Some years ago, while studying the Rambam’s introductory chapters to the Mishnaic tractate of Avos, I came across a paragraph that has shifted the course of my life. You might also find it interesting.

First, some context: The Rambam was explaining how the complete human being doesn’t renounce earthly pursuits, substituting soul for body, quashing self in favor of G-d. Instead, he uses his mind to manage every aspect of his material life and will, directing them toward wellness and wholeness. He notices the temptations to spin right or left but chooses instead to stick with the straight course.

What is the objective that people seek to achieve when they’re well and whole? Where are we headed in life when not looking only for physical pleasure? Sorry, but we’re not going to get into this yet. The spiritual journey doesn’t begin with metaphysics. It begins with becoming a person.

Becoming a person, explains the Rambam, begins by choosing to consciously focus all my actions on a purpose, so that no action I take is “an act of nothingness.” Once I’ve left nothingness and joined purposefulness, I’m a card-carrying member of the human race. Then I can take my personhood further and ponder the purpose of all the purposes.

How do I enter the mind-ruled, purpose-driven human life? Where is the trailhead? Unsurprisingly, the turning point between animal and human is something very basic. It can’t be anything that skips necessary steps. We’re not looking to understand why lizards don’t make good computer programmers but what value-based decision separates the most advanced ape from the most primitive person.

Here’s how the Rambam instructs us to enter personhood: He places the intent of his eating and drinking, intimate relations, sleeping and waking up, movement and rest, only towards his body’s health.

The Rambam continues to provide detailed examples. There is much to learn from them to build from them a model of healthy, balanced living. But today, I just want to share with you the part that touched me so deeply that I embarked on a new career:

Therefore, the profession of medicine is a very important path toward acquiring intellectual and character assets, knowing G-d, and attaining true success. Learning and seeking this wisdom are among the most important tasks; it is not just another vocation like weaving and carpentry. For here we evaluate our deeds, and they become human actions that bring achievement and truth.

If a person will eat any enticing food that’s tasty to his palate and has a good aroma, even when it’s damaging, wasting, and may cause dangerous disease or sudden death – he and the animal are equal. This isn’t the action of a person as a human but the action of a person as an animal. They are likened and compared to animals. (Psalms 49:21)

The human action will only ingest beneficial food and will sometimes leave tastier foods and eat more repulsive ones, according to what’s beneficial. This action is guided by the mind, and with it, man is separated from all other creatures.

These words disturbed me. I can observe the full program of my religion, even see myself as a holy and spiritual fellow, but in truth am just an animal, nothing qualitatively different than a cow or a cat. A very religious rabbit, a very holy hare, and a very spiritual snake – but an animal just the same.

There is no skipping steps. I want my life to have meaning and purpose, to be a journey towards something larger. But I must begin by directing my material actions towards healthfulness, thus establishing myself as someone who acts for a purpose. Once my mind directs my body at that most basic level, I’ve become a human being and am then free to travel on to the realm of the spirit.

One suggestion: Next time you eat something, ask yourself: “Is this good for my health or not? Do I see how, in this choice, I’m deciding whether or not to be a human being?”

Shmuel Chaim Naiman is a health teacher and foraging guide in Ramat Bet Shemesh. He writes and teaches about healthy Jewish living and Israel’s natural world, gives the nightly Healthy Jew class at Yeshivas Lev Hatorah, guides popular foraging walks, and offers personalized health coaching. Learn more, and subscribe to The Healthy Jew, at healthyjew.org.