The Kabbalist's Diet and Daily Regimen

Health Tips And Proper Nutrition
Important Advice For The Optimum Health Of The Holy Jewish People

Rav Eliahu Leon Levi

"And you shall guard your lives most carefully!"(Deuteronomy 4:15)

My brothers and friends, the holy nation of Israel, take heed and revitalize your lives. I implore you, please, from the day that you read this essay, please cease your incorrect eating habits that you have followed for a long time and that have become second nature, because you did not understand their detrimental consequences.

Every day, you have been preparing all kinds of meals that you relished, and afterwards you became inflicted with all sorts of ailments, may G-d have mercy. Therefore, from now on, please learn and consistently practice the proper and healthy dietary habits that we will set down in this essay. In doing so, your health and physical fitness will improve. Be strong and valiant, people of the L-rd, blessed be He.

I. A Good Night's Sleep
To begin, I want to alert you that you need to go to sleep earlier than you are accustomed. No later than 11PM in the summer, and 10PM in the winter.  You should sleep until approximately 6AM, all year round. These hours of sleep will give your body the strength and fortification to perform the needed tasks for the morrow. It is possible to sleep more than this, but this is called being spoiled, except for women who may sleep an additional two hours or more since their sleep is often interrupted to take care of the children. 

Please know, my brothers and friends, that it is proper and beneficial that your sleep be more peaceful, without worrying over any problems or matters that have not yet found a solution, because this can disturb your peace of mind and damage your health. Therefore, you should be more easy-going in your expectations at home and at work, and adopt from this time forth a positive attitude that unresolved problems will find the best possible solution, out of the graciousness of the L-rd who longs to do kindness to His children, as it says, "Israel is my firstborn child."

Try to sleep in a better, more relaxed frame of mind, trusting that everything will work out. With this ease of mind, you will wake up in the morning refreshed, your mind as clear as wine. And in truth, the following day, most of the problems will be solved, with the help of our Father, our King, the One and only G-d.

To insure good sleep, it is recommended to sleep dressed in a roomy, comfortable garment, and not a tight-fitting garment that can cause troubles like blocking proper blood circulation.

It is also beneficial to sleep in a very dark room, since this relaxes the eyes and the intellectual faculties (mochin). However, one should not sleep in a completely darkened house. Rather, a light in the hallway or other location should be left on. An additional reminder is not to forget the love of G-d by accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in the recital of the Bedtime Shema. It is beneficial to do so with tears, for this atones in a large measure for any unintentional transgressions that a person committed during the day.

Also, in the summer, if you sleep with an air-conditioner, it is best to keep a window open an inch or two in order to recycle the air. In the winter, it is best that the bedroom window be sealed, since strong winter winds enter the house from cracks and crannies, and this recycles the air by itself. This will provide for a refreshing sleep, so that you will wake up without any feelings of nervousness or anger, and your day will flow like a peaceful stream to irrigate the fields and vineyards that you plant in all of your doings.

In the event that you find it hard to sleep, it is recommended that women read from the book, "Mishbatzot Zahav Levushah." By reading a few pages you will fall into a deep and healthy sleep. It is recommended that men read from the books "Tzaakat Yisrael" and "Kedushat Yisrael." By reading a few pages, you will fall into a calm and refreshing sleep.

II. Washing Hands In The Morning
Upon awakening in the morning, one must immediately wash one's hands from a vessel, pouring water over the right hand, then the left, and repeating this another two times. This should be done in the kitchen sink, or if there is a sink in the hall, first removing dishes and the like. And allow me to warn you never to do this hand washing in the shower or bathroom, especially upon awakening in the morning when an impure spirit rests on the fingers, because the bathroom and shower are filled with klipot (impure spiritual husks) and evil spirits. These are places of impurity, and it is a waste of time to argue about this, because it is as clear as the sun in the afternoon, and something that even a simpleton can understand. Then, after relieving oneself, one must wash his hands again from a vessel. This is followed by the recital of all of the morning blessings.

III. Women's Hygiene
Here is good advice to insure a woman's health. Immediately after saying the morning blessings, it is a wise practice to take a hot shower, and afterward, to change underwear, since during the night, klipot nurture themselves from the body of a woman. This is the reason that already in the morning, when she rises from sleep, she is very tired, and has very uncomfortable feelings, without knowing from where this fatigue and inner pressure derive. Therefore, it is sound advice to make it a daily morning habit to shower and change undergarments, and to do so earnestly, without laziness, and not to miss a day.

