I would like to share the following thought that may help you in your training. If you can internalize this you will never run the same way again. I will start by asking two questions. We all know that the first word in the Torah is Biraishis. Rashi tells us that Beraishis is a strange lashon. What does Biraishis mean literally? Rashi explains that Raishis is another name for the Torah and so Biraishis means with the Torah; Hashem takes the Torah in the very beginning and with it he creates the natural world. So my first question is why does Hashem specifically choose this word to begin the entire Torah and this message as the first lesson the Torah comes to teach us? Why is this so important for us to know right from the beginning? Secondly what does this question have anything to do with running and your training? Why am I sharing this with you today?
Rav Yeruchem Levovitz tells us a yesod about the makeup of a human being and regarding personal development. He explains that the process of changing our middos is so difficult. In fact its actually impossible. Human beings are created within the physical world and with natural limits. Within those limits our DNA is preset and determines our deep rooted patterns of thought speech and behavior. In other words we are who we are and in order to change our middos we would require an absolute miracle to go above our nature. Baruch Hashem, says Rav Yeruchum, we have access to making miracles. The Torah is that tool that Hashem gives us to go beyond what is possible. The Torah is a nature creator tool that Hashem used to create the world. Therefore we can take the Torah and direct it at ourselves and blast into our being the ability to go beyond our natural abilities. With Torah we can do the impossible. But what is real Torah how do we use the Torah to give us these supernatural powers?
Chazal tell us that real Torah is when we take the words and values we received from Moshe Rabenu and pass it through our minds, past our hearts and into our Guf. Torah is not a process of intellectual exercise where we simply learn new ideas and appreciate them in our minds. Rather we must listen, learn, teach, guard, DO and KEEP the Torah with love. It's not enough just to learn or know Torah we must actually keep the Torah and live it. As we say every morning in our Tefflilos, "Lishmor Lilmod Ulilamed Lishmor Vlasos Ulikayem Es Kol Divrei Salmod Torasecha B'ahava." We must take the Torah and infuse it into our bodies. This occurs with the help of Mussar which is the technology of how we utilize the Torah and Mitzvos to change our middos. Through this process we actually create divakus to Hashem by becoming more similar to him. As my Rebbe always says, physical closeness is measured in inches but spiritual closeness is measured by similarity. Becoming like Hashem through the process of changing our middos is the highest level of kium HaTorah.
When we run we are actually doing much more than we realize. Running gives us the unique opportunity to be mikayem the mitzvah of Vinishmartem. Hashem gives us a body and life and mandates that we care and nurture this special gift. During our run we are adding life, energy and strength into our guf and preserving this special Kli that fuses together the physical and spiritual and connects us with H'kbh. Moreover our kium of Torah when we run is at the level of Laasos Ulikayim which is the highest form of Torah because we are involved in actual doing. Even more when we run we are fulfilling the Ratzon Hashem through pain and discomfort, which testifies to our dedication and desire to keep his word with love. At the same time pushing ourselves to run despite the difficulty, gives us the chance to work on changing our middos. Our bodies naturally prefer to remain stationary and do what is easy, so when we run we are working to be more like Hashem, which is the ultimate form of divakus. When we keep the Torah in this way we receive the special ability to change our nature and go beyond what we could otherwise do. When we run with this in mind, our workouts are transformed from just physical exercise, into a spiritual super Avodah.
So remember that running is a mitzvah and an actual kium of the Torah. By taking care of our health and our body we are fulfilling the Torah in the highest way, through our actions and bringing it into our Guf. In this way we can unlock the power of Torah allowing us to push far beyond our limits. It's the first message in the entire Torah because this lesson is so vital for our personal growth and development, that it had to come right at the beginning. Without this secret we would give up from despair every time we hit a wall as we experience the reality of our physical limitations. So the next time you are pushing to hit 4 miles or even 2 and it just seems unreachable because you hit the max, know that it very well might be impossible and you can still do it. Hatzlacha Rabbah on your training and your Avodah doing the impossible in order to come closer to Hashem!
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