashem created the world He began by laying healthy foundations upon which to build His marvelous creation. Instead of reading the words, “Beriehis bara Elokim” as, “In the beginning, God created,” the Ishbitzer reads them in the following, novel manner: “In the beginning, God made healthy;” Hashem laid a foundation for His creation which was bursting with vitality, health, and the certain capacity to succeed.

The tzaddikim teach that each individual is an Olam Katan, a microcosm of the world at large. Just as the world was created to allow for the expression of Hashem’s Masterplan, so was each and every individual created for a particular purpose, to utilize both the positive and negative elements of his or her experience in serving the Infinite One. This means that in the same way the world’s mission depends on its having been built upon “beriyus”, a foundation of health and boundless potential, so is each individual’s success reliant upon the investment in a healthy foundation.

What form does this foundation take in the human experience? The Ishbitzer sees the answer hidden in the next words in the verse, “Es hashomayim v’es ha’aretz.” The health of “Bara Elokim” takes two forms: “Es hashomayim v’es ha’aretz”; an aspect of heaven, and an aspect of earth. These elements respectively relate to the heart and mind of a Jew. When one works on devoting his heart solely to Hashem’s Will and fills his mind with Torah ideas, this lays a healthy foundation upon which all other facets of his life can come together in the service of Hashem. “Bereishis bara Elokim es hashomayim v’es ha’aretz” – before anything else, one must create a healthy foundation for his inner world by filling his heart and mind with the spirit and joy of his Jewishness.