.header.>Volume 3, No. 20 | Welcome to the World of Rabbi Riddle.
 |  |
 | You shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell within them!
|
|
In this week's Torah Portion, Terumah, G-d commands the Jewish people to build a dwelling place for the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments. However, G-d doesn't say, "I will dwell within it." Instead, He states, "I will dwell within them." This teaches us that every Jewish person has a soul within him or her which is truly a part of G-d. It also teaches us that our bodies are holy - just like the dwelling place for the Ten Commandments. Therefore, we must treat our bodies with care and respect.
- Maimonides says: "The purpose of maintaining the body in good health is to acquire wisdom and come closer to G-d."
- The Torah forbids making tattoos and scars, or causing other types of damage to our bodies.
- The Torah commands us to eat kosher food to be a holy nation. But how we eat is as important as what we eat. That's why our sages say that we should eat according to our needs, not our desires.
Copyright © 2000 by:
Released Time Program of Greater New York
The National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education
824 Eastern Parkway • Brooklyn, NY 11213
(718) 735-0215 • info@RabbiRiddle.org • Fax: (718) 735-4455
<.footer.>