the wisdom of the body

What lessons do our bodies teach us about God? Presumably, we are incarnate for a reason. God could have made us of ether, undifferentiated energy, or pure thought. Why arms, toes, lungs, teeth, bone and sinew? Why a physical form with a limited lifespan? There must be some reason. What might we learn about spirituality from our physicality?

First, that body and spirit are not separate things. There is no duality. What we are is inseparable from who we are. We are not souls held captive by flesh; rather, our souls grow with our body, and they are embodied by it. My colleague and havruta (study partner) has a rare enzyme deficiency that makes it painful for him to walk long distances or do strenuous exercise. The year we spent studying amid Jerusalem’s hills was nightmarish for him. As he slogged up those hills every day to pray and learn, he displayed outstanding courage and perseverance. His soul expanded as his body grew strong. On the other hand, we can surpass our bodies. A congregant with Multiple Sclerosis found his body drawing ever constricting limits on his movement. As even reading and writing became arduous, another part grew from deep within him. He found inward resources he had not imagined.

Second, the body can be a source of revelation to us. Like lightning-bolts of insight that Maimonides described, our bodies flash messages from God. Another colleague was destined to become a professional dancer, but on the eve of her acceptance to a prestigious New York ballet company, the bones of her foot splintered from repetitive stress. Even after major orthopedic surgeries she could scarcely walk, let alone dance, for months. The experience shattered her relationship with God. For years, she had to reconstruct that Divine partnership, just as she reclaimed her ability to walk. Eventually, she decided to become a rabbi, and help others find their path to God, even when the ways seem barred or scarred.

So, is there a converse relationship? If our bodies can teach us about God, what can God teach us about our bodies? Particularly, what can prayer teach us about our body? Jewish prayer can seem like a very calm, complacent and sedentary process, far removed from our bodies. It does not have to be. The Talmud says that when Rabbi Akiva would pray by himself, a person might leave him praying in one corner of a room, and come back to find him finishing his prayers in the opposite corner, such were the intensity of his bowing and prostrations. In our prayer, by shuckling (swaying back-and-forth), breathing deeply (during the recitation of the Sh’ma, for example), or simply becoming aware of our physical bodies while sitting, rising, and dancing during the morning blessings, we can make our bodies a vessel for holiness. Our prayer can reverberate through our flesh.