Igrot Kodesh · Letter 8090 — Health
Volume 21 · Letter 337 · To: distingué ‘Hassid qui craint D.ieu
By the grace of Hashem,
20 Shevat* 5716,
Brooklyn,
To the distinguished Chassid* who fears Hashem, of good sentiments,
Rav Elchanan HaCohen (note 1: Rav E. Kawen. See, regarding him, letter no. 5018),
I greet you and bless you,
I received, with pleasure, your letter of 15 Shevat*, new year of the trees. One knows the explanation cited by various works of exegesis, in the spirit of this day and with the inspiration it brings, based on the verse: "For man is like the tree of the field." When a man strengthens his moral health, he thereby strengthens his physical health. Indeed, the Jews are "a unique people on the earth" (note 2: See, on this subject, letters no. 5548 and 7718). In every place, they demonstrate this unity, which also exists between the material and the spiritual, between the body and the soul. And this is one of the commentaries that can be given on the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov*, according to which one must serve Hashem joyfully and by making use of one's body (note 3: Not by breaking it through mortifications), without causing it suffering, but rather by enlisting it.
In fact, one can observe all of this with one's own eyes. When the body is in good health, of course in a Jewish manner, through kosher food, it does not obstruct the study of the Torah* and the practice of the Mitzvos*, provided one wishes to devote oneself to them. According to a well-known explanation of our Sages (note 4: In tractate Sanhedrin* 99b, which specifies: "in the heavenly sanctuary and in the earthly sanctuary." See, on this subject, letters no. 740, 6271, and 6930), establishing peace between the body and the soul, as well as between the divine soul and the animal soul, is also the means of eliciting and obtaining peace around oneself, in one's immediate or even distant environment and, in this way, in the entire world. This manner of acting will develop the most general peace, that of the period regarding which the prophet Yeshayahu* says: "A nation will no longer lift the sword against another and they will no longer learn war" (Yeshayahu* 2:4). With my blessing,