It should be noted that if she showers and changes her undergarments at night, for whatever reason, this does not in any way substitute for showering and changing underwear in the morning - there are too many proofs for this to list them all here. After showering and changing, hands must be washed in the proper manner, and it is a good thing to drink a cup of hot tea with naana (mint) and a little babonag (camomile), with a piece of lemon. After drinking this cup of tea, with the help of G-d, she will be serene, contended, and clear thinking all day.

IV. Morning Shower And Mikvah For Men
Likewise, it is sound practice for a man, that after reciting all of the morning blessings, he take a hot shower. If he had relations with his wife during the  night, it is proper to go to the nearby mikvah, shower with soap, then immerse. After finishing his morning prayers, he should recite various tikunim, especially "Tikun Yesod Yeshuat Eliahu." This is the pathway to holiness, and in doing so his soul will shine all the day. All those who heed these words of advice will be rewarded with great joy and a loving attachment to the Holy One Blessed Be He; amen.

V. Proper Daily Nutritional Habits

a. Recommended Breakfast And Dinner

1. Salad

Preparation and Ingredients:
One tomato, one cucumber, half an onion, four cusbara [coriander] leaves, four parsley leaves, four lettuce leaves, three minced garlic cloves. All ingredients should be chopped into small pieces and placed together into a large bowl. Add a teaspoon of Yemenite "schug" (hot spices), a teaspoon of approximately 30% tomato paste, two teaspoons of minced za'atar seasoning, two teaspoons of olive oil, half a squeezed lemon, one quarter teaspoon of ground cumin, a sprinkle of black pepper, a sprinkle of red pepper, and salt according to personal taste. Mix everything and the salad is ready. Eating a salad like this will renew the circulation of blood, awaken the body, and lessen the sugar level.

(Needless to say all vegetables must be properly washed and examined for insects before using.)

2. Recommended Supplements
On a side dish, put two teaspoons of 5% whipped white cheese (similar to sour cream), one serving of yogurt, one sour pickle, seven or eight olives, two avocado slices measuring 6 cm, half a hard-boiled egg without the yoke, two small radishes.

The beverage is limited to water from the faucet that has been chilled in the refrigerator, with a small addition of soda water, and a squeeze of lemon juice. The recommended bread for all meals is a French baguette, long, well baked, and almost empty of dough inside. It is a good idea to store eight or ten baguettes in the freezer for future meals. One should eat about eighteen centimeters of the baguette at each meal. It should be noted that not every baguette is a French baguette. Therefore one should search and find the appropriate bakery or store. This is because other types of baguettes are filled with dough and not baked sufficiently, causing damage. But be sure when buying the French baguette that is has a trustworthy kosher certificate.

At the end of the meal, it is recommended to drink a cup of Turkish coffee with milk. (It is important to purchase the coffee in the open market, or in a spice store, so that you can watch them grind it. Otherwise, the coffee can cause damage, since in the majority of cases it is mixed with various other ingredients that I cannot specify here.)

The cup of coffee is best prepared in the following manner: use one and a half teaspoons of Turkish coffee, one teaspoon of sugar or one sweetener, with the rest boiling water, and a little milk to soften the sharpness. Mix well. This drink will wake you up, and help you to be vibrant, robust, and alert the whole day.

A note regarding dinner. The evening meal should be eaten no later than 9PM. If you happen to be at an evening celebration, and have eaten fatty foods such as fish and meat and an assortment of exotic side dishes, on leaving the celebration, you should take a good walk of at least five hundred meters in order to help digest the food. Afterward, you can return home for a restful sleep.

b. Recommended Lunch

1. Soup
For lunch, it is recommended to have a variety of soups, but be sure they are without fats. Preferable choices are: white bean soup, rice soup, pea soup, vegetable soup, and others. To prepare the soup, follow these suggested instructions for vegetable soup - take a blend of vegetables, for instance, two carrots, two potatoes, two zucchinis, a little celery, a little pumpkin, two onions, two tomatoes, two red bell peppers, and five peeled garlic cloves. After washing, peeling, and cutting, place this mixture in a pot with selected spices, and salt according to taste. Also, fry two medium size onions that have been chopped into tiny pieces, drain off the oil, and add to the soup. Add three teaspoons of chicken soup powder (parve or meat) made by the Osem or Vita companies. Also add two teaspoons of oil to the soup and cook for an hour and fifteen minutes.

Eating these soups when they are hot will help greatly in improving the health of people who are rundown and weak, or sick with an assortment of illnesses like throat and lung infections, or G-d forbid, asthma, and intestinal and kidney disease.

By making it a regular practice to cook and eat natural foods like this, you will be on the path to restoring your health gradually to its former strength.

By making it a regular practice to cook and eat natural foods like this, you will be on the path to restoring your health gradually to its former strength. For this improvement to happen, from the time you begin to eat in a healthier manner, you must not drink any carbonated beverages, fruit juices, nor beer, especially when they are cold, and it is best not to drink them at all. In following the path of nutrition that we have set forth, you will, little by little, with the help of the Blessed One, achieve lasting health; amen, may it be G-d's will.

2. Recommended Lunch Supplements
Meat Dishes
It is advisable to buy glatt beef or hamburger meat with a reliable and recognized kashrut certificate. Generally, it is beneficial to grind the meat and flavor it with a variety of spices. For instance, the dish will be enhanced by adding a little finely cut parsley, cusbara [coriander], and onion, with six cloves of minced garlic. Add to this two teaspoons of za'atar, a teaspoon of cumin, a little black pepper, and some soup spices, and salt according to taste. Add two teaspoons of oil to the mixture and stir everything together. It is proper to do this with one's hands and to make meatballs or patties out of the mixture.

Cooking Instructions
These meat patties can be cooked in the following three ways:

1. They may be cooked in the soup that was prepared for lunch.
2. They may be cooked in the oven after seeping them in sauce by blending six medium-size tomatoes with a little black pepper, some spices of your choice, and two teaspoons of oil. After seeping the meatballs in this sauce on a cooking dish, place in the oven for fifteen minutes, then turn the balls over and continue cooking for another twenty minutes, and turn the balls over again to insure that the sauce is absorbed. Final cooking time according to individual taste. A meat dish prepared in this fashion is very nourishing and fortifying. Fortunate are those who eat it.
3. Grill the meatballs in a barbecue fired by coals. Why coals? Because coals have a special property to draw away all the poisons in meat and to burn them. Therefore all meat that is barbecued over coals is healthier to eat than other methods of cooking, providing more strength to the body. It is important that at the time of the cooking that the coals be searing and not flaming. It is also best to eat the meat when it is grilled medium and not when it is over-cooked, when it no longer has nutritious value.

For the reasons stated above, it is good to occasionally eat chicken schnitzels, spiced according to personal choice, and grill over a barbecue as described. It is also fitting to alter the main dish from time to time, and eat fish instead of meat. Fish from the sea are preferable. They should generally be cooked in the oven in the manner of "charameh." To best know how to cook them, one should ask cooks who specialize in Morrocan, Tunisian, and Tripolian cuisine. However, one should be careful to considerably reduce their hot spiciness. Otherwise their sharpness can cause nervous tension, and sometimes even hemorrhoids. 

These are guaranteed nourishing, healthy dishes for the entire family, and especially for men who are required to perform more physical exertion.   

3. Other Lunch Supplements
In addition to the soup, meat, and fish recipes that we have recommended for lunch, a person should add other dishes. These include cooked rice, stuffed peppers and stuffed zucchini, green string beans, peas, a potato and bean chulant, all cooked well over a medium flame, in order that the cooking will be complete and tasty. It should be emphasized that their cooking and the preparation of other supplements should be without fats and sugar, and with just a little salt. By eating these foods, and guarding the intake of cholesterol and fats, little by little, a person will regain genuine health, with the help of G-d.

Warning - the foods listed below are forbidden to be eaten in large quantities because they bring illnesses upon the body, and cause additional injury to people who are already sick, and therefore their consumption should be kept to a minimum:

All kinds of borakas (similar to a knish) with battered dough, cakes, chocolates, ice creams, pistachio nuts, very sweet fruits, carbonated sodas and sweet fruit juices, breads, french fries, salted fish, processed cold cuts, macaronis, eggs, and beverages made from flavored syrups.

Healthy people who eat and drink too much of these foods and beverages spoil their health. To negate the damage that eating them causes, a person should engage in exercise or sport, or walk at least seven hundred meters back and forth after meals. This will cancel out the negative effects of these foods and return a person to proper health; amen, may it be G-d's will.

See other articles by Rabbi Eliahu Leon Levi