Q:
What are kosher ways for a person to relax and enjoy himself?
A:
It depends on the person. One kosher way is to walk in the street by yourself. Walking is a good exercise. You’ll get fresh air and your mouth is closed. A man who walks by himself, he’s not talking. He’s able to think. It’s very good to take some ma’amar chazal or some possuk and think about it while you’re walking.
Another form of kosher relaxation is go to sleep on time. It’s very important to sleep eight hours a night. One cannot underestimate the value of getting enough sleep.
Now there’s a sefer called Shevet Mussar. Shevet Mussar is a very strict mussar sefer; he talks there a lot about onshim, punishments. But he tells you that can even go to parks and walk in the gardens in case you’re depressed. He says that a person is permitted to do certain things in case he needs them to pick up his spirits. And therefore it depends on the person and how far he needs encouragement and healing.
Of course when you live a normal life, if you go to sleep on time, eat your meals on time and don’t get involved in machlokes, unnecessary involvement, then you won’t need anything in order to raise your spirits. Automatically your body will function in the very best manner.
TAPE # E-191
