BODY IMAGE

BODY IMAGE

BODY IMAGE, FEMININE BEAUTY AND TORAH

by Rebbetzin Feige Twerski

The Torah compares the relationship between body and soul to that of a horse and rider. The horse is there to get the rider where the rider needs to go. And hopefully the rider is in command of the horse. The rider is a metaphor for the soul (neshama) and the horse represents the body, which is the vehicle that will get the soul where it needs to go.

From a Jewish perspective, the physical world is a realm of free choice. Here we are challenged to select between good and evil. This world of the body presents us the opportunity to select good over evil and to enjoy a relationship with G-d, while actively accumulating reward for our eternal existence in the world to come. Upon leaving this world, we will no longer choose between good and evil, since evil does not exist in the next realm.

Our physical existence is central to our involvement with Torah. When Moses ascended Mount Sinai to study the Torah, the angels protested the Almighty's decision to give human beings His prize possession. Moses argued that spiritual beings should not receive Torah, which is a guide for dealing with the challenges of physicality. Only we human beings need the Torah to steer us between right and wrong.

Another aspect of the connection between Torah and the physical is our anatomy. The total number of our limbs and sinews equals 613, corresponding to the 613 commandments (mitzvahs) in the Torah. Every part of our body has an opportunity to reach the Almighty through Torah and mitzvot.

The value of the body in Judaism is exemplified in the Garden of Eden. When G-d asked first man to choose a name, he replied, "call me Adam because I come from the earth." If a human being consists of two dimensions - one that is fleeting, while the other is part and parcel of God - why did first man decide to call himself Adam, referring to the fact that he came from dust and would return to dust? Why did Adam not focus on the more exalted aspect of his being, perhaps by calling himself "neshama" or "soul"?

Adam asked to be called by the name that referred to the human being's unique ability to sanctify physical existence. No other being uses physicality, which can take us far afield, in the service of the Almighty.

Beauty has the same potential, as one of the predominant expressions of our material existence. Our sages tell us that God has endowed the world with many expressions of His essential beauty. So it is something definitely of value. But we need to know the dimensions of beauty, in order to handle this attribute appropriately. On Succoth, the Torah tells us to take the fruit of a beautiful tree, called the etrog. The Torah refers to this tree as a beautiful tree amidst all others, precisely because it endures through all seasons. In contrast to the elusive and ever changing definition of beauty in modern society, the etrog's attractiveness is the opposite of temporary and intermittent. In other words, the beauty referred to in the Torah is everlasting. As we know, physical beauty does not always endure. For this reason, Torah obligates us to respect an older person, who has weathered the storms of life and has so to speak made their way towards an enduring eternity. While the Jewish concept of beauty is not fleeting or superficial, this definition does not necessarily exclude outer beauty as long as it radiates from inside out.

The Torah tells us about four great beauties in Jewish history: Sarah; Rachav, who saved the Jewish people when they first entered Israel and married Joshua, Avigail, a wife of King David, who counseled him at a critical moment in Jewish history; and Esther, who understood that she had been blessed her with physical beauty in order to help the Jewish people create a better future. Each woman understood that her external beauty was a vehicle to be used in the service of God.

In Judaism, sexuality is a major aspect of our existence as decidedly physical beings who aspire to eternity. In Temple times, the high priest (Kohen) could not serve unless he was married. He had to be confronted with the challenge of living in the physical world, rather than denying or retreating from it. In the same manner, the union of husband and wife is considered a challenge and a call to holiness. Since God's essence is oneness, a couple who creates oneness in their sexual life brings down God's unity, meaning that the soul, the emotions, the whole human being in total convenes.

As Jewish women, it is important for us to look beautiful in general. We should be put together in such a way that anybody who looks at us says, "ah, a Jewish person, whose outer appearance even indicates she is a part of the chosen people."

In our generation, our world of appearances, outer beauty is venerated. There's an obsession with it. And as such, we have eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia and such. There's a Torah mandate to careful with one's body, as the earthly residence of the soul. There is an obligation to eat, to drink and to sleep. One of the Hassidic rebbes on his deathbed called in his son who used to forget to eat and drink, because he was on such a high spiritual level. The rebbe cautioned his son to be more careful, explaining how a little hole in the body creates a big hole in the soul.

Each of us must take good care of our body. Hopefully we'll all of us be able to create a beauty of person that will shine from the inside outwards.

Rebbetzin Twerski lectures on a myriad of Jewish subjects and co-directs retreat weekends with her husband in her native Milwaukee and throughout North America. She is noted for her insight on contemporary Jewish issues etc...