JULY 16, ‘25 // Questions & Answers from Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt”l’s Thursday Night Lecture Body and Soul Q. Is there a connection between the body and the neshama? Bland Colored Potatoes Q. The Rav said that Hakodosh Boruch Hu made fruit beautiful so that we should recognize His kindliness. Wouldn’t we be able to recognize Him even more if He also made potatoes beautiful? A. Is there a connection between the body and the soul? There’s a tremendous connection because the body influences the soul. Let’s say you have a body. So you sit your body down at the table and your wife gives you supper. That’s for your body. So you have to think, “My wife cooked a supper for me. It took her at least an hour. And it tastes good too! As a result I’m going to appreciate her. I’m grateful to her.” That’s a very great benefit for your soul. So because of your body, your soul is improving. Your wife puts out fresh laundry for you from time to time. She washed your laundry for you. It takes time to wash laundry and your body likes fresh clothing so you stop and think for a half minute: “I appreciate my wife.” So your soul changes. Because of your body, your soul changes. You sit down to breakfast. There’s bread on the table. You’re hungry. And you put the bread in your teeth and you chew it. Ah! A pleasure! “I love You Hashem because of the bread!” That makes a change in your soul. The entire change in your soul is only because of the body, and that’s why the body is so important. We’re grateful to the body and that’s why we have to take care of the body and appreciate it always. And when the time comes to say good bye to your body, when you’re leaving this world it’s a sad farewell because the body says “Poor me! I’m being put into the earth and you’re going to Gan Eden.” So you tell the poor body, “V’ene’eman atah lehachayos meisim. Trust in Hashem. Someday we’ll be reunited again. Don’t worry. It’s not forever – it’s only temporary. Au revoir but not goodbye. We’ll meet again.” That’s how you console the body and you should do it every day when you say vene’eman atah lehachayos meisim. “My poor body. You served me faithfully. I’m not going to forsake you forever – only temporarily. We’ll come back again to each other.” There’s a very great connection between the body and the neshama! A. This person wants to know why Hashem didn’t make potatoes more colorful. So here is a beautiful red potato with a touch of yellow too, and it’s so beautiful that immediately you take it and start chewing on it. You won’t recognize Hakodosh Boruch Hu for that. You’ll be holding your belly and saying, “Why did Hakodosh Boruch Hu tempt me for nothing?!” So all those fruit and vegetables that are not fit to eat right away, Hakodosh Boruch Hu makes them not colorful in order to engender patience. The bland color means, “Be patient.” It means don’t be in a hurry because it’s not good to eat them right away. But all those things that are pre-cooked on the tree and are ready to eat, they are beautiful. Now, sometime something is fit to eat, but it’s also not beautiful, like a watermelon. And the reason is because it’s a pity; if a beautiful watermelon was red on the outside or yellow, so you’ll cut into it right away and start eating it and the rest would rot away. So therefore Hakodosh Boruch Hu gives it a ‘patient’ color that doesn’t attract you right away. Only when the whole tribe gathers and you’re all squatting around your watermelon and then you decide to open it up, then everybody will eat his share and it won’t be wasted. So we have two reasons, two cases why the color is not attractive. Either the thing is not fit to eat now; it’s injurious to eat it now and the color warns you that you would only cause harm to yourself by eating it now. And the second is, if it’s too big for one person so the color causes you to be patient until the family gathers and then you can make the best use of it. Reprinted with permission from “Ask Rabbi Miller”, compiled by Avrohom Tikotzky. Copyright 2019, Simchas Hachaim Publishing 718-258-7400 x103 To receive Mr. Tikotsky’s weekly email: tikotzky@gmail.com or www.rmillerqa.com Ask Rabbi Miller 70
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