Healthy in Body, Mind and Spirit: Volume III

By Sichos In English

General Themes and Subjects Relating to Health
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.

Coping With Tragedy, Misfortune, and Life’s Adversities

Combating Melancholy, Sadness Despondency, Depression and Despair

Conquering Anxieties, Fears, Worries and “Nerves”

Assistance in Dealing With Various Mental Health Issues

Specific Treatments and Approaches to Mental Health Issues and Problems

Overcoming Negative Traits

Mental Health of Children, Adolescents and Teens

Assisting the Mentally Challenged and Impaired

Healing Through Meditation and Relaxation Techniques

Addendum: Halitosis

Supplements:
Selections From HaYom Yom Regarding Health
A Chassidic Discourse from the Rebbe on the Subject of Health

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sichos In English
• Release date: Sep 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466097124

Book preview

Healthy in Body, Mind and Spirit

Volume 3

Mental Health

Based on the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,

Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson

By Rabbi Sholom B. Wineberg

Published by

Sichos In English

Healthy in Body, Mind and Spirit

Volume 3

Published by Sichos In English at Smashwords

Copyright 2007 Sichos In English

****

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

****

788 Eastern Parkway • Brooklyn, N.Y. 11213

5767 • 2007

****

Credits

Rochel Chana Riven for editing.

Yosef Yitzchok Turner for designing the layout and typography.

Rabbi Yonah Avtzon for preparing text for publication.

Avrohom Weg for designing the cover.

Uri Kaploun for editorial assistance.

****

ISBN 978-1-4660-9712-4

Chapter 1: Compiler’s Foreword

B"H

With heartfelt gratitude to G-d for the warm and positive reception the first two volumes in this series received, we hereby present the third and final volume of Healthy in Mind, Body and Spirit — A Guide to Good Health, based on the teachings and writings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. These volumes present a broad, representative selection of the Rebbe’s advice and insights on physical and mental health.

While volume one dealt with health issues of a general nature and volume two with specific physical health issues, this final and concluding volume deals with specific issues of mental health.

Since, as the Rebbe so often indicated, the physical and spiritual health of a Jew are inextricably intertwined, many of the Rebbe’s responses and comments also relate to a Jew’s spiritual wellbeing. This is particularly true regarding mental health, as mental and spiritual health and wellbeing are so very often interrelated.

* * *

Most of the material assembled in this work consists of private responses to individuals. It must therefore be borne in mind that the Rebbe’s answer to one individual does not necessarily apply at all to another, for, as the Rebbe once wrote,¹ "It is patently obvious² that a directive to an individual does not serve at all as a directive to the public, even when the issues are the same."

Moreover, some of the responses to individuals are not necessarily the Rebbe’s final word on the matter, particularly since the Rebbe would encourage the use of the latest medical advances, procedures and medications, some of which were not extant at the time he offered those responses.

What we have done to try to resolve this latter difficulty is to quote numerous responses, even though some may appear different from others. The dates or sources cited may be of benefit in distinguishing the Rebbe’s later responses. So, too, by noting that numerous answers are written in the same vein, we have an indication of the Rebbe’s overall approach to a specific issue or matter.

* * *

Knowledge of the Rebbe’s directives on healing echoes the theme of a letter that the Rebbe wrote before accepting the mantle of leadership. There he writes with regard to the Previous Rebbe:³ "There is a Rebbe among the Jewish people and he is not bound at all by the limitations of nature. A person who wishes to proceed on a secure path with regard to crucial life decisions should not lift his hand without asking the Rebbe. When a person is confused or confronted by fundamental life questions, he must know that the Jewish people have not been left without succor. There is someone to ask....

He should not rely solely on his own understanding..., nor on the doctor. ...These are approaches that involve doubt. He has a sure path where he can clarify his doubts.... And when he follows [the Rebbe’s] directives, he will succeed.

* * *

To conclude on a personal note: This final volume of the series is dedicated to my dear friends, Dr. Stanley Brand, Dr. Eric Kulick and Dr. Michael Sokol, eminent healers of body, mind and spirit, who assisted me greatly in this three-volume work. May G-d grant them all continued success in their respective medical specialties, coupled with continued good health and much Yiddishe nachas from their families.

May our study of these volumes of the Rebbe’s teachings and directives strengthen our continued spiritual bond with him, and enable us to merit the all-encompassing healing that will come in the Ultimate Future, in the era of Mashiach; may he come speedily in our days.⁴

Sholom B. Wineberg

Overland Park, Kansas

Nissan 2, 5767

Yahrtzeit of the Rebbe Nishmaso Eden, the Rebbe Rashab,

Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn, of blessed memory,

the Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe

Chapter 2: Coping With Tragedy, Misfortune And Life’s Adversities

Depressed Mental State

... I am in receipt of your letter.

Judging by your writing, I trust it is unnecessary to emphasize to you at length that one of the foundations of our faith and way of life is the firm conviction that G-d’s providence extends to everyone individually, and that He is the Essence of Goodness and does only good, as the Torah states, And G-d saw all that He had done and behold it was very good.⁵

And while G-d gave man freedom of choice to choose his way in life and his daily conduct, He has, in His goodness, given us His Torah, which teaches us what the right way of life is and how to accurately pursue it.

Therefore, your writing that you find life a burden, and the general mood in which your letter is written, are completely out of harmony with the Jewish way of life.

I can, of course, understand that such a mood is possible in light of the events and occurrences that you describe in your letter. However, this is possible only if you do not take into account the fact that everything is by Divine providence, and therefore you think that you are alone in the world and quite forsaken, having only yourself to rely upon, and so on.

On the other hand, if you bear in mind that everything that happens occurs through G-d’s providence which affects every single individual, and that the only freedom a person has is freedom [in those matters with which] he personally is concerned but he has no control over events relating to others, then you will view matters in a different light.

Though you may still not understand why such seeming untoward events occur, it will no longer surprise you, knowing the limitations of the human mind and how impossible it is for a human mind to grasp and understand the infinite wisdom of G-d, who is called Ein Sof (Infinite).

Consequently, seeing that G-d provided you with the gift of life and other blessings, and at the same time provides you the opportunity to fulfill His will, not because He needs the satisfaction and pleasure of having His will fulfilled, but simply because this is how He makes it possible for a Jew to spread G-d’s light in the world at large, and especially in his own family and immediate environment, surely it is out of place to refer to these blessings of G-d as a burden, G-d forbid.

Nor is it right to consider as burdensome the fact that it is difficult to see the good clearly for, as our Sages declare, The reward matches the effort.⁶ The better and more worthy the object, the harder it is to obtain, and while the difficulties may be imaginary or real, the effort to overcome these difficulties will be truly rewarding, and the reward will infinitely surpass the effort. It is surely unnecessary to elaborate further on this subject.

I suggest that you have the mezuzos of your home checked, as well as your tefillin, if they have not been checked within the past twelve months, and every weekday morning before putting on the tefillin you should put aside a small coin for tzedakah.

No doubt your wife observes the good custom of putting aside a small coin for tzedakah before lighting the candles.

(From a letter of the Rebbe)

Sadness and Disillusionment

I received your letter in which you briefly describe the hardships you have endured during your lifetime — the wanderings, the [traumatic] experiences, the grief. Finally, you describe your recent arrival in .... and your observations about matters that seem to be inexplicable.

... You wonder — as you write — why there seems to be no explanation for the events that transpired with your family and in your home.

When you will consider this matter a bit, you will realize that there is really no cause for wonder, for a person can only understand to a limited extent those events that transpire in his life and around him. It is therefore not possible for him to truly comprehend the events that he perceives.

To make this matter perfectly clear, I will provide you with an example:

Imagine a person entering a hospital operating theater and seeing someone lying on the operating table. People brandishing knives surround him and are cutting him, and the person is groaning with pain. Nevertheless, these people continue with their cutting.

The chance observer, wholly unaware of the concept and purpose of a surgical procedure, will leave the room in an uproar — a human being was forcibly taken and is being cut up, he is groaning with pain and cannot free himself from his tormentors and murderers.

However, when the accidental observer is given to understand that the operation is critical in order for the patient to live many more decades, for which reason excessive consideration is not being given to the patient’s temporary pain and discomfort during the few hours of the operation, [then his position will change entirely].

The guest observer will not only fully agree that they — the cutters — are not tormentors and murderers, but he will now understand that the very opposite is true: they are doing the greatest possible favor to the individual who is under the knife.

And this is so, [i.e., they are truly performing an act of goodness and kindness by operating,] notwithstanding the fact that the cutter — in modern terminology, the surgeon — cannot offer a 100% guarantee that the outcome of the surgery will be successful, nor how many more years the patient will live following the surgery — even if the surgery is successful.

We understand from the above that a person may experience in his lifetime a matter that pains him for a period of time — true pain and not imaginary.

That person, however, is also aware of — and moreover, sees — the Divine Hand of individual providence; i.e., that the world’s conduct is not without rhyme or reason and it functions according to a definite system. Moreover, this system encompasses not only himself and also his family, but so many others as well.

Normal, healthy and sound intellect then dictates that surely these [seemingly untoward] events do not violate the overall system that prevails in the world around him. It is merely that the individual has not heard from [G-d, the benevolent] Professor of Healing, what great benefit will result from the temporary pain.

There are those who question and say that they doubt that the world has a system and purpose, but everyone knows from physics, chemistry, astronomy, and so on (recognized not only by Jews or by believing people but even by non-believers) that even the smallest atom has its exact rules.

Everything must operate in accordance with the rules: even the earth, rocks, plants and animals, and everything that surrounds us has definitive laws and established methods, even though it is far more complex and vast than one person and his family.

When we encounter difficult times in our lives, many are spurred to question the existence of a Divine system and master plan for our world. When one part of the world’s structure appears out of sync with the way we understand it should be, we are quick to draw conclusions about the entire cosmos.

However, the worlds of physics, chemistry, astronomy or the other natural sciences demonstrate otherwise.

There, even the smallest atom is seen to have its own structure and function; every particle of matter is subject to specific laws and is part of a defined framework — a cosmic order which is vast and complex.

... Imagine that you are in a massive building that has thousands of rooms; the furniture in each room is perfectly arranged. However, in one tiny room with strange furnishings, the sense of organization so obvious in the rest of the structure is not immediately apparent.

Since the gigantic building and its thousands of chambers can be seen as part of an orderly system, undoubtedly the individual room and its unique furnishings are also part of the overall plan. Although the untrained observer may not at first understand the unusual pattern, with some thought he will come to realize that it must also be a part of the larger system.

I feel it would be superfluous to spell out the meaning of the parable. I just wish to add one detail: If each one of us, including you yourself, were to ponder all the events of our lives wherever they occurred, and we would look objectively, we would have to agree that there were tens and thousands of instances where we were led in a certain direction.

Nevertheless, the Holy One desires that a person should do things of his own free will. He therefore allows each person the ability to choose his own path. It is therefore no wonder that being only human, there can be a few occasions when a person falls off the path, and instead of the path being a straight one, there are some zig-zags.

But if we give it thought and we don’t fool ourselves, we see to it that the number of zig-zags should be as few and infrequent as possible. Then we arrive at the goal which the Holy One has set up for every person and particularly for each individual, that he and his family should be truly happy.

We can come to this by conducting ourselves according to Torah which is known as the Torah of Life. We need only be wary of the criticism often used by the evil inclination: he points to a person who people believe to be frum and who conducts himself according to Torah, and then goes about highlighting that individual’s seeming deficiencies.

The evil inclination thus wishes to demonstrate to the person with whom it is seeking to influence, that since [the frum person] is a person who conducts himself according to Torah and nonetheless has these negative points — the proof being that he did this or that misdeed — then the Torah itself must perforce not be commendable, G-d forbid.

This, however, is of course patently false, for the evil inclination is only presenting one aspect of the person and not the individual as a whole.

This is illuminated by a story.

If a person is walking in the street and meets someone leaving a medical specialist’s office and the person is using crutches, the passerby could think that the specialist is not good. After all, this person visited him and paid him a lot of money, and is obeying all the doctor’s instructions, and he still needs crutches!

But if someone would explain to the passerby that before the patient was in the doctor’s care he couldn’t move his feet altogether and was completely paralyzed, then he would realize that the doctor had reduced the paralysis, strengthened the patient, and enabled him to use his feet and even to walk.

As time goes on, things improve [for the patient] and it’s getting easier, even though he still needs crutches. There may come a time, if he follows the doctor’s advice, that he will get rid of the crutches and be completely healed.

The same is true for people. From the time they are born, they [all] have different qualities. Some have more good and some more bad. Through education by good teachers, and above all through self-improvement, provided it is done correctly, these bad traits over time become weaker and less effective.

Since a person has to grow his entire life, it is no wonder that we can meet a person in the middle of his personal growth and development work — his self-training — and still find some of his negative qualities. This is not necessarily because he isn’t following the instructions of the specialist in his training, rather that by every measure he has weakened and reduced his negative [qualities] compared to how he was earlier on.

I want to end by expressing my intent in this letter. I don’t intend this to be mere philosophy; rather to implant in you the idea that if you will want to apply your objectivity and good intellect, it should bring you to strengthen your trust in Hashem and to look with a positive eye at the people around you in general and the inhabitants of ... especially.

See their positive points, which for the most part they worked hard to develop, and view their negative points, if there are any, in the way we discussed previously with regard to the temporary crutches.

Above all you must know that you must do your part to illuminate and brighten your surroundings, not only your own family, but a larger group of people. This can be achieved by being permeated with love of a fellow Jew. This will be beneficial to all and certainly is good and will achieve goodness for you and your family.

I hope you will read this letter with the appropriate attention. It is self-understood that if you have any questions or lack of understanding, I will be happy for you to write about them and I will answer to the extent I am able, even if because of