Lots of great people
are often tired, stressed, or out sick.
suffer from common chronic conditions.
want to eat healthy and exercise regularly, but can’t manage to stick with it.
Why? Because living life can stop us from living well.
“I’m too busy to go for a run, certainly to sit there cutting salad.”
“My family needs me: how can I stop to relax while the kids wait to be fed, bathed, and clothed?”
“The little free time I have must go to Torah study, prayer, and helping others.”
But when we’re worn out, we have much less to offer God and others.
There is a solution:
Become a Healthy Jew.
Choose wellness - not only to make a good life possible, but because caring for yourself is where good choices begin.
You’ll become a whole person: as the Rambam (Maimonides) taught, we enter humankind when our minds guide our actions toward physical and emotional health.
You’ll become a better Jew: caring for your health, the Rambam taught, is "from the ways of God" that the Torah instructs to emulate – not merely to understand intellectually.
You’ll enjoy the process, because healthy Jewish living means balance - not perfection, asceticism, or amazing athletic feats.
You’ll come to cherish the Land the Israel, the healthy body of the Jewish people.
Whatever your current state of health, you can become a Healthy Jew by putting yourself first. God thinks you’re worth it.
Want to become a Healthy Jew?
First of all, subscribe for free to The Healthy Jew newsletter.
I send a weekly email newsletter thousands of subscribers all over the world, covering two related topics:
Jewish Wellness shows you how and why to:
Eat Well: what, when, and how much to eat and drink. Life coming in.
Move Well: walking, hiking, running, and stretching. Life going out.
Be Well: embrace life’s stresses and challenges. Let go, with purpose.
Appreciate and practice Healthy Jewish living, because life’s spiritual quests begin with wellness.
Land of Israel invites you to:
Forage Israel: eat the plants whose ancestors were eaten by your ancestors - right here in this field or ancient site.
Walk Israel: stories, insights, pictures, and videos that you won’t find anywhere else.
Value and cherish Healthy Israel, the body of the Jewish nation. Care for your nation’s body as you do for your own.
The Healthy Jew enters your inbox at 7:00 AM (Israel time).
Also check out the archive! The website has hundreds of easily navigatible posts.
Subscribers are saying:
Shmuel offers a unique perspective to health-conscious people looking for more than the latest wellness influencers' fads, with plenty of nutrition and no politics. — Karen Armstrong, The Rotten Apple
Because our body is the kli kadosh [holy container] for the awesome task of living to serve Hashem [God], it’s easy to recognize that caring for our health is an important part of serving Hashem, as the Rambam writes. I’m grateful to Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Naiman for teaching both the wisdom and practice of healthy living. — Rabbi Binyamin Jacobson, Rosh Kollel Ohr Lagolah, Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel
Great publication! The palpable love for Eretz Yisrael [Israel] is inspiring, and the discussion of health in the context of Torah is superb. We need more of this! — Rabbi Shnayor Burton, Senior Editor at Artscroll Mesorah Publications (and author of Unapologetics)
Hey, there’s also a book!
After October 7, The Healthy Jew enlisted to defend the Jewish people – not to fight the war of bodies (with guns and tanks) or minds (online and in the media), but to combat fear, anxiety, stress, and negative drama. In this war for wellness, everyone is a soldier.
Many of my recent posts cover this war for wellness, and are the basis of my new book, Land of Health: Israel’s War for Wellness. It’s available online, in Jewish bookstores all over the world, and directly from me in Ramat Bet Shemesh.
Finally, let’s go foraging!
Foraging for edible and medicinal plants is fascinating, fun, and an excellent entrance to healthy living, besides offering a unique taste – literally - of the Land of Israel.
Wild plants silently bear witness to the march of time, bonding together places and people of the past, present, and future. Foraging makes Israel come alive - our heritage isn't just a bunch of half-buried buildings and stones!
Foraging also gives a hands-on experience of Healthy Jewish wellness:
Eat Well. Many wild leaves, flowers, and fruits are unusually packed with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and even medicinal compounds. People often ask on foraging walks, “So what is this plant good for?” My first answer is usually that it’s very, very good for food.
Move Well. Foraging was humankind’s original exercise: moving around in search for sustenance. When walking in nature to gather food, we're deeply aware that we're journeying through the world and life.
Be Well. Foraging teaches stability, equanimity, and balance. Plant life stems from far beneath the ground, its sustenance and growth rooted in the timeless, motionless earth. By directly connecting with the world of plants, we too can leave the frenzy of life’s activities and worries, becoming just a bit plant-like.
To learn much more about foraging in Israel - in text, pictures, and videos, check out my many posts about foraging here on The Healthy Jew.
Who am I?
I’m Shmuel Chaim Naiman, a Torah student, health teacher, foraging guide, and the grateful husband of Tamar and father of Avital, Eitan, and Achiya.
I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, came to Israel at age 19 to study for a year or so, and stayed. We currently live in Ramat Bet Shemesh, which is a useful tidbit to know, as much of what I share happens in the area, often together with my nightly Healthy Jew class at the local Yeshivas Lev Hatorah.
My primary occupation has always been studying, writing, and teaching Torah. I’ve invested many years researching the areas of Jewish law and thought relevant to health and wellness, focusing particularly on the writings and intellectual traditions of the Rambam (Maimonides), Ramban (Nachmanides), and Ramchal (Luzzato). I’ve also learned these subjects from some of the world’s greatest scholars, and developed close relationships with them.
On the professional side, I completed a three-year program at Reidman College to become a Healthy Lifestyle Counselor / Natural Nutritionist, which I like to shorten to Certified Health Coach.
Over many years, I’ve accumulated knowledge and experience that inform a broad perspective on health and wellness, particularly relating to living in Israel. My interests include history, geography, hiking, archeology, and foraging for edible and medicinal plants.
I’ve always loved reading and writing: my first career involved researching and editing a wide range of topics. Although eventually I got bored and left the field, The Healthy Jew draws from experience in research, writing, and critical thinking.
But I’m not a doctor or therapist, just your local health teacher and foraging guide. To learn more about what I am not, check out here.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or complaints, please reach out to me at scnaiman@healthyjew.org. I’d love to hear from you.
Be in touch, and be well,
Shmuel Chaim
Medical Disclaimer: All content on The Healthy Jew is for informational and educational purposes only. Talk to a qualified professional before taking any action or substance that you read about here.
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