Nowadays, there is a growing awareness of the importance of a healthy diet. We are increasingly understanding the damage that unhealthy food can cause to our bodies. People are changing their lifestyles and are willing to pay more to eat healthier food, understanding its importance.
And what about spiritual food? Do we understand the effects of unhealthy 'spiritual food' on our soul, our emotions, and our mood? There is no difference between spiritual food and physical food. Both enter us, become part of us, and affect us. And in a certain sense, the harmful effects of spoiled 'spiritual food' are greater and more serious than the harms of unhealthy physical food.
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Just as in physical food it is important to eat healthy food and avoid unhealthy food, in the consumption of 'spiritual food' both of these aspects are of great importance. 'Healthy food' is everything that strengthens our spirit, instills good qualities in us, elevates us and leads us to positive action. 'Negative food' is everything that does the opposite.
The positive spiritual food is Torah study, which is the true food of the Jewish soul. That is why it is so important to study Torah every day, just as it is important to eat every day. When a Jew connects to Torah every day, he opens a direct channel for his soul to the infinite spiritual sources of the Jewish people, and draws strength to face the challenges of life.
Negative food floods us, unfortunately, from all sides. It is found in culture, literature, music, the media, and social networks. We are not always aware of the negative content that penetrates us. Sometimes it is well disguised in a narrative or entertainment shell, but it instills in us questionable assumptions, corrupts our language, and instills in us a feeling of despondency and shallowness.
Of all these, perhaps the most destructive influence is caused by many of the media. They have long ceased to be channels of information, but have become channels of propaganda and brainwashing. Again and again they manipulate us, trying to make their hearts' desires come true, and time and again they get hit in the face when reality turns out to be completely different from what they painted.
Take the last example. According to polls, about 70% of Israeli citizens are happy about Trump's election as US president. But the media in Israel reported his victory with a sense of sourness and depression. The downcast faces of the presenters and broadcasters stood in stark contrast to the atmosphere in the public. The same situation exists in reports on the war. They create an atmosphere of defeat and failure, while the public feels the exact opposite.
Be healthier.
The problem is that when we get used to consuming bad media, we don't always realize how much it plays with our brains and tries to engineer our consciousness. The constant consumption normalizes the distortions and gets us used to them. And this is exactly the time to get up and make a change in our consumption – simply stop consuming the bad 'food'.
Try to disconnect from these channels, stop logging into toxic social networks – and you will immediately feel the positive change. Your mood will improve, your level of optimism will increase, and your reading of reality will also be much more accurate. You will simply be much healthier!
