During Torah study sessions I often sense frustration about the fact that many laws in the Torah, Talmud and Code of Jewish Law are articulated in antiquated ways. A prime example would be this week’s parsha of Mishpatim with its discussions of slaves and pack animals - situations we hardly experience today.
Here is one verse to ponder (Exodus 23:5): If you see your enemy's donkey lying under its burden would you refrain from helping it? You shall surely help along with him.
When was the last time you encountered a donkey transporting a load for your enemy?
The main idea of the law is that one must set aside grudges and help another despite the natural instinct to retaliate for perceived misdeeds - a lesson that resonates in 2019 as it did over 3,000 years ago. But do the specific details of “the donkey lying under its load” speak to us here and now?
The Baal Shem Tov introduced an allegorical reading of the verse, extending the message to include a reference to the importance of preserving our physical health and fundamentally reframing our perspective on spirituality and holiness.
"When you see chamor, a donkey" - when you carefully examine your chomer ("materiality"), your body, you will see...
..."your enemy" - meaning, that your chomer (“materiality”) hates your Divine soul that longs for G‑dliness and the spiritual, and furthermore, you will see that it is...
..."lying under its burden" (the burden is Torah and mitzvot) placed upon the body by G‑d, namely, that it should become refined through Torah and mitzvot; but the body is lazy to fulfill them. It may then occur to you that...
..."you will refrain from helping it" - to enable it to fulfill its mission, and instead you will follow the path of mortification of the flesh to break down the body's crass materiality. However, not in this approach will the light of Torah reside. Rather...
..."you shall surely help along with him" - purify the body, refine it, but do not break it by mortification.
Generations ago pious men and women were under the mistaken impression that neglecting physical health was a pathway to spiritual greatness. Conversely, there are many of us today who feel that living a life of Torah and Mitzvot may pose a threat to our physical health and wellbeing or at least compromise our abilities to achieve financial stability and comfort.
This novel teaching of the Baal Shem Tov busts the myth of religious asceticism and illustrates how the specific wording of the verse - while perhaps antiquated in a literal sense - is still very much relevant in our quest for a healthy and proper relationship with G-d.