Helmets for Soldiers Isn't Enough
Every Jew needs support in our war for wellness. Here's how you can help.
Dear Healthy Jew,
Since the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, Israel and the Jewish people have been at war on three fronts:
The war of bodies with guns, airplanes, and tanks.
The war of minds online, in the media, and in cities all over the world.
The war for wellness in the lives of every Jew on earth. We’re all combating fear, anxiety, distraction, and stress. We’re all looking for meaning inside the madness.
The first two wars receive the attention they deserve. But the third can seem less urgent. Taking care of our bodies and spirits can wait for later, we might think, because now we’re thinking about the hundreds of thousands who’ve lost their lives, loved ones, incomes, communities, or homes.
But if we don’t invest in the war for wellness, we might lose the health and faith we need to fight our other wars. We can get obsessed with what’s happening “over there,” forgetting that our lives are happening right here. As individuals and as a nation, we might fall into anxious depression or lash out irresponsibly in anger.
Israel needs healthy Jews who are living healthy and meaningful lives. And Israel needs Jews who value and cherish their land.
At The Healthy Jew, we’ve been on the frontlines of the war for wellness from the week the war broke out. Through dozens of posts, pictures, and videos, I’ve worked day and night to show the solution that lies in appreciating the Land of Israel, and shared with you practical strategies to find wellness during wartime.
The Book: Land of Health
As you may have seen, several months ago I self-published a small book, Land of Health: Israel’s War for Wellness, based on the essays I’ve been sending you every week.
In this book, you’ll learn how to win your war for wellness in two ways:
Moshe’s (Moses) failed spies cried that Israel is a “land that eats its inhabitants.” After the horrors of the past year, it’s easy to think of Israel as a dangerous place where people fight and die. We must turn to the land – its plants, landscapes, and heritage – and join the response of Yehoshua (Joshua) and Calev (Caleb): “the land is very, very good!”
In Part One, I invite you to exchange the current images of pain and fear with portraits of purpose and health.
We enter humankind, taught the Rambam (Maimonides), when our minds guide our bodies’ actions toward physical and emotional well-being.1 Caring for our health, he added, is “from the ways of God” that the Torah instructs to emulate – not merely to understand intellectually.2 Even during crises – especially during crises – we must take our health seriously: not only to make a good life possible, but because caring for ourselves is where good choices begin.
In Part Two, I share practical strategies for healthy Jewish living in times of crisis, whether from this war or in your personal life. We’ll touch all areas of life: eating, exercise, emotional health, and, of course, spirituality and faith.
Most of the book’s many full-color pictures were taken in this past year, portraying the beauty and spirit of the land of Israel beyond the wars and worries of its people.
Support Israel’s War for Wellness
From the feedback I’ve received, the book has already helped hundreds of people find meaning and wellness during this current crisis.
I’m currently working with Menucha Publisher’s expert team on an expanded edition that will be professionally edited, typeset, designed, printed, and distributed, so that its messages of hope and health can, with God’s help, reach many thousands more.
We’re aiming to have it in stores all over the world by mid-late September, in time for the first yartzeit (sadly, that’s what it is) of October 7 which falls this year right after Rosh Hashanah.
Would you, or someone you know, be interested in supporting this important project?
Every contribution is deeply appreciated. There are also dedication opportunities in honor or memory of whoever you wish (see note for details3).
Healthy Jew is partnering in this project with the Zichron Yaakov Eliyahu Fund of the Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh, based in Baltimore, MD, which will be processing tax-deductible sponsorships.
The simplest way to donate is through the donate button on this form:
Thank you for joining me in serving our nation during these difficult times.
Shemonah Perakim 5
Hilchos Deos 4
Sponsorship opportunities:
To name the book (“Moshe Cohen edition”) - $9000. (This comes with one premium foraging walk, value of $350.)
Full page in front - $3000 (Comes with one standard foraging walk, value of $200.)
Full page in back - $1500 (Comes with half-price discount for any foraging walk.)
Half page in back - $750
Feel free to contact me to arrange a payment plan by writing to contact@healthyjew.org