The Rambam writes that taking care of one's health is part of serving HaShem, for when a person is not well, he is unable to serve Him properly. Rebbi Yehuda HaChossid advises a person who is stressed to take a walk so that he can then return to his learning. Indeed, the Midrash relates that Dovid HaMelech would take walks in order to clear his mind and then learn further.
Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi was so wealthy that he always had unique produce served at his table, even when it was out of season. Nevertheless, before his passing, he raised his hands and declared, "I did not have any pleasure at all!" The Shelah explains that although Rebbi ate these delicacies, he did so only in order to be strong and healthy for avodas HaShem.
The Rebbe says that similarly, a person can take breaks for the sake of his health so that he will be able to serve HaShem. For this reason, too, when children are allowed to play, this too is kedusha, for in the case of Yidden, a holy nation, their body too is holy.
When people notified the Rebbe of their vacation plans for rest, the Rebbe would often give a bracha that it should bring about the desired result – strengthening the body. As the Rebbe Rashab expressed it, "How precious is the Yiddishe body for which so much Torah was given!" At the same time, care must be taken that one does not arrive at a situation in which the strength of the body weakens the neshama.
Rest, Don't Sleep
In a letter to one mother, the Frierdiker Rebbe writes, "Surely children must relax from time to time, from their toiling in learning; however, the relaxation of a ben Torah and yiras Shamayim does not mean to do nothing, but rather he uses this time to spread Torah and yiras Shamayim."
The Rebbe taught: We must conduct our lives contrary to the ways of the rest of the world. During the summer months, people often decrease their learning and focus on strengthening their physical health. We must do the opposite; we must focus on the health of the neshama, and then, automatically, our physical lives will be strengthened as well.
Moreover, as Chassidus teaches, during the summer there is an additional measure of Elokus in the world, which also finds expression in the additional sunlight at that time.
Standing on Guard
Midrash Shmuel writes that because physical desires are stronger in the summer, we learn Pirkei Avos particularly at that time, in order to reinforce our proper conduct.
The Gemara tells that one of the greatest chachomim, Rebbi Elazar ben Arach, traveled to distant lands and partook of the pleasures there, drinking the wine and bathing in the springs. As a result, he forgot what he had learned, and when he returned to the beis midrash and was called to the Torah, instead of reading החודש הזה לכם, he mistakenly read החרש הי' לבם.
The Rebbe Maharash explains the significance of these words, which literally mean, "their heart grew deaf." They imply that the heart was stopped up – it became insensitive to ruchniyus – as a result of the pleasures of which he had partaken.
Addressing the bochurim who would be speaking in various shuls, the Rebbe instructed them to speak about the avoda of the summer months: At that time, when nature blooms, one must be careful not to be overly drawn into physical pleasures, for he can be affected as Rebbi Elazar was. True, one must take care of his body, since this, too, is part of serving HaShem, yet one should not do so excessively. Rather, an appreciation of the beauty now apparent in nature, as in the blooming trees, can be channeled into kedusha: one should learn from them to grow in avodas HaShem.
On one of the weekly trips from datche back to Lubavitch, where the Rebbe Rashab would visit his mother and receive guests for yechidus, Shaul the wagon driver stopped near a well so that his horses could drink. When they finished, he whipped their backs and said, "Fools! Do you think I've given you water for your own benefit, so that the hay you've eaten should be tastier?! Not at all! I've given you water so that you'll have more strength and desire to shlepp the wagon!"
Hearing this, the Rebbe sat deep in earnest thought for some time and then said, "The Baal Shem Tov taught that whatever a Yid hears and sees is a lesson in avodas HaShem. A Yid must remember that he is given his physical needs in order to have the strength to shlepp the ruchniyus'dike wagon, through Torah and avoda. One must not err and think that what really counts is the hay, just for our indulgence."
Consider
Does indulging in the pleasures of vacation enhance its beneficial results or lessen them? How does one ensure that they do not get drawn into excessive pleasures?
