GEN1096 Health (b’riyut) is one of our most valued gifts, and preserving life (pikuah nefesh) is one of the highest duties in Jewish tradition.   Virtually any activity or mitzvah should be set aside in order to save a life.   Closely related to this obligation is the duty to heal, the duty to restore oneself and others to health.  Another duty, that of self-care, stems from the idea that the world is God’s, as is everything in it (ladonay ha’arezt um’lo’o).   [Some who are uncomfortable seeing the world as belonging to God may prefer the Hasidic reading of “m’lo kol ha’aretz k’vodo.” “The fullness of the world is God’s glory.” (Likkutim Yekarim)   That is, God’s kavod is nothing other than the world in its completeness. Hence, healing and health are clearly what God is.]   According to classical rabbinic thought, our existence as creatures carries an obligation to do the will of the Creator.  Acknowledging the interdependence of our lives generates an obligation to care for ourselves as part of our obligation to others.   Jewish tradition regards hearing (refua) as a duty one has both to oneself and to others.  By contrast North American culture talks about the right to healthcare without recognizing a duty of individuals to provide healing, which complicates the ongoing American debate about who is responsible for how much healthcare provision.   Seeing healing as a duty would shift the American debate.  Jewish tradition sees the duty to heal as incumbent upon every individual, as well as on society as a whole. … The Bible presents a very strong tradition of God as a healer [this verse]. Since we are created b’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image, it is incumbent upon us to sever as healers both individually and through established institutions. AGTJL 475