If you talk their talk and eat their eats then….. Walk their Walk!
Shabbos besides being the holiest day of the year could also be the healthiest day of the year. If you consider the rest, meditation and distressing that we partake is so soothing and replenishing to our over worked bodies. The problem is that a lot of us ruin it with the way we eat or should I say over indulge. The excuses given for the near gluttony are endless many of them are even cloaked in religious practice and some even make it into a mitzvah
Just of few of them are “what ever you eat on Shabbos doesn’t count” I have yet to see a written source for this, but I can show you thousands of waistlines that prove the opposite. “You can’t fulfill the mitzvah of Shabbos unless you have cholent and potato kugle.” What a shame that Dovid Hamelech, Rebbi Akiva and Rav Yosef Caro just to name a few never had a chance to keep Shabbos properly. Then you have those that claim this is how they did it in Europe. This statement is only half true they might have eaten that way but they did a lot more work till that food got to the table. There were no cars to schlep the food, it was done by walking and most people didn’t have a wagon and even if they did they pulled or pushed the wagon. Once they got it home everything was made from scratch no fast food to buy. Everything was a workout the water and fire wood, the starting the fire, the grinding and cutting no cuisinarts. There was no refrigeration so food preparation was done daily. The challah kneaded by hand after sifting and the jobs go on and on. Also, I don’t think that most of the Jews of Europe could afford to load the tables like we do and especially with all the lavish desserts. Remember sugar was a luxury in Europe that most people could not afford. The Jews of Europe burnt a lot more calories than we do. So, if you want to be like they were in Europe park the car and walk, by pass the take out joints, put away the cuisinart, pump your water, and schlep your wood. If not you can join us with some wonderful tasty non oily warm zucchini kugle and hot vegetable stew. Skip the overly sugar laden starchy taste great but stomach upsetting desserts for a delicious fresh fruit that Hashem has blessed us with. Now we can say that not only is Shabbos the holiest day of the year it is also the healthiest. Shabbat Shalom and may we all reach our optimal health. Ahealthyrabbi.com