Talmud Class: Is Self-Care a Legitimate Jewish Value?

Is self-care (the agenda of summer rest, renewal and relaxation) a Jewish value? Did Jeremiah go swimming? Did Rabbi Akiva go to the beach? Did Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi go off the grid so that he could recharge? Did Elijah ever need “me time”? Jewish sources talk about learning (Talmud) and doing (ma’aseh).  Do Jewish sources value doing neither of those in the interests of recharging? How does our context figure into this question? Since the world, and our country, are in such a challenging place now, is thinking about the next few months as a sanctuary in time where we get to focus on our own healing and our own welfare an abdication—or it is essential for the work that lies ahead?  What Jewish sources speak to this question, and what do they say about this moment